100 AI Creators is a weekly series featuring conversations with China’s leading minds in artificial intelligence. As technology evolves, their perspectives shed light on the ideas driving the AI era across borders.
Kay Feng is the founder of Head AI, a startup that’s promising to automate influencer marketing, social media campaigns, and the broader marketing process for companies focused on growth.
Born in 2002, Feng never learned to code, never studied marketing, and dropped out of high school. Yet within two weeks of launching Head AI, she claimed to have signed a deal with a popular bubble tea brand and was reportedly on track for USD 2.5 million in annual revenue.
That’s when the backlash hit. Critics began circulating a growing list of doubts, from inflated marketing case studies and questionable metrics to exaggerated ARR (annual recurring revenue) projections that some alleged were merely “stories for investors.” Influencer targeting was another flashpoint, with some creators labeling Head AI “a scam.”
The company also drew skepticism for the flood of promotional content on Xiaohongshu within its first month of launch, with detractors accusing it of being “too polished” to be anything more than a GMV mirage.
Feng quickly became the most polarizing young figure in China’s AI scene.
But she also has her fans. Even before the product went live, one investor helped her lock in a USD 400,000 order. Soon after, she secured backing from Jinqiu Capital and high-profile investor Allen Zhu, who has repeatedly endorsed Head AI in public and expressed his admiration for Feng.
Despite the criticism, Feng remains calm, almost stoic. Her journey has diverged sharply from her peers.
While attending high school in the US, she started earning money by helping Web3 projects grow. “It wasn’t just financial independence,” she said. “It gave me a sense of control over my own direction.”
That clarity led her to skip college. “Sitting in classrooms being spoon-fed knowledge bored me to death. I couldn’t find any meaning in it,” she added. “I wanted to chase what actually excites me.”
Her first job was at Dora AI, building a no-code website generator powered by AI, focused on 3D and interactive design. As head of marketing, she grew the user base from zero to 500,000 in just three months. That’s when she discovered her real strength: growth.
Soon after, she quit. Instead of convincing the leadership to try new ideas, she figured it made more sense to become the boss herself.
Feng describes herself as ambitious, with a relentless drive and little patience. As Head AI’s CEO, she readily admits she’s “extremely pushy.”
This interview with AI Now! is her most candid yet.
Can Head AI really replace the entire marketing department? Is Feng for real?
To that, she says: “Interrogate away.”
The following transcript has been edited and consolidated for brevity and clarity.
AI Now! (AN): A lot of people in the marketing world say you can’t get top-tier influencers to respond. Some creators reportedly think Head AI’s outreach emails are scams.
Kay Feng (KF): That skepticism is totally expected, especially these days when scams targeting influencers are everywhere. It’s healthy to be cautious.
Trust isn’t won overnight. Every platform starts without it and builds it through scale and feedback loops. Look at how Didi, Meituan, or Airbnb went from “no one trusts them” to “can’t live without them.” That’s where we are now.
Head AI already has tens of thousands of active creators on the platform, many of whom now earn stable income through us. Once creators start getting paid consistently, they become the best advocates for our legitimacy. That’s how network effects work.
AN: Veteran marketers argue that trust between people can’t be replaced by AI. Human-to-human connection is the core.
KF: I disagree.
Traditional influencer marketing runs on relationships and favors. That’s inefficient, opaque, and hard to scale. Our model is different: we use AI to match creators to a brand’s target audience, negotiate the lowest price, manage the collaboration, monitor results, and optimize the next steps. Everything is automatic, and our platform fees are fully transparent.
Think of it as moving from a relationship-based banker to an ATM. It might feel unfamiliar at first, but it’s a more scalable and fair infrastructure for trust.
We’re not removing humans, we’re systematizing their impact. We support tools like creator rankings, knowledge sharing, ask-me-anything sessions, and offline meetups. These are how we make trust visible and compounding. We’re trying to break the inefficient, closed-door norms that have dominated influencer marketing.
AN: Some brand users said you sent them a batch of creators without first letting them review or approve the list. Was that a bug or feature?
KF: We get why that feels jarring.
In a traditional agency setup, clients rarely see the entire list of potential outreach targets. A good marketing team vets creators, sends outreach, and only shows names that are of interest. Nobody brings a spreadsheet of “people who ignored us” to their boss, unless they are new on the job.
Head AI is like a new teammate. Yes, it’s a rookie, but one who can independently handle targeting, outreach, execution, and reporting. It’s faster, more consistent, and doesn’t need managing.
Still, trust takes time. So, we’re rolling out two new features:
- AI-powered onboarding: Before outreach begins, users will preview a small sample of creators the AI plans to contact. This ensures alignment, like a team lead doing a first review.
- Post-outreach confirmation: After the AI reaches out, users get a curated shortlist and can decide whether to move forward with those creators. Full control remains with the user.
