Results Announced for the 2026 “Top Chinese American Youth Under 30” List
LAPost | Los Angeles (May 6, 2026) — The 2026 AACYF Top 30 Under 30 list has officially been released, recognizing outstanding young Chinese innovators and entrepreneurs across cutting-edge sectors including artificial intelligence, health technology, education innovation, fintech, consumer technology, cultural industries, and embodied AI.
This year’s list highlights a strong trend of “technology-driven innovation and cross-disciplinary integration.” AI infrastructure and applications, intelligent robotics, healthcare and life sciences, education technology, and global talent networks emerged as dominant fields. Many honorees also demonstrate hybrid backgrounds spanning academia, industry, and investment, reflecting a new generation of globally minded Chinese entrepreneurs with strong leadership and organizational capabilities.
This year’s No.1 honoree is Sirui Ning. In addition, two pairs of co-founders were jointly recognized for their shared startup ventures and systematic innovations in AI-powered education.
Below is the full 2026 AACYF Top 30 Under 30 list organized by sector:
I. Fundamental Science & Academic Innovation
Sirui Ning
Postdoctoral scholar at the University of California, Berkeley and recipient of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Fellowship. He graduated from the Special Class for the Gifted Young at the University of Science and Technology of China and later pursued advanced theoretical studies at the University of Cambridge and the University of Oxford. His research focuses on theoretical biophysics and string theory, with more than ten published papers and reviewer roles for multiple international journals. He currently serves as President of the Berkeley Postdoctoral Association.
Field: Theoretical Physics / Interdisciplinary Mathematics / Academic Research
II. AI Education & Learning Technology
Huandong Cao
Graduate of Columbia University’s Mathematics Education program and Founder & CEO of IGNITE Academy. He advocates for “returning teaching autonomy” to students, has authored academic curricula, and mentored over 100 students admitted to Ivy League and Oxbridge institutions, including MIT, Oxford, Cambridge, and Wharton. He also appeared on Chinese television programs such as The Brain and founded the public education initiative Chasing Light Academy, whose educational content has surpassed 100 million views.
Field: Education Innovation / Youth Leadership / Content Media
William Feng
Master’s graduate in Education Leadership from Harvard University and dual-degree graduate from Northwestern University. As TEDxSinanRoad Curator, speaker, COO of IGNITE Academy, and bestselling education author, he has promoted cross-cultural education and youth leadership development while mentoring hundreds of students accepted into top global universities.
Field: Education Innovation / Youth Leadership / Content Media
Yilin Zhao
Columbia University entrepreneur and founder of Hyperknow. He developed what is described as the world’s first “proactive learning agent,” reimagining personalized education pathways. The platform serves tens of thousands of users and has received million-dollar angel investment support from ZhenFund and recognition from Google for Startups.
Field: AI Education / Learning Agents
Ruohan Jiang
Founder of Hyperknow and former Columbia University student in astrophysics and computer science. She left school during her freshman year to pursue entrepreneurship full-time. She leads the design of Hyperknow’s AI learning system, transforming education from passive Q&A into proactive learning planning.
Field: AI Education / Learning Agents
Miaoyu Lei
Graduate of Rutgers University with a master’s degree from Boston University and a background in landscape architecture and spatial design. She has long been involved in interdisciplinary creative practice and youth community building. Former President of the Rutgers Chinese Students Association, she built support networks serving thousands of international students and launched a women’s mutual-support platform connecting over 2,000 members in Los Angeles and Irvine. She currently works with AWDPI and One Culture Foundation on youth and cultural development initiatives.
Field: Youth Development / Community Platforms / Cross-Cultural Innovation
III. Artificial Intelligence & Infrastructure
Yuhua Hu
AI Visiting Scholar at Oxford University and graduate of King’s College London. Founder of PathpalAI and related ventures focused on AI-driven professional development systems and multi-agent collaboration infrastructure, serving over 250,000 users and connecting more than 2,300 mentors.
