This March, as spring arrived in Shanghai, the ToMakers Juniorpreneur Youth Creation series hosted its first offline gathering.

For this session, we turned our attention to a curious and slightly unfamiliar topic: AI companionship products.

Through the real story of the startup project “Limo”, we and a group of Makers — passionate about both technology and the humanities — embarked on an exploration of how AI companionship might create happiness.

Juniorpreneur Event Poster

From 0 to 1: The Story Behind Limo

The event kicked off with a talk by the founding team of Limo.

Founder Roy shared how the idea for a companionship product first took root during his sophomore year of high school. He described how, through continuous user feedback and iterative development, the team identified Limo’s core value, ultimately shaping it into today’s product — a blend of cutting-edge technology and emotional warmth.

In Roy’s view, Limo is not simply a tool. It is a companion — capable of empathizing, responding, and even providing emotional early warnings. It serves as the user’s most loyal “fan,” a timely “power bank” for emotional energy, and a “radar” for detecting moods. Within the Limo universe, digital characters like Moli and Feizai each possess unique personalities that evolve over time based on users’ emotional input, growing into one-of-a-kind companions through algorithmic learning.

Roy openly shared the entire development journey — from hardware prototyping and AI corpus training to refining the user interaction experience — as well as the many challenges faced by a young startup.

He laughed, recalling how their marketing sometimes relied on eye-catching gimmicks, but noted that this once “unrealistic” dream of entrepreneurship truly changed his life, steering him away from a troubled youth as an internet addict.

This honest account offered participants a more three-dimensional understanding of entrepreneurship and AI products:

Technology doesn’t have to be cold — what matters most is the problem you choose to solve.

Curious about Limo’s story? Read more:

 https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/Qzk715slnWwTpB2Dw_BFKw

AI: Cold Technology or a Bridge to Human Emotion?

After Roy’s talk, investor Robert offered a broader perspective.

Drawing from his years of experience investing in technology, Robert explored real-world applications of AI across sectors such as healthcare and law.

He highlighted a deeper value of AI — its emotional dimension:

In the future, AI will not only be a tool for solving problems, but also a mirror that helps us better understand ourselves.

Robert unpacked the evolution of large models, possibilities for emotional recognition, and innovation directions for hardware, offering clear and accessible insights into how AI is becoming ever more embedded in our lives.

He also shared valuable advice for the younger audience members on choosing academic majors and career paths in the AI industry, drawing from his own experiences.

Co-Creating a “Happiness Experience”

To close the event, we invited the Juniorpreneurs — young, creative minds — to brainstorm ideas for enhancing Limo: How can AI companionship products better recognize emotions, provide emotional support, and create a true “happiness experience”?

Some participants suggested that a “happiness experience” could be a rich sensory experience, and proposed adding cute sound effects to enhance auditory engagement. Others emphasized that the product must have highly personalized responses—such as recognizing special user groups like international students who often feel lonely abroad, and offering them customized services. Still others proposed a combination of online and offline elements, suggesting that while AI offers “mental massages,” it should also help users connect with the real world. 

Perhaps, the true mission of AI isn’t to “understand us better,” but to “help us better understand ourselves.”

Through the group discussions and brainstorming, we felt an exciting signal. Respect for technology and sensitivity to humanity are the shared traits of this new generation of creators.

Juniorpreneur Event Discussion

About ToMakers Juniorpreneur

The ToMakers #Juniorpreneur Youth Creation Series is dedicated to building a platform for deep dialogue between young creators and the worlds of technology, industry, and capital.

At every gathering, our goal isn’t just to share knowledge — it’s to ignite a spark within high school and university students, inspiring them to believe they can “make something happen.”

Where will our next conversation take us?

ToMakers is a global nonprofit community focused on industries related to the circular economy, such as sustainable construction, smart cities, and ecological manufacturing. We are committed to promoting cross-sector, cross-disciplinary, and cross-functional exchanges and collaboration, aiming to maximize the impact of technology in the circular economy.