Black Lake CEO Discusses AI for 40,000 Factories
On September 16, 2026, Black Lake Technologies founder and chief executive officer Yuxiang Zhou attended the Fortune Leaders Forum 2026 in Macau, joining the panel titled “The Leadership Agenda: The Road Ahead.” In the forum, Zhou addressed how artificial intelligence is reshaping leadership, organizations, and entire industries, emphasizing that the key question for leaders is no longer merely how to use AI but how to redefine the relationship between people and AI agents.
Zhou explained that at Black Lake the transition is already underway: AI agents are increasingly employed for reasoning, analysis, and guidance, while human leaders continue to motivate teams, build trust, and maintain human connection. He framed the central challenge as “How do you figure out the best ways for leaders and executives to copilot AI?”
Reflecting on Black Lake’s origins, Zhou recalled that the company initially hired former food couriers as salespeople because they possessed deep knowledge of China’s industrial towns and small factories, enabling close customer engagement on the ground. This frontline approach informed the firm’s understanding of factory operations and the daily decisions manufacturers face.
Over the past decade, Black Lake has helped factories digitize production processes. With AI now becoming more capable, the next phase involves embedding AI deeper into production decisions. Zhou noted that manufacturing is moving from standardized, large‑batch production toward a more agile model characterized by smaller batches, faster turnaround, and rapidly changing demand. Black Lake is deploying AI agents across order processing, quotation, scheduling, quality management and fulfillment, and is also exploring how AI can link design, engineering, production coordination and manufacturing capacity.
Zhou highlighted that the larger opportunity for AI lies in fundamentally changing how industries operate, stating, “The real Google moment should happen only when you restructure the industry.”
Founded in 2016, Black Lake Technologies is described as a leading industrial AI‑agent platform that integrates AI across the full production lifecycle and accelerates the shift from data‑driven manufacturing to AI‑driven industrial transformation. To date, the company has empowered nearly 40,000 factories globally. Its customer base includes high‑profile brands such as Tesla, McDonald’s, Mixue Group, GAC Group and Nongfu Spring.
By the number of factories served, Black Lake has become a leading technology provider in the Asia‑Pacific region and was among the first companies selected for the World Economic Forum’s MINDS program.
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