Lenovo Executive Urges AI Startups to Take On Tech Giants

Artificial intelligence (AI) startups should not shy away from competing head-on with established technology giants, according to a top executive at Lenovo Group Ltd.’s venture capital arm, countering the prevailing industry view that newcomers should avoid the core territories of major incumbents.

Song Chunyu, chief investment officer and senior partner at Lenovo Capital and Incubator Group, told media recently that while internet giants appear to possess vast resources, their strength is often diluted across numerous product lines. He argued that the organizational structures of large technology companies lack the flatness and agility required for rapid development, causing them to frequently miss innovation opportunities.

His comments challenge a broad consensus among investors that startups should steer clear of the “main channels” dominated by big tech companies, which control application gateways and ecosystems. Song contended that if a venture is designing an AI-native product with the potential to become a major platform, it must have the courage to compete. He noted that the competitive advantages of AI-native products lie in “originality” and “non-consensus” thinking, which can generate organic traffic and attention.