Carol Yu is the Founding Partner and Senior Vice President of Shenzhen InnoX Academy (InnoX), founded since 2021. It is an innovation ecosystem dedicated to nurturing entrepreneurial talents and incubating next-generation tech startups. Co-founded with Professor Zexiang Li of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology—renowned for having incubated more than 200 smart hardware companies, with 4 listed companies and 11 unicorns, including DJI—InnoX pioneers a model that integrates education, incubation, and ecosystem development. Its mission is to empower young innovators to transform ideas into market-ready products through a systematic, hands-on process that focuses on AI+hardware innovation. More than 900 entrepreneurs and 90 startup projects are currently incubated, and over 30 companies are in the angel investment stage, with a combined valuation exceeding RMB 2 billion.
Before co-founding InnoX, Carol built an acclaimed media career as Assistant Chief Editor, Producer, and Host of “Visionaries,” a weekly television interview series on Phoenix TV featuring over 140 global thought leaders. The program explored the future of technology, health, education, and society, winning the Gold Award for Best Business & Finance Profile Interview at the HSMC Business Journalism Awards for three consecutive years and being named one of China’s Top 5 Most Influential Business TV Programs by Hurun in 2020. Carol was also the Head of Phoenix U Radio, leading its launch and operations, and also a TV news reporter and broadcaster. Prior to her media career, she worked at Morgan Stanley’s Investment Banking Division and the World Bank.
Recognized as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, Carol also serves on the WEF Global Future Council on Leadership. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Stanford University and a Master’s in Public Policy from Harvard Kennedy School. An author of Visionaries: Exploring the Future of Education with 100 World Leaders (2021), Carol is a regular columnist across Greater China, and an experienced tri-lingual moderator and speaker at international forums. Her work continues to bridge technology, education, and leadership—helping the next generation of innovators build ventures that “do good and do well at the same time.”