As an innovative achievement born from the deep integration of artificial intelligence technology and human emotional needs,​AI emotional companion products are gradually emerging as a significant branch in the field of modern technology. Their extensive applications in mental health support, elderly care services, and children's education have demonstrated irreplaceable social value. As societal structures evolve and emotional demands grow increasingly diverse, these products must not only possess highly intelligent interactive capabilities but also achieve higher technological sophistication in emotional recognition, natural language processing, and personalized services. While current technologies enable rudimentary emotional analysis and voice interaction, existing solutions remain inadequate in addressing the complex and dynamic expressions of human emotions. Enhancing empathetic capabilities through more precise emotional computing models while ensuring robust data privacy security and ethical compliance has thus become a central challenge for industry advancement.​

（The gentleman in the photo is Mr. Xi Rui.）

Against this backdrop, Mr. XI Rui, leveraging his extensive experience in AI emotional companion technology research and development for years, has gained deep insights into the industry’s opportunities and challenges. He noted that intelligent emotional companions are achieving significant performance improvements with continuous breakthroughs in cutting-edge technologies such as deep learning algorithms, multimodal data fusion, and on-device inference. However, critical issues like insufficient depth in emotional comprehension and limited adaptability across scenarios must be resolved to better meet users’ demand for high-quality emotional interaction. Driven by these insights, he has formulated a series of forward-thinking strategic frameworks that chart new pathways for the sector’s advancement.

He believes that enhancing AI's capacity to understand human emotions hinges on strengthening the research and development of core technologies, particularly achieving breakthroughs in affective computing and natural language processing. By introducing more advanced algorithmic models (e.g., multimodal foundation models with billions to hundreds of billions of parameters) and integrating comprehensive analysis of multimodal data including speech and facial expressions, AI's expressiveness in emotional interaction can be substantially elevated. He particularly emphasized the critical role of technologies like differential privacy, model distillation, and on-device deployment in protecting user privacy, which enables continuous optimization of AI's comprehension capabilities while ensuring security compliance. At the product design level, he advocates for enhanced transparency by allowing users to fully comprehend how their data is utilized in order to establish sustainable trust-based relationships.​

Beyond technological innovation, Mr. XI Rui emphasized the importance of personalized customization. He pointed out that future intelligent emotional companions should possess high customizability, allowing users to adjust the AI's interaction style, knowledge domain, and even personality traits based on their own needs. Through a memory system that continuously accumulates shared experiences, they can forge a unique long-term companionship experience. This differentiation strategy not only helps enterprises stand out in the fiercely competitive market but also better addresses users' diverse needs. On the ethical front, he called for establishing industry self-regulation mechanisms, formulating unified standards for technology development and application, and clarifying the functional boundaries and social responsibilities of AI emotional companion products to prevent societal issues arising from technological misuse.

Mr. XI is not only a profound visionary in the AI emotional companion product technology R&D domain but also an innovative practitioner integrating technology and mental health. He led the development of a globally leading intelligent emotional companion, which has delivered profound mental health support to tens of thousands of users through core functions, including an innovative memory system, emotion-aware voice, and resonant stories generated according to user experiences. Demonstrating exceptional efficacy in alleviating depression, anxiety, and loneliness, the product has earned international accolades, including the IF Design Award and Better Future Gold Award. These achievements validate not only the technical prowess of Mr. XI and his team but also his unwavering commitment to enhancing mental wellness through technology. Concurrently, his dual contributions to technological innovation and social value have secured his recognition on the 2025 "All-American Chinese Youth Entrepreneurship Elite List."​

Mr. XI’s efforts extend far beyond technological research and development; he consistently focuses on the holistic development of the industry. In his view, AI emotional companion products represent not merely a technological innovation but also a critical mission to improve human quality of life. Looking ahead, he stated that as artificial intelligence continues to advance, the integration of affective computing and deep learning will revolutionize the industry, enabling AI to understand human emotions with greater precision and deliver personalized support. He called for collective industry efforts to pursue technical excellence while adhering to ethical principles, ensuring that the development of AI emotional companion products always prioritizes respect for user privacy and emotional needs.

As Mr. XI emphasized, "True technological warmth resides not in cold code but in empowering every individual to feel understood and cared for." His vision is to leverage AI to build a more inclusive, warm, and empathetic society. Under his leadership, the AI emotional companion industry is progressing toward an ideal future where technology and humanity profoundly converge, offering everyone the possibility of intelligent embedded companionship. It is this relentless pioneering spirit and high regard for social responsibility that drive the industry’s sustained advancement.​

（Written by/LI Siyue）