She once worked in a glass factory and now runs a $26 billion company and attends state dinners in China with Elon Musk and Tim Cook

Qunfei Zhou is one of the most compelling rags-to-riches success stories in the global technology industry. Born into a poor family in rural China, she dropped out of school as a teenager and worked in a factory grinding watch glass to support her family. Decades later, she became the founder of Lens Technology, a company now valued at about $26 billion. Zhou recently attracted global attention for sitting next to Elon Musk and Tim Cook at a high-profile state dinner in Beijing attended by Chinese and American business leaders.

Zhou Qunfei’s journey from factory worker to US$26 billion company

Zhou was born into a poor family in Hunan Province in 1970. Her mother died when she was five, and her father was partially blinded and disabled as a result of a workplace accident. Financial difficulties forced Zhou to drop out of school at 15 and move to Guangdong, where he worked in factories producing watch parts and glassware.She reportedly spent her days grinding glass on an assembly line and her nights learning accounting, computer operations and other technical skills. These years helped shape the discipline and technical expertise that would later define her business career.In 1993, Zhou used his savings of about 20,000 yuan and funding from relatives to establish a small workshop in Bao’an District, Shenzhen. The business initially focused on watch glass printing and processing. In the early days of the company’s establishment, Mr. Zhou was personally responsible for machine maintenance, production management and sales.As China’s mobile phone industry developed in the early 2000s, the factory received orders for mobile phone screens from domestic manufacturers including TCL Technology. Mr. Zhou recognized the huge potential of mobile phone glass and established Lens Technology to focus on the manufacturing and research of mobile phone screens.The big breakthrough came when the company approached international brands including Motorola for contracts. Lens reportedly invested heavily in meeting Motorola’s strict quality standards and later supplied glass for the Motorola Razr V3, one of the world’s best-selling mobile phones at the time. This success helped Lens establish further partnerships with Nokia and Samsung.

this apple Changing company partnerships

Lens Technology’s biggest turning point came in 2007, when Steve Jobs launched its first iPhone. Apple needed durable, high-quality touch screen glass, and Lens Technology became one of its key suppliers after working closely with Apple engineers to mass-produce the device’s glass panels.As iPhone sales exploded around the world, Apple became Lens Technology’s largest customer, accounting for more than half of the company’s annual revenue in the early 2010s. Later, Lens expanded its role in Apple’s supply chain by producing components for iPads, MacBooks and other products.This collaboration makes Lens Technology one of the world’s leading manufacturers of touch screen glass and consumer electronic components. The company later listed on the Shenzhen Growth Enterprise Market Index in 2015, helping Zhou become one of China’s richest self-made women. Lens will also complete its Hong Kong listing in 2025.During Donald Trump’s visit to China, Zhou Enlai attracted global attention when he appeared between Musk and Cook at a state dinner hosted by Xi Jinping. Several Chinese executives attended the dinner along with U.S. business leaders and officials. Over the past decade, the company has expanded beyond smartphones into smart cars, artificial intelligence hardware, robotics, wearables and aerospace-related manufacturing.Lens Technology currently supplies intelligent cockpit systems, exterior structural parts and advanced glass products to automobile manufacturers such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Li Auto. Investors have also linked the company to Tesla’s Optimus robotics program and SpaceX-related projects due to its work in robotics and aerospace manufacturing.

Lens Technology enters the field of artificial intelligence and robotics

Lens Technology is currently trying to reposition itself from a smartphone parts supplier to a “one-stop precision manufacturing solutions provider” for the artificial intelligence hardware industry. Its business now covers artificial intelligence glasses, smart cars, physical intelligence, wearable devices and commercial aerospace.In December, the company said on an investor platform that it had been working with “major North American customers” on smart cockpits, humanoid robots and aerospace-related products for nearly a decade. Lens also said it has developed ultra-thin photovoltaic glass modules and flexible glass products specifically designed for space applications.Lens Technology’s market value recently reached approximately 180.6 billion yuan, or approximately US$26.6 billion. Last year, the company achieved revenue of 74.4 billion yuan and net profit increased by 10.9% to 4 billion yuan. Smartphones and computers remain its largest business segments, with revenue exceeding 61 billion yuan.Zhou’s rise from factory worker to billionaire entrepreneur has made her one of the most well-known figures in China’s technology industry.