13-Year-Old With No Coding Skills Builds AI ‘Digital Parent’ App, Earns Rs 2.5 Lakh In 3 Days | Education and Career News
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According to Zhu Shuhan, the entire process—from designing the app to developing its key features—took only three to four days.
News18
Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer limited to engineers and professional programmers. A 13-year-old Chinese student, Zhu Shuhan, is a striking example of how it can help turn an idea into a working product—even without coding knowledge. Zhu developed an AI-powered study app that reportedly generated revenue of nearly Rs 2.5 lakh within just three days of its launch.
Zhu, a junior secondary school student in Shanghai, came up with the idea after noticing a common problem among students. When parents are busy at work, children may spend time on their phones or leave their seats instead of studying. Zhu realised that she faced a similar challenge herself.
To address the problem, she decided to develop an AI-powered app that could act as a kind of digital parent, monitoring children while they study and reminding them to stay focused.
How does the AI study app work?
Zhu named the app “Zai Chang,” which means “present on the spot.” Parents first upload a photograph of themselves to the app. The AI then creates a virtual version of the parent based on the image.
While the child is studying, the app uses a camera to monitor their activity. If the child starts using a mobile phone or gets up from their seat, the AI uses the virtual parent’s voice to remind them to concentrate on their studies.
Once the study session ends, the app also generates a report showing details such as the child’s study duration and level of concentration.
90 orders and Rs 2.5 lakh in sales in three days
Zhu presented the app at a national AI product marketing competition held in Hangzhou in August. More than 50 participants took part in the competition, where winners were determined not by technical assessments but by the sales generated by their AI products.
Zhu’s app received 90 orders within three days, generating sales of around 18,000 yuan, or approximately Rs 2.5 lakh. Her strong sales performance earned her third place in the competition, along with a cash prize of around Rs 70,000.
Perhaps the most remarkable part of Zhu’s story is that she did not write the app’s code herself. She explained her idea to a large AI language model, which helped generate the code needed to build the application. According to Zhu, the entire process—from designing the app to developing its key features—took only three to four days.
The experience, she said, showed her that having a good idea can be just as important as possessing technical skills, as it can help turn an idea into a functioning product.
Zhu said that if interest in the app continues, she plans to improve it and make it available to more people at a lower price. She believes that when used appropriately, it can make children’s learning more disciplined and easier to manage.
Zhu Shuhan’s achievement highlights that technical expertise is no longer the only path to innovation. With a clear idea and the right AI tools, even young students with no coding background can experiment with building real-world solutions.
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September 02, 2026, 10:30 IST
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