Field: AI Education & Career Systems / Youth Communities / Smart Infrastructure
Richard Yang
Co-founder of Yanfa Technology and serial entrepreneur focused on AI-native products and global growth. His AI products have served more than 3 million users worldwide across multimodal content generation, multi-model collaboration, and intelligent productivity tools.
Field: AI SaaS / AI Agents
Shawn Pang
Co-founder & CEO of AllScale, a stablecoin banking and AI payment infrastructure startup. Within three months of launch, the platform processed more than $80 million in transactions and secured $7.5 million in funding from leading venture firms.
Field: FinTech / AI Payment Infrastructure
Miaomiao Fu
Founder & CEO of TrialV.AI and graduate of Dartmouth College. She developed an AI-powered patient recruitment and enrollment optimization platform for clinical trials, improving recruitment efficiency by approximately 40% in pilot programs. The company is incubated at C10 Labs in MIT’s Kendall Square ecosystem.
Field: AI Healthcare / Clinical Trial Optimization
Ruifeng Ren
Founder & CEO of Zhence AI, recipient of the MIT Student Excellence Award and one of the first students in his department’s history to achieve a perfect GPA. His AI data intelligence platform has served more than 100,000 users.
Field: AI Data Intelligence / Agent Systems
Kuai Yu
Student in game interaction design at the China Academy of Art and co-founder & CEO of Tech Tank. He focuses on integrating gaming interaction technologies with psychology to develop immersive digital experiences for commercial and public applications. The company has raised $2 million in angel funding and partnered with sports organizations and government agencies.
Field: Interactive Technology / Gaming Tech / Digital Experience Systems
IV. Embodied AI & Robotics
Yuli Ouyang
Cambridge University graduate in real estate finance and current Harvard real estate student. He is active in robotics and real estate technology ventures and has co-founded multiple intelligent technology companies.
Field: Robotics / Intelligent Manufacturing
Jack Pu
Graduate of the University of Southern California and co-founder of Qingyu Technology. He focuses on next-generation biomimetic flexible robotics and has secured multiple rounds of investment from leading venture firms.
Field: Flexible Robotics / Embodied AI
Richard Feng
Master’s graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and co-founder of Astairo Robotics. He leads the development of AI-powered pet health robots and multimodal interaction systems. He is also founder and chairman of GVALN, a global alumni venture network connecting more than 10,000 innovation and investment professionals worldwide.
Field: Embodied AI / Home Robotics / Global Venture Networks
V. FinTech & Investment
Jiayi Qu
CFO of Hill Research and Cornell MBA graduate. She helped scale the commercialization of an AI healthcare platform by 10x.
Field: Medical AI / Financial Growth Strategy
Longjie Lin
Investor at Jinqiu Capital focusing on AI and commercial aerospace. He has participated in investments totaling nearly RMB 200 million over the past two years.
Field: AI Investment / Early-Stage Venture Capital
Jiayi Yu
Graduate of NYU Stern School of Business, co-founder & CEO of Quis Lab, and venture partner at global investment firm Antler. He focuses on early-stage technology entrepreneurship and investment ecosystem development while bridging startup incubation and global venture capital resources.
Field: Venture Capital / Startup Incubation / Innovation Ecosystems
Wenshu Cui
Student representative at Harvard Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, Cambridge University finance graduate, and honors graduate of Ohio State University. Founder & CEO of Insight Education and co-founder/CFO of multiple AI and intelligent manufacturing ventures. Former consultant at McKinsey and Roland Berger.
Field: Technology Investment / AI Industry / Education & Capital Integration
VI. Consumer Technology & AI Products
Jiayang Cheng
Co-founder & CEO of Nestify Labs and former YouTube engineer. His company develops AI-powered family coordination systems used by tens of thousands of North American households.
Field: Consumer AI / Smart Family Systems
Cindy Le
Founder of Immerse AI, a generative AI content platform with over 100,000 users globally. Former Google engineer with research published at CVPR and ICCV.
