Since the rise of AI last year, my team and I began developing Minduck, a web-based AI application designed for users who aren’t tech-savvy but still want to leverage AI’s power. What started as a simple idea quickly turned into a complex project where we encountered and addressed hundreds of challenges. Through this journey, we gained valuable insights into the evolving AI landscape, which have shaped both Minduck's development and our understanding of the broader industry.

Here, we share three key insights that highlight where AI companies are headed and where new value can be found.

1. AI Companies: Balancing Technical Innovation with Product Innovation

AI model companies are often led by research-driven teams focused on technological advancements. While their innovations are impressive, many still fall short when it comes to product experience and addressing user needs.

• Technical Innovation: For example, China's Moonshot excels in handling long-text input and output—an impressive technical achievement. Similarly, U.S.-based Claude is praised for its rational and safe outputs, making it ideal for tasks like coding.

• Product Innovation: By contrast, OpenAI is transforming ChatGPT into a tool that goes beyond basic dialogue, integrating web browsing, drawing, and interactive features to redefine the user experience. Google, too, has introduced products like NotebookLM and Learn About, emphasizing real-world user applications.

The trend is clear: while technological innovation lays the groundwork, product innovation is essential to make AI tools accessible, practical, and truly valuable to the public.

2. AI Applications: Efficiency Gains in Existing Value Creation

In the AI application space, companies generally take two approaches:

1. Existing Business + AI
   These companies add AI functionalities to their existing products to create value. Examples include:

   • Notion+AI, enhancing productivity tools.

   • Microsoft + AI, enriching software functionality for broader usage.

2. AI + Existing Business
   Here, AI is used to create entirely new solutions for existing scenarios. For instance:

   • China’s Miaoyaxiangji, which replaces traditional photo studios with AI-powered tools.

   • AI search platforms like Perplexity, Liner, and China’s Metaso, which reimagine information retrieval with AI.

While both approaches effectively reduce costs and improve efficiency, they still focus on existing value, missing the opportunity to create entirely new scenarios or redefine markets.

3. The Real Opportunity: Creating New Value with AI

As Henry Ford once said, "If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses." History teaches us that true innovation doesn’t come from improving the familiar, but from creating something entirely new. Before the steam engine, faster horses were the goal—but inventions like trains, airplanes, and cars redefined how we live, work, and travel.

AI’s future must follow a similar path—not just replacing traditional processes, but collaborating with humans to unlock new possibilities. Instead of rushing to apply AI to existing business scenarios, we should first establish pathways to uncover new value that enhances human imagination, creativity, and thinking.

Minduck: AI + Human Thinking Logic

At Minduck, we believe AI’s true potential lies in empowering people, not replacing them. Our product combines AI capabilities with human thinking logic, offering a tool that helps users organize ideas, think more clearly, and unlock creativity—without needing deep technical knowledge.

We didn’t stop at solving immediate user pain points; instead, we are paving the way to discover new scenarios where AI can enhance human capabilities.

This journey of exploration began when we introduced Minduck to the world on Product Hunt. That initial story marks our early footprints—simple yet ambitious—and we’re excited to continue refining our vision as we explore AI’s untapped potential together.