To my fellow tech founders and investment partners: Wishing you a prosperous Year of the Horse!

In Chinese culture, the Horse symbolizes speed and momentum. But for those of us in the “Fire Horse” year of 2026, it’s not just about running fast — it’s about direction.

Many dismiss the CCTV Spring Festival Gala as mere entertainment. They’re missing the signal for the noise. For tech leaders, the Gala is the ultimate “National Strategic Narrative” stage — comparable to the Super Bowl for consumer brands or Apple’s WWDC for platform legitimacy.

Two signals from the 2026 Gala matter deeply for founders.

1. Physical AI: From “Tech Validation” to “National Recognition.”

The undisputed star of the show was the Unitree Robotics martial arts performance. When we saw humanoid robots executing “Drunken Master” sets and backflips with near-human fluidity, we weren’t just watching a demo.

We were witnessing the “National Certification” of Embodied Intelligence.

• The Data: Within two hours of the broadcast, robotics searches on JD.com surged 300%, with orders for popular models jumping 150%.
• The Investment: Companies like Unitree, MagicLab, and Galbot invested an estimated $10M–$15M to appear on the Gala stage.

This isn’t “burning cash.” It’s Agenda-Setting. Once a company appears on the Gala, it exits the tech circle and enters the national strategic narrative, where media attention compounds, government procurement becomes accessible, and capital confidence accelerates.

2. Emotional “Hard Currency” in an Uncertain Economy

The 128-yuan ($18 USD) “Four Horses” limited-edition blind boxes sold 120,000 units within minutes. On the secondary market? A 300% premium.

In 2026, consumer psychology has shifted. While “big-ticket” utility purchases are under pressure, “non-utilitarian consumption” is thriving. Users are hungry for:

• Instant happiness
• Social currency
• Emotional companionship

The takeaway for founders: No matter how “hardcore” your technology is, if it doesn’t tap into a human emotion, it will struggle to survive the cycle. The blockbusters of the future will be a symbiosis of Technology × Emotion.

The Ultimate Moat: Narrative Capability

As AI rapidly commoditizes the how, your only durable advantage becomes the why.

In 2026, the scarcest capability isn’t better algorithms — it’s the ability to translate technical power into shared belief, and to anchor that belief in the cultural moment your users already live in.

This is where most great technologies stall. They work — but they don’t mean anything.

The companies that break through are mastering a new formula emerging from China:

Technology × Emotion × Narrative.

This isn’t a local phenomenon. It’s a replicable global model for how tech companies move beyond feature competition and embed themselves into culture — not just markets.

Ultimately, the ‘hardest’ tech must serve the most ‘human’ needs.

Ride the momentum of this Horse Year. Build not only faster technology, but stronger narratives that scale trust, belief, and demand. If you don’t yet know how to do this, let’s figure it out together.