Field: Generative AI / Content Platforms / Research
Musia Yu
Dual-degree MBA/MPA candidate at Stanford GSB and Harvard Kennedy School. Founder & CEO of Kinetiq AI, developing wearable spinal health devices and AI platforms supported by Google Cloud and healthcare partners worldwide.
Field: Consumer HealthTech / AI Healthcare / Women’s Health Innovation
Lisa Chen
Columbia University MPA graduate and founder of DuoDuoLand, an AI-powered social networking platform with more than one million users.
Field: AI Social Networking / Global Networks
VII. Cultural & Creative Industries
Miaotian Sun
New York-based dance artist and founder of Quadrant International Art Association. Her work has been featured at Alvin Ailey theaters and other international platforms.
Field: Performing Arts / Cross-Cultural Exchange / Arts Platforms
Yuer Hao
UC Berkeley graduate active in the music and film industries. She co-founded MPera, a North American music creator platform connecting more than 40 universities and supporting cross-cultural creative collaboration.
Field: Cultural Industries / Music & Film / Cross-Cultural Media
Luodawei Xiao
MFA graduate of the American Film Institute and lead editor for ReelShort, contributing to the industrialization of the North American short-drama industry.
Field: Film & Digital Entertainment / Short-Form Drama
VIII. Cross-Disciplinary Entrepreneurship & Innovation
Xiaoyang Zhang
Columbia University graduate focused on overseas Chinese youth innovation and public communication. As brand director of the NGO Hébàozhīmù Innovation Community, she has helped build collaborative networks spanning more than 40 countries and 150 universities.
Field: Youth Innovation Networks
Yue Cheng
Johns Hopkins University graduate and co-founder of the nonprofit ISEA, promoting cultural and investment exchange between China and the United States.
Field: Cultural Business / Community Economy
Sirui Wang
Dual master’s student at Columbia University specializing in climate science and carbon management. Her work focuses on carbon market policy and nature-based climate solutions.
Field: Climate Finance / Sustainability / Sports Education
Zhengfan Guan
Transportation designer and ACCD graduate currently working with Ford-Lincoln’s global design team on future mobility experiences.
Field: Industrial Design / Mobility Technology
RuoYi Li
PhD student at Ohio State University studying arts administration, education, and policy. She researches labor transformation in creative industries and serves as President of MIT-CHIEF, promoting interdisciplinary innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems.
Field: Cultural & Creative Industries / Innovation Communities / Entrepreneurship Ecosystems
2026 AACYF U25 Chinese American Youth Elite List
Jie Gao
Master’s student at the University of Chicago and co-founder of UChicago Venture Club. His work spans entrepreneurship communities, advanced manufacturing exports, international trade, and early-stage investing.
Field: Youth Entrepreneurship / Cross-Border Business
Yufan Zhang
Columbia University graduate and founder of VPI Visionary Co-Creation Association. She leads multiple DTC consumer brands and cross-border growth systems.
Field: Consumer Brands / Global Growth
Yangzheng Wu
Master’s student at Yale School of the Environment and founding secretary-general of the Chinese Students & Scholars Association across the U.S. East and Midwest.
Field: Cross-Cultural Organizations / Youth Leadership
Yihao Shen
Former NYU CSSA President and founder of the Eastern U.S. Chinese Students & Scholars Alliance, connecting more than 50 universities and launching China Going Global Summit projects at the United Nations Headquarters.
Field: Academic Networks / Industry Collaboration
Ziyi Gao
Stanford University graduate student focused on climate governance and energy transition initiatives.
Field: Climate Governance / Energy Transition
The 2026 AACYF Top 30 Under 30 list reflects a clear trend: young Chinese entrepreneurs are moving from “participating in global innovation” to “defining global innovation.”
From fundamental science to AI infrastructure, from embodied intelligence to education transformation, and from fintech to cultural industries, this generation is reshaping the technological and commercial landscape of the next decade through interdisciplinary expertise and global resource integration.
(By Richard Ren / AACYF & LAPost)
