FutureTech на WAIC 2026: как модель «человек + рой AI-агентов» меняет стартапы

At the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) 2026, which opened on July 17, 2026 in Shanghai, FutureTech platform head Zhang Mengzhao said in an interview with 36Kr that the "one person + swarm of AI agents" model is turning from a concept into a real way of launching startups.

What the OPC competition showed

21 projects, selected from more than a thousand applications, made it to the final of the entrepreneurial track of the OPC (Independent Pioneer Challenge) competition, and only a minority of the founders have a purely technical AI background. Among the finalists, according to 36Kr, are former investors, people from the gaming industry, music producers, and students who are turning industry experience into products with the help of AI models and development tools.

*WAIC 2026 — opened on July 17, 2026 in Shanghai, theme "Smart Partners, Building the Future Together"

*FutureTech — a sub-brand for startups, developing as part of WAIC since 2024

*OPC — a two-track competition: an innovation track and an entrepreneurial track

*21 projects made it to the final of the entrepreneurial track, selected from 1,000+ applications

*More than 100 investors from top funds have been invited to the venue

FutureTech, according to Zhang Mengzhao, is not a one-off competition but a year-round ecosystem platform: the conference itself lasts four days, but its main value comes from ongoing work with the industry needs of startups.

Why industry know-how is the main moat

Zhang Mengzhao calls industry know-how the most important competitive moat for a startup in the AI era. The technological threshold has fallen, so founders are now competing not for pure technical skill but for a deep understanding of a narrow scenario and its constant refinement — this is exactly what allows them to compete with large corporations.

"Industry know-how is perhaps the most important moat.

AI has lowered the technological threshold, and now the competition is not over technology but over understanding a specific scenario," — Zhang Mengzhao, head of FutureTech, in an interview with 36Kr.

Initially, Zhang Mengzhao admits, he was not optimistic and feared that the results of a single person's work could easily be copied by a large company. But as the competition progressed, he saw more and more real successful cases of "super-individuals" — founders working in tandem with a swarm of agents.

What the platform gives startups

The FutureTech platform gives startups three levels of value: validation of status through rigorous selection, access to an audience, and a connection to the industry. More than 100 investors from top funds have been invited to the venue, and the WAIC Connect platform is located nearby to link startups with industrial partners.

The main task for the coming year, according to Zhang Mengzhao, is not raising money but the shift from isolated innovation to industrialization. Many strong startups have enough investment, but he stresses that sustainability comes not from capital but from the ability to earn money from a real business.

What this means

The lowering of the technological threshold is shifting the center of competition among AI startups from model performance metrics to industry expertise and business results. The "human + agents" model is ceasing to be a slogan: a single person with industry experience and a set of AI tools is already able to build a product that used to require an entire team.

Frequently asked questions

What is the "one person + swarm of agents" model?

It is the concept of the "super-individual": a single founder with industry experience uses AI models and a swarm of agents to do work that used to require a large team. According to Zhang Mengzhao, among the 21 finalists of the OPC entrepreneurial track, the share of founders with a purely AI background is not high.

What is the OPC competition at WAIC?

OPC (Independent Pioneer Challenge) is a two-track FutureTech competition for startups: the innovation track encourages any AI ideas (prompts, skills, vibecoding products), while the entrepreneurial track requires a product with commercial value. In 2026, 21 projects made it to the final of the entrepreneurial track out of more than a thousand applications.