From Image Restoration to Creative E-commerce, Imperial Vision Technology Expands Consumer Business with AI

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Blurry and mottled images, yellowed and stuttering videos... Old footage that once relied on manual frame-by-frame processing is now reborn clearly at dozens of times the efficiency, powered by technologies such as AI super-resolution and large-model generation. The magic of technology has also opened the door to the "visual" business for Fujian Dishi Technology Group Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Dishi Technology").

As the first company in China engaged in AI video quality restoration and 4K/8K content enhancement, over ten years, as AI technology has leapt from the "small model era" to the "era of large models and agents," Dishi Technology has gradually advanced from image restoration to creative e-commerce agents.

From providing digital and intelligent imaging services to B-end clients to reaching global C-end users, Dishi Technology, relying on the triple integration of technology, culture and capital, continues to broaden the imaginative space of the industry. As of now, the company has secured over 100 million yuan in financing from multiple institutions including Haisong Capital and Kaitai Capital.

Dishi Technology founder Gao Qinquan believes that investment has gradually become more rational at present; compared with hyped concepts, capital values a company's revenue and the sustainability of its entire business model more. "Fewer and fewer capitals are paying for stories; you still have to make products that users find 'easy to use.'"

Dishi Technology founder Gao Qinquan. Photo provided by the interviewee

In March 2016, AlphaGo defeated world Go champion and professional 9-dan player Lee Sedol 4:1, stirring up waves of artificial intelligence worldwide.

This news let Gao Qinquan, then doing AI image processing research in the UK, smell a business opportunity. Gao Qinquan realized that a new era was about to arrive. In November 2016, Gao Qinquan returned to China to start a business, teaming up with Dr. Tong Tong, who had studied with him in the UK, to found Dishi Technology, focusing on AI and computer vision technology research and industry application product development.

Why take "vision" as the entry point into the AI wave? In Gao Qinquan's view, this is not only closely related to the research direction of himself and his team members, but also driven by market demand.

"With the spread of the mobile internet and smartphones, the transmission of massive images and videos faces the pain points of high bandwidth costs and low resolution, and AI super-resolution technology can exactly solve this problem. At that time, many domestic video platforms had demand for image quality restoration, and as the market developed, the company's clients began to be mainly broadcasters and telecom operators," Gao Qinquan said.

Restoration of important historical image materials, digital restoration of old films, image restoration for themed documentaries, image restoration for classic TV programs... As of now, Dishi Technology has cumulatively restored more than 100 million photos and cumulatively restored and enhanced more than 10,000 hours of video.

From manual frame-by-frame processing to automated efficiency dozens of times higher, AI film and television restoration also provides a new path for the protection of film and television cultural heritage and content regeneration. Gao Qinquan introduced that restored old films can re-enter cinemas, streaming media and the copyright market, further activating the commercial potential of existing IP. At the same time, with technological development, the threshold for restoration has sunk from professional studios to small and medium-sized teams, enabling more institutions to have the capacity for large-scale rescue and re-release.

Opening up global C-end business opportunities, "the right direction matters more than burying your head in hard work"

"From an industry perspective, if you pursue growth, B-end business is cyclical. The company's expansion into C-end business is also going with the flow," Gao Qinquan said. Many companies are pushing into C-end image restoration, which to a certain extent has strengthened Dishi Technology's confidence in entering the field.

Gao Qinquan set his sights on overseas markets with more opportunities, but to gain a firm foothold, what matters is no longer just making the product itself well, but also doing operations well. Among them, AI and big data driving are key, which can help the company gain a more comprehensive perspective and make more precise judgments.

Gao Qinquan cited Bending Spoons, an Italian internet application developer listed on the US stock market in July this year, as an example: its core capability lies not in creation but in strong mid-platform operational capability. It is reported that the "Buy-and-Build" business model adopted by Bending Spoons focuses on acquiring mature digital products that have proven product-market fit but are undervalued or poorly operated by the market, and realizes value enhancement through deep transformation and optimized operations.

"Choosing the right direction matters more than burying your head in hard work," Gao Qinquan said. Relying on generative AI technology, Dishi Technology has built a matrix of C-end image processing and generation application software products including PicMa, PicMa Studio, Mira and others. Among them, PicMa has served users in more than 100 countries worldwide, processing nearly one million photos per day on average.

In addition, based on nearly two decades of accumulated visual AI technology, Dishi Technology has self-developed the Hetu imaging large model, which has passed the generative AI service filing of the Cyberspace Administration of China, and has applied for and been granted more than 50 national invention patents.

Integration of technology, culture and capital, continuously tapping the market potential of emotional value

"Now, fewer and fewer capitals are paying for stories; more are paying for technology that can be implemented and make money, and for long-term moats. You still have to make products that users find 'easy to use,'" Gao Qinquan believes. In the era of large models, many products have the opportunity to be redone. For example, GenKi AI, the creative e-commerce platform under Dishi Technology, is a redo of e-commerce.

At present, the global creator economy is expanding rapidly, but a significant structural gap has always existed: most creators are good at IP incubation and creative output, but lack capabilities in product design, supply chain management and cross-border operations, and lack end-to-end infrastructure from creativity directly to global sales.

It is introduced that GenKi AI is an AI agent infrastructure covering the closed loop from IP creation to commerce that Dishi Technology focuses on building, constructing a four-step full-chain closed loop of "IP asset generation—e-commerce page creation—marketing material production and distribution—global fulfillment connection," forming a complete commercial transformation path from creative input to revenue arrival. At present, it has attracted a large number of artists, illustrators and AIGC creators to join.

At present, emotional value is gradually becoming an important factor affecting consumption decisions, and also an important source for brands to achieve differentiated competition and create new growth space. Gao Qinquan said that the integration of technology, culture and capital is expected to create a larger market for emotional value.

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