Wu Peijian (first from left) talks with innovators from Hangzhou. [Photo/WeChat account: dskbdskb]

A Malaysian Yale graduate who is in their mid-20s is planning to move his AI startup to Hangzhou, underscoring the city's growing pull for global talent.

Wu Peijian, co-founder and CEO of sports-tech startup Dotra.AI, flew from Kuala Lumpur to Hangzhou in late 2025 to compete in the Sparks Global AI Hardware Innovation Competition. His team was named among the Top 10 AI Hardware Innovators out of 316 global entries.

Hangzhou announced its goal of building itself into China's leading hub for AI innovation on Dec 18, 2025. At the contest finals, Pan Yunhe, head of China's New Generation AI Strategy Advisory Committee, stressed that the future of AI lies in deep integration with hardware and real-world systems.

Dotra.AI develops AI-powered training and competition solutions for pickleball, using smart cameras and real-time analytics to provide performance insights and personalized coaching.

Wu said Hangzhou's dense AI talent pool, strong hardware ecosystem and startup-friendly policies make it an ideal base for future expansion into Europe, the United States and Southeast Asia.

The contest also attracted entrepreneurs such as Hao Junru, a Beijing-born Yale graduate whose robotics networking company is preparing to relocate from Beijing to Hangzhou, citing the city's strong embodied intelligence and robotics supply chains.

According to organizers, 266 of the 316 participating teams came from outside the city, including 21 overseas teams, reflecting its rising global appeal in AI hardware.

Wu takes an interview from a local media outlet in Hangzhou. [Photo/WeChat account: dskbdskb]