In the long run, though, we don’t want brands micromanaging every step. We want to be accountable for outcomes, not just processes.
AN: You recently told a reporter that your ARR projection was based on multiplying recent weekly data by 52. Some say that’s laughable, that you’re pitching a fantasy to investors.
KF: I don’t expect anyone to be swayed by that math. It’s more of a way for us to set internal benchmarks, essentially weekly and monthly revenue trends that guide our direction and execution.
Yes, it’s aggressive. But so are our goals. If that rubs people the wrong way, I get it.
Right now, what matters most is whether we’re actually achieving actual ARR and GMV growth. Nobody’s buying pitch decks anymore. It’s about shipping and delivering results.
AN: What do you feel when you see negative posts about you online?
KF: Honestly, I expected it.
We’re attacking one of the most entrenched value chains in marketing, so it’s inevitable that we’re stepping on some toes. Even with close to a million orders processed, a 1% error rate still means 10,000 mistakes. That’s a tiny tolerance window.
And yes, we’re still iterating fast. Head AI is a general-purpose product. We’re sprinting everyday to stay ahead.
But we’re learning from every user. We want to build a tool that marketers can’t live without. I read every criticism. I don’t hide, delete, or deflect. Every doubt means people are paying attention, and that’s a good thing.
AN: Some say your whole business is just a fancier GMV scam. Thoughts?
KF: That’s pure nihilism. You could swap that out for AI, content, or software, and the sentence would still make sense. It sounds clever, but it leads to little but apathy.
I’m not saying growth is inherently virtuous. I’m saying value transfer is always messy.
I don’t buy it. Not because growth is inherently noble, but because there’s no perfect way to measure value in this world.
A growth product isn’t defined by how polished it looks, but by whether it creates real value for users. If it does, it’s not a scam.
From day one, the goal was for AI to replace people
AN: Who are your main competitors right now?
KF: From a product standpoint, I don’t think we have any.
Our real competition is the old way of doing things: organizations, mental models, and whether people will let us replace their marketing departments.
AN: Companies like Ogilvy and BlueFocus are already incorporating AI. Why do you think you can beat them?
KF: Simple. Because we’re not trying to help humans work faster. We’re trying to replace them.
Large companies are great at what they do, but they are often constrained by their own legacy. We don’t see ourselves as adversaries, we just play different roles in the market. We have fewer constraints and can move faster. But they have deeper resources, and I actually think there’s a lot of room to collaborate in the future.
AN: They have got deeper client relationships than you. How do you compete?
KF: I’m not playing that game. I won’t hire an army of salespeople to schmooze clients. If agencies are good at relationships, let them use Head AI to handle delivery. That’ll be 100 times cheaper.
In my view, agencies are also potential clients.
AN: Why convince Allen Zhu to invest in you? How would you describe him?
KF: Zhu is one of the most interesting investors I’ve met. Most partners at his level aren’t hands-on anymore. They rely on their deal teams to do the heavy lifting and only look at a few polished projects.
But Zhu is still on the frontlines. I met him at a limited partner conference. He stepped out for a few minutes, asked me a couple of quick questions, and asked to send him the term sheet. Then he just walked off.
He understands AI in marketing really well. He has always told me marketing is about results, and that clients are buying outcomes. We’re totally aligned on that.
In private, he’s a straightforward, fuss-free guy. He sometimes drops by our office, asks a few questions, and leaves just as quickly without expecting fanfare.
AN: How are your interactions with other investors? Any generational gaps?
KF: Jinqiu Capital was a seed investor. Honestly, they feel more like co-founders than financiers. They really understand the tempo of Gen Z founders and never treat us like outsiders. They understand our ideas and are willing to experiment with us. For early-stage founders, having an investor like that is invaluable.
But yes, there are investors that are hard to connect with. Some are stuck on old playbooks and can’t accept anything new. One investor told me, “All great founders start companies with their classmates. That’s how Wang Xing or Zhang Yiming did it. But you didn’t go to college, so how will you find co-founders?”
I was shocked. Like, what kind of logic is that? I’ve worked with people at Dora AI. If we click, we can start something together. It doesn’t take a college diploma to build a team.
AN: How do you convince people to work with someone who never went to college?
KF: I don’t try to convince anyone. Whether or not a team works is about fit. I just create a space where we can build something together.
I assembled the team in about a month. I started by reaching out to a former colleague from Dora AI, then he brought in a friend. We built the first demo fast. An investor friend helped us find early users. Before the product was even done, we’d signed hundreds of thousands in contracts. We owe a lot to those early clients. Some tested us four times in one year. Without them, there’d be no Head AI.
AN: Is it hard being a 22-year-old woman managing mostly older men?
KF: Not at all. Maybe because I’m super assertive.
