Former ByteDance executive takes helm at Baidu-backed Shengshu amid generative AI boom

Luo Yihang’s transition from ByteDance’s Volcano Engine to Shengshu represents a significant hire by a leading Chinese AI video start-up

Reading Time:2 minutes

Luo Yihang, former head of AI solutions at ByteDance’s cloud unit, is now CEO at Shengshu AI. Photo: Handout

Published: 7:00pm, 12 Mar 2025

A former ByteDance executive has joined Shengshu AI as CEO, marking a significant hire by one of China’s leading artificial intelligence (AI) video start-ups amid fierce competition for talent in the rapidly evolving industry.

Luo Yihang – the former head of AI solutions at ByteDance’s cloud unit, Volcano Engine – will oversee research and development, product management, commercialisation and team management at Shengshu, according to a company representative.

Tang Jiayu, Shengshu’s co-founder and former chief executive, would assume the role of president, responsible for core functional areas including strategic development, branding, human resources, administration, finance, legal affairs and intellectual property, the representative said on Wednesday.

Founded in early 2023 amid the surge of interest in generative AI following OpenAI’s release of ChatGPT, Shengshu gained prominence in China last year with the launch of Vidu, a video-generation model seen as a competitor to OpenAI’s Sora.

Shengshu AI co-founder and president Tang Jiayu introduces the company’s new video tool. Photo: Ben Jiang

Beijing-based Shengshu has strong ties to Tsinghua University, from which members of its core team graduated. They include president Tang, chief scientist and computer science professor Zhu Jun, and chief technology officer Bao Fan.