Part I: Career Transitions
Hongxia Yang, a well-respected scientist in the field of AI, has had a remarkable career. Her story begins at the IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, where she worked as a researcher, focusing on areas such as Bayesian statistics and time series analysis. Later, she joined Yahoo as the Principal Data Scientist for Computational Advertising, where she was responsible for developing algorithms for ad delivery predictions.
In 2016, Yang Hongxia returned to China and joined the Intelligent Computing Lab of Alibaba DAMO Academy. Here, she led the development of the M6 large model, a multimodal model that was the predecessor of Tongyi Qianwen. In just one year, the M6 project expanded from 100 million parameters to 10 trillion yuan, becoming the world's largest Chinese multimodal model at that time, and reaching the world-class level in the fields of Wensheng diagram and commercialization. Her team has also successfully achieved green and low-carbon, with M6 consuming only 1% of energy at the same parameter scale compared to GPT-3.
In March 2023, Yang Hongxia joined ByteDance and continued to shine in the field of large models. However, just a year later, she left ByteDance to devote herself to academia and joined the Hong Kong Polytechnic University as a professor in the Department of Electronics and Computer Science. This shift has sparked widespread attention and discussion.
Hongxia Yang's career has been full of challenges and opportunities, and her dual role in corporate and academic has allowed her to leverage her talents and influence in different fields. Her story not only showcases her personal excellence, but also provides us with a unique perspective on career development and innovation.
Part II: Entrepreneurship and Academia in parallel
Yang Hongxia has not only achieved important positions in academia, but has also demonstrated her ambitions in the field of entrepreneurship. While working as a professor in the Department of Electronics and Computer Science at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, she continues to advance her large-scale model entrepreneurship project. This dual identity is both an opportunity and a challenge for her.
In academia, Yang Hongxia has the opportunity to conduct in-depth research and explore cutting-edge technologies to cultivate the next generation of AI talents. Her teaching and research work not only provides students with valuable knowledge and experience, but also advances the field of AI as a whole. Her tenure at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University marked a new beginning in her academic career.
At the same time, Yang Hongxia's entrepreneurial project is also progressing steadily. It is reported that her team is in the process of being formed, and has received an investment of 30 million to 40 million US dollars, with a post-investment valuation of 150 million US dollars. Her entrepreneurial direction is mainly focused on the field of AI Agent, which has huge potential and broad market prospects.
Yang Hongxia has found a unique balance between academia and entrepreneurship. She leverages the depth of academic research and the breadth of entrepreneurial practice to continuously promote technological innovation and application. This dual identity not only improves her work efficiency and innovation ability, but also provides a solid foundation for her continued development in the field of AI.
Her story tells us that academia and entrepreneurship are not opposites, but can promote and develop together. Through her own efforts and wisdom, Yang Hongxia has successfully found her place in these two fields and continues to contribute to the development of AI technology.
Part III: The Development of Large Model Technology
During her tenure at Alibaba and ByteDance, Yang Hongxia made outstanding contributions to the development of large-scale model technology. The M6 model project she led is the predecessor of Tongyi Qianwen and an important milestone for Alibaba in the field of AI.
Within only one year of starting research and development, the M6 project expanded from 100 million parameters to 10 trillion levels, becoming the world's largest Chinese multimodal model at that time. This achievement not only demonstrates the technical strength of Yang Hongxia's team, but also marks a major breakthrough in China's large-scale model technology. The M6 model has reached the world-class level in the fields of Wensheng diagram and commercialization, and in terms of green and low-carbon, compared with GPT-3, it has achieved an amazing result of only 1% energy consumption at the same parameter scale.
During ByteDance, Yang Hongxia continued to shine in the field of large models. She is mainly responsible for the research and development of large models, reporting to the team leaders of Byte AML and Doubao Large Model Foundation. Her work has not only promoted the progress of ByteDance in large-scale model technology, but also provided valuable experience and reference for the development of the entire industry.
The core of large model technology lies in its powerful data processing and analysis capabilities, which can achieve breakthrough applications in multiple fields. Yang Hongxia's contribution in this field not only enhances the technological competitiveness of the enterprise, but also promotes the progress of the entire industry. Her research and practice have laid a solid foundation for the development of large-scale model technology in the future.
Yang Hongxia's story tells us that technological progress is inseparable from continuous exploration and innovation. Through her own efforts and wisdom, she has promoted the development of large model technology, bringing infinite possibilities to the future of the AI field.
Part 4: AI Entrepreneurship Trends
Yang Hongxia's entrepreneurial trends have attracted a lot of attention, and her team is in the process of being formed, and has already received an investment of $30 million to 40 million, with a post-investment valuation of $150 million. Her entrepreneurial direction is mainly focused on the field of AI Agent, which has huge potential and broad market prospects.
At present, the entrepreneurial trend in the field of AI is gradually shifting from the development of basic large models to the direction of more subdivided application implementation. Yang Hongxia's entrepreneurial choice is in line with this trend. Her team is committed to developing an on-device model and deploying AI Agent, which can run independently on the device side, has the advantages of low latency and high privacy protection, and is suitable for multiple scenarios such as smart home and autonomous driving.
Not only Yang Hongxia, but also many top talents in the field of AI are also exploring new entrepreneurial directions. For example, Qi Yuan, the former vice president of Ant Group, chose the credible large model as his entrepreneurial direction after leaving the company, and served as a faculty member at Fudan University, where he founded the large model company Infinite Light Year in parallel with industry, education and research. These cases show the diverse choices and infinite possibilities of AI talents in the field of entrepreneurship.
Yang Hongxia's entrepreneurial project not only demonstrates her continuous pursuit of technological innovation, but also reflects the current entrepreneurial hotspots and investment trends in the field of AI. Her team is preparing a global AI project in Seattle, which further demonstrates her vision and determination in the international layout.
In the future, with the continuous development of AI technology and the expansion of application scenarios, AI entrepreneurship will usher in more opportunities and challenges. Yang Hongxia's entrepreneurial path undoubtedly provides us with a vivid case, showing the infinite possibilities and broad prospects in the field of AI. Her story inspires more AI talents to pursue their dreams and create their own brilliant careers.