After Resigning as Chairman of miHoYo (米哈游), Cai Haoyu Is Reportedly Creating "Living People" in Singapore

Exit and new direction

It has been reported that Cai Haoyu, long associated with game studio miHoYo (米哈游) — the Shanghai developer best known internationally as HoYoverse and for hits like Genshin Impact — has resigned as the company's chairman and is moving to Singapore to build what Chinese media describe as "living people." Reportedly, the project aims to develop hyper-realistic, AI-driven digital humans or synthetic persons that can interact with real users in entertainment and service roles. Details remain scarce and unconfirmed beyond the initial reports.

What does "living people" mean — and why Singapore?

"Living people" is a loose, marketable label increasingly used in China for digital avatars, virtual influencers and AI-driven humanoid agents. Will they be purely virtual, embodied in robots, or hybrid commercial products? That is unclear. Singapore is a logical location for such an experiment: regional investors, a strong data and cloud infrastructure footprint, and comparatively high public trust in government oversight of AI have made the city-state a hub for experimental AI ventures. It has been reported elsewhere that surveys show Singaporeans express higher confidence in their government’s ability to regulate AI than many other countries.

Geopolitics, talent flows and industry context

The move also comes against a backdrop of tighter US export controls on advanced chips and rising scrutiny of Chinese tech firms. Is this a strategic diversification of talent and assets to a neutral, business-friendly jurisdiction? Possibly. Chinese gaming and creative-tech entrepreneurs have increasingly diversified overseas footprints to access talent, capital and regulatory stability while exploring adjacent fields — notably generative AI, digital humans and virtual economies.

Uncertainties and implications

Reporters have not yet produced corporate filings or on-the-record confirmations from Cai or miHoYo, so the claims should be treated as provisional. If true, the shift would signal another high-profile pivot from game development into synthetic-human technologies — a sector likely to raise fresh questions about content control, data governance and cross-border regulation as these products move from novelty to commercial scale. Watch for formal announcements from Cai or his new Singapore entity.