I don’t care if someone is 25 or 35, male or female. I’m here to get things done. I push hard, and I don’t hold back.
AN: What’s your hiring approach now?
KF: I once hired a CMO with a RMB 1 million (USD 140,000) salary, hoping he’d bring industry expertise. But his past experience felt more like baggage. It was painful.
Now, I don’t obsess over experience. I want people who can do the job now, not later. High pressure, fast pace. At the same time, they need growth potential. That combination is rare, but that’s what we’re after.
A non-follower meant only to be a CEO
AN: You dropped out at 18. Was that a hard decision? How did you convince your parents?
KF: It wasn’t hard. I went to high school in the US and was already working on Web3 projects. Not going to college just felt natural. I knew it wouldn’t help me. I was absolutely certain I wanted to build something of my own.
I don’t think I ever sat down and officially told my parents. We’re a pretty independent family. Everyone’s focused on their own work. We don’t talk a lot.
Honestly, I still don’t know if they are fully aware of my decision. They just know I’m running a company. Whether I’m studying or not, I kind of left that vague.
AN: You started making money from Web3 projects while in high school. Were you drawn to the industry’s fast pace?
KF: Back then, I just wanted independence. Studying overseas gave me a strong sense of insecurity. I wasn’t sure my family could always support me the same way.
Also, school was just boring. I couldn’t sit through classes. If the teacher was talking about economics, I’d instantly fall asleep. Only after I got home would I feel alive. That’s when I started exploring Web3. It was fun and exciting.
AN: Did you always dislike school?
KF: Yes, it was painful. I was constantly getting into trouble, being called out in class, sent to stand in the hallway, and got my parents brought in for meetings. I think most of the teachers found me annoying.
AN: Did that ever make you question yourself?
KF: No. I thought the problem was with the system, not me. My grades were good. I just didn’t fit the format.
AN: Does your confidence come from your family or yourself?
KF: My parents didn’t praise me much. They had no specific expectations.
I’ve always trusted my own judgment. For instance, I told my parents I wanted to switch to a US high school because I felt I couldn’t grow in China. They didn’t agree at first, but I insisted.
AN: How did you discover your talent?
KF: Trial and error. At one point I thought I wanted to do development work and write code. But I quickly realized I couldn’t sit still. I also wasn’t that good at it.
I’m not the type to grind at something I don’t think I’ll ever excel at.
When I started doing growth work in Web3, something just clicked. I could instantly tell which influencers would work. I have a kind of instinct for it.
AN: You were already head of growth at Dora AI. What pushed you to start your own thing?
KF: Dora AI’s two founders were much older than me. I constantly had to persuade them to try things. We clashed a lot. It was frustrating. I thought, if I’m capable, why am I stuck here?
The CEO said I’m someone who can’t be a follower. That’s true. I can only be a CEO. I can’t be someone’s deputy.
AN: You said you’re impatient. Isn’t patience key to being a CEO?
KF: I’m working on it. I process things fast, and I get frustrated if others don’t keep up. Sometimes I think I’m being clear, but people feel I’m being too intense.
I’m not a cuddly boss. But I reflect daily whether I’ve improved a little, whether I’m stretching myself beyond my instincts.
AN: What else are you trying to improve?
KF: I generate too many ideas. I used to dump 100 a week on the team. Now I filter and only share 50.
AN: How close is Head AI to your ideal vision?
KF: Still far off. We’re starting with one pain point in today’s marketing landscape, like how Salesforce started with customer relationship management. My end goal is to build a system that replaces the entire marketing team’s brain and limbs.
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AN: If you weren’t in marketing, what would you do?
KF: I’d run political campaigns.
Politicians are basically products. You sell them to the public to win votes. It’s just marketing at scale. But that’s just a fun thought. Right now, I’m all in on Head AI.
AN: What’s your weekday and weekend routine?
KF: Weekdays are intense. I barely check WeChat. I work from 11 a.m. to 12 or 1 a.m.
On weekends, I unplug completely and don’t even want to talk. I take ballet and modern dance classes. I go to plays. Lately I’ve been especially into theater. Losing myself in someone else’s story feels incredible. It makes me happy.
AN: Do you date?
KF: I used to have crushes in middle school, but not anymore. I started liking people too early, and now it feels pointless. Work is more interesting.
AN: Name three of your favorite books.
KF: “Heart” by Kazuo Inamori taught me the importance of staying on the right path. “The Ride of a Lifetime” (by Bob Iger) helped shape how I think as a CEO.
I used to love reading Eileen Chang and detective novels, especially works by Keigo Higashino and “Murder on the Orient Express.” But since starting the company, I haven’t had much time to read.
100 AI Creators is a collaborative project between AI Now! and KrASIA, highlighting trailblazers in AI. Know an AI talent we should feature? Reach out to us.