Mixue: an AI subsidiary, in-store AI checks and smart supply chain

In 2024, two subsidiaries of Mixue, the Chinese tea and ice-cream chain, jointly set up Xuewang Aizhihui Technology (Zhengzhou), whose registered scope covers AI algorithms, a public AI data platform and service robots. The same year Mixue created three smart supply chain subsidiaries, and its stores use AI recognition to check food preparation against standards. The report gives no investment amount and no results.

At a glance

Item	Detail
Company	Mixue (MIXUE)
Industry	Retail
Use cases	In-store quality monitoring, supply chain
Functions involved	Store operations, supply chain
Reported results	None disclosed. The source describes company formation and intended uses only

Case details

Background

According to Rongzhong Finance (republished by 36Kr on 23 November 2024), Mixue built its business on very low prices (RMB 2 ice cream, RMB 4 lemonade, RMB 6 milk tea) aimed at lower-tier cities. It took one year to grow from 10,000 to 20,000 stores and had more than 30,000 stores at the time of the report. It filed for a Hong Kong listing in January 2024. Since 2012 the company has built its own factories, a smart manufacturing park and fully automated production lines to standardise drink preparation.

What they did

• Two subsidiaries jointly founded Xuewang Aizhihui Technology (Zhengzhou). Its registered scope includes AI theory and algorithm software, a public AI data platform, basic AI software, intelligent control systems, and the research and sale of intelligent robots. Its general manager, Su Huchen, is Mixue’s chief technology expert and deputy general manager of its process and digitalisation centre.
• Three smart supply chain subsidiaries were set up in 2024; two of them, in Zhengzhou and Guangxi, also list AI in their scope.
• In March 2022 Mixue had already founded the wholly owned Xuewang Xingji Technology (registered capital RMB 50 million), covering robot research, big data services and data processing.
• Across its stores, an “Internet + open kitchen” programme uses AI recognition to monitor whether products are made to standard, reducing manual inspection work.

Results and data

The report contains no performance figures. Its mentions of personalised recommendations and robots taking and delivering orders are the author’s speculation about possible uses, not results.

What to take from it

A chain’s easiest AI starting points are the parts it has already standardised at volume: kitchen quality checks and its own supply chain have data and clear standards, which makes them easier to automate than customer-facing features. A dedicated technology entity also helps with hiring and partnerships.

Limits

A company’s registered business scope is not evidence of what it actually does, and founding a subsidiary is not evidence of output. For cases like this, look for annual reports, prospectuses or official disclosures of results; this entry shows investment in AI, not that it has paid off.

Sources

Original source: Rongzhong Finance via 36Kr · Mixue moves into AI (2024-11-23, Chinese)

This is an industry research entry: a publicly documented third-party AI case, not a Moments client case. For projects Moments delivered itself, see client cases.