Meet The World's First Virtual CEO

NetDragon Websoft Holdings Limited (HKSE: 0777) describes itself as a global leader in the development of internet communities. They have their fingers in many pies. Among the flavors are gaming, phones, education, and VR/AR technology.

They recently announced the hiring of a new CEO. It's also a robot. The bot, Ms. Tang Yu, is an AI-powered virtual humanoid robot. Tang Yu has assumed her position as Rotating CEO.

According to the company, the appointment is "a step forward in the use of artificial intelligence to morph corporate management and surpass operational efficiency to a new level."‍

Tang Yu's appointment is consistent with the company's goal of employing an "AI + management" strategy. According to them, it urges the company toward becoming a "Metaverse organization."

"Tang Yu will improve process flow, work task quality, and execution speed."

According to the company, "Tang Yu will also represent a real-time data hub and analytical tool to assist rational decision-making in everyday operations, as well as to facilitate a more efficient risk-management system." Tang Yu is also expected to play an important role in talent growth and ensuring an equitable and effective workplace for all employees."

AI and Netdragon

NetDragon's current Chairman is Dr. Dejian Liu. "We believe that artificial intelligence (AI) is the future of corporate management. Ms. Tang Yu's appointment demonstrates our commitment to fully embrace the use of AI to change how we operate our business and, ultimately, drive our future strategic growth."‍

Looking ahead, we will continue to improve on our algorithms behind Tang Yu in order to build an open, interactive, and highly transparent management approach as we gradually transition to a metaverse-based working community, which will allow us to attract a much broader pool of talent from around the world and put us in a position to achieve bigger goals."

The company also operates several Internet and mobile platforms that serve hundreds of millions of users. They created 17173.com, China's first online gaming portal. They also own 91 Wireless, China's most influential smartphone app store.