Student's AI Magnifier for Kids to Launch Next Month

The device has a built-in camera that recognizes objects when a child presses the shutter, then plays age-appropriate voice responses. It comes in two versions: a premium model with an 8-megapixel camera and up to 16x magnification, priced at 1,280 yuan, and a budget screenless version aimed at scenic spots and museums. The premium edition offers character guidance, safety guidance, science popularization, a growth diary, and parent voice cloning. It uses a buy-out model with lifetime 4G and Wi-Fi connectivity and one year of token usage; additional tokens are free for the first batch of users.

Ouyang, who is still an undergraduate majoring in industrial engineering, started in cross-border e-commerce in his freshman year. After struggling with platform bans and failed business trips, he decided to build his own products instead of selling others'. In April 2025, he launched the magnifying glass project and recruited Chen Xulong, an industry veteran with more than a decade of experience in smart toy development, as co-founder. Chen oversees hardware, embedded systems, and supply chain, while Ouyang handles the intelligent agent, marketing, and financing.

The product's core differentiation is a six-dimensional age system that adjusts content according to a child's age. Parents can customize the depth of information, character guidance direction, trigger frequency, interaction tone, science depth, and safety guidance through a mini-program. To avoid a preachy "dad-tone," even the frequency of prompts can be adjusted. "It's not important for young children to recognize many flowers or bugs," Ouyang told Leiphone.com. "How to treat the world, maintain kindness, and understand boundaries matters more than knowledge." He criticized many AI toys on the market as "IQ taxes" that just add AI voice features to old hardware.

Rongyin develops its entire application layer in-house, a rare choice in the industry. According to Leiphone.com, most companies outsource the application layer to cloud vendors or chip solution providers, making it difficult to update features after sale. Ouyang believes that in-house development is essential to keep the product iterable as AI models evolve. "Giving users a one-time product is just a gimmick," he said.

The angel funds have already been used to complete the initial stock, and the company is now raising a new round. Commercially, Rongyin plans to cooperate with scenic spots: premium users can enter for free with their device, and screenless units will be available for rental and trial. The company also plans to launch AI telescopes and microscopes in the future.

Despite the early progress, the product faces significant challenges. The effectiveness of character guidance is difficult to measure, and the magnifying glass competes with established AI learning cameras such as Luka Doctor's Snap and Lingyu's Xiao Fangji. Whether the young founder and his team can pass the tests of mass production, quality control, and after-sales service remains to be seen.