Rednote Switches From Lipstick Tips To Global AI Intel Forum

Rednote is better known as Xiaohongshu or Little Red Book (photo: x @xiaohongshu)

JAKARTA - An application from China that used to be synonymous with cosmetic reviews has now turned into an AI discussion center that is crowded with global technology workers, especially the diaspora community in Silicon Valley.

Rednote is better known as Xiaohongshu or Little Red Book, becoming an arena where engineers, startup founders, to technology giant workers such as OpenAI, Meta and Google DeepMind exchange information, project demonstrations, and venting about the dynamics of the job market.

Since the surge in AI interest after the ChatGPT release, technology content in Rednote has increased dramatically. The company says this category has grown more than double in the past year, while the number of technology creators has tripled.

At first glance, this platform is still showing off its lifestyle and culinary recommendations; but behind that, the Rednote timeline has been surveyed with the latest AI model reviews like skincare reviews.

Tony Peng, founder of China's Recode AI newsletter, called Rednote the most honest place to read model evaluations. Whenever a new model appears, users upload performance analysis and live experience.

For many Chinese technology workers in the Bay Area, this application is also a warm space to share anxiety about the labor market, discuss compensation packages, and seek community support.

The background of Rednote users has also changed. Concerns about the potential for the ban on TikTok prompted some of Gen Z America to download the app in January 2025. Now, more than half of its users are the post-1995 generation.

Startup movement was also swept away. Brandon Chen, CEO of Intent, originally built an automatic system to arrange hundreds of documents when he applied for a visa. After he uploaded the footage 'before' at Rednote, he was flooded with requests for the tool to be used as a product. From a small experiment, Riffo was born. He also used Rednote to recruit a Japanese regulator candidate in a matter of minutes.

Qian Chen, a journalist and founder of Valley 101, said videos about AI Meta layoffs or ChatGPT 'Google competition achieved the best performance on Rednote compared to other platforms. Other AI startup founders, such as Bill Zhu from Pokee AI, say the app provides a close community where people really want to share experiences, including funding stories that are sometimes more honest than investor presentations.

Rednote itself embraces this momentum. In the entering season of September lecture, the application launched the AI Guide campaign and invited professors from various universities. The automatic translation feature also expands the base of international users, making cross-language conversations smooth. Even global AI figures such as Thomas Wolf from Hugging Face also attended the AMA session which was broadcast live on the platform.

The emerging phenomenon is a culture of sincere sharing. Question and answer sessions with scientists and founders of the AI company are increasingly popular as users are hungry for frontline knowledge.

For many tech workers, Rednote has evolved from a place to look for lipstick recommendations to a kind of lively discussion space reflecting the rapidly and personal changes in the global tech landscape.

At a time when some social media platforms are increasingly polarized, Rednote shows a different side: a space where the global technology community can share anxiety, curiosity, and experiments without losing the touch of a lifestyle that has been his identity for the past decade