2026 开年AI对谈：the year of R | 对谈真格基金戴雨森
2026: The Year of R for AI – A Conversation with ZhenFund's Dai Yusen
Summary
ZhenFund's Managing Partner Dai Yusen returns to "Crossing" to reflect on 2025's AI predictions and unveil his vision for 2026 as the "Year of R." He identifies three critical Rs—Return, Research, and Remember—that will shape the next phase of AI development and investment.
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Show Notes
Overview
In this annual New Year's dialogue, ZhenFund Managing Partner Dai Yusen joins the host to look back at their 2025 predictions, which largely came to fruition with the explosion of AI applications like Deepseek and Manus. They then dive into Yusen's forward-looking insights for 2026, which he dubs the "Year of R" for AI, emphasizing commercial returns, foundational research, and user memory.
Guest
Dai Yusen is a Managing Partner at ZhenFund, one of China's most prominent venture capital firms. He is a key figure in China's AI investment landscape.
What You'll Learn
- How 2025's predictions for AI, including the "Year of Agent," played out with the emergence of new applications.
- Dai Yusen's "3R" framework for 2026: Return (commercial viability), Research (paradigm shifts), and Remember (user memory for proactive agents).
- Insights into the evolving landscape of AI entrepreneurship and investment, drawing parallels to the early days of internet giants like Meituan and ByteDance.
- The importance of resilience for founders and the unique challenges and opportunities in a mapless AI era.
Topics Covered
- Review of 2025 AI trends and predictions, including the "Agent Year" concept.
- The next wave of opportunities unlocked by AI models, from agentic capabilities to multimodal AI.
- Discussion on whether a significant "jump" in AI capabilities has occurred, comparing it to water boiling unlocking new possibilities.
- Exciting new AI products and the evolving nature of innovation from 1 to 10.
- Reflections on early entrepreneurial experiences of figures like Wang Xing (Meituan) and Zhang Yiming (ByteDance) and their relevance to today's AI founders.
Why This Matters
This episode provides a crucial perspective from a leading Chinese AI investor on the strategic direction of the global AI industry. It offers actionable insights for founders and investors navigating the rapidly evolving AI landscape, particularly regarding the shift towards commercial viability and foundational research.
Original Chinese Episode
Listen on 小宇宙 (Xiaoyuzhou)