Supporters of Marcus Endicott’s Patreon can access weekly or monthly video consultations on this topic.
Chuangye Heima (创业黑马), listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange under ticker 300688, is a Beijing-based entrepreneurship services and innovation platform that has positioned the metaverse and digital human sector as its primary entry point into the digital economy. Beginning in 2022, with support from the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology and Chaoyang District authorities, the company developed what sources describe as China's first dedicated digital human industrial park, located in Chaoyang District; by late 2023 the park served more than 110 upstream and downstream digital human enterprises and had been officially designated "Beijing Municipal Digital Human Base" (北京市数字人基地). Operating under the "Heima Metaverse Accelerator" (黑马元宇宙加速器) framework, the company convenes listed companies, industry capital, and startups to advance the commercialization and ecosystem development of digital humans. Its subsidiary Beijing Shuzhi Yunke Information Technology Co., Ltd. (北京数智云科信息科技有限公司) serves as a core vehicle for digital human business operations, and the company holds official partner status with ByteDance's Volcengine platform. A strategic cooperation agreement with Alibaba's Qianwen (Qwen) large model anchors the AI infrastructure side of its offering, which includes AIGC cognitive training, large model deployment, and industry application development for small and medium enterprises. In November 2025, Chuangye Heima participated in establishing a dedicated digital human investment fund in Chaoyang District, marking a further evolution of its role from innovation service provider to builder of a regional AI and digital human industrial chain. The company's stock is categorized under virtual digital humans, AIGC applications, and computing power sectors on the exchange.
The dominant figure behind Chuangye Heima (创业黑马) is Niu Wenwen (牛文文), the company's legal representative and chairman. Niu graduated from Renmin University of China with a degree in economics in 1988, joined the Economic Daily in 1991, and by 2000 had become editor-in-chief of China Entrepreneur (《中国企业家》) magazine, a role in which he oversaw the publication's rise as one of China's most influential business titles. In 2008 he left to found the startup-focused magazine Chuangyejia (《创业家》), which in 2009 launched a "Black Horse" column aggregating early-stage founders, leading to the establishment of a founders' club with Niu as chairman. The entity that would become Chuangye Heima was formally incorporated in November 2011, with Niu as the principal co-founder alongside two institutional investors, and the company listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange's ChiNext board in August 2017 as the first publicly listed company in China's entrepreneurship services sector. He also serves as dean of Heima Academy (黑马学院) and has been designated a Zhongguancun High-Level Leading Talent. No other named executives at the level of vice-chairman, COO, or CTO are prominently surfaced in public sources; Niu Wenwen functions as the singular public face and controlling shareholder of the company.
The iHeima (i黑马网) platform serves as Chuangye Heima's (创业黑马) primary content and media channel, publishing daily technology and AI industry news under the "Heima Morning Report" (黑马早报) format. The articles visible from early March 2026 focus broadly on AI developments — including agentic AI, large language models, and AI-driven video and interactive content — reflecting the technological context in which the company's digital human industrial park and accelerator ecosystem operate. The site's sub-brands include Chuangyejia, Heimaxueyuan (Heima Academy), and Heimahui, with listed partners including Alibaba Cloud and UCloud, consistent with the company's previously documented strategic alignments. No digital human-specific articles appear on this particular page capture, though the platform's coverage of AIGC, AI agents, and virtual interactive content remains directly adjacent to the digital human sector the company has formally staked out as its core vertical.