Health Tech: Mike Yan Yeung Of Zepp Health On How Their Technology Can Make An Important Impact On Our Overall Wellness
An Interview With David Leichner
Learn from failures: Persistence and learning from mistakes are key to success. Repeatedly making the same mistake indicates a decision, not a learning process.
In recent years, Big Tech has gotten a bad rep. But of course many tech companies are doing important work making monumental positive changes to society, health, and the environment. To highlight these, we started a new interview series about “Technology Making An Important Positive Social Impact”. We are interviewing leaders of tech companies who are creating or have created a tech product that is helping to make a positive change in people’s lives or the environment. As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Mike Yan Yeung.
Mike Yan Yeung has been chief operating officer of Zepp Health, a global smart wearable and health technology leader, since January 2015. Prior to Zepp Health, he served as a vice president at Shunwei Capital, focusing on investments in mobile Internet applications and smart technologies. From 2012 to 2014, he managed software development and online ads strategy for Microsoft. Mr. Yeung holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and a master’s degree from Stanford University, both in computer science.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series. Before we dive in, our readers would love to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory and how you grew up?
I was born in Guangzhou, China, in 1970. At the age of 11, in 1981, my family and I immigrated to the San Francisco Bay Area. Navigating a new culture and learning English was challenging at first, but I quickly adapted during middle school. My grades improved, and I went on to attend UC Berkeley and later Stanford, where I studied computer science. My interest in video games initially drove my passion for computer science, and being in Silicon Valley, I quickly recognized the potential for career growth in this field.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
My first job after graduating from university was at Oracle. I was thriving there when my former skip-level manager, Ed, unexpectedly asked me to join him as a senior programmer at a startup called Netscape. The decision was tough as startup culture was less pervasive back then, and I was climbing the corporate ladder quickly at Oracle. However, after learning about Netscape and the internet’s potential, I decided to make the bold move. It turned out to be an incredibly rewarding experience. I got to witness the growth of the internet first-hand and join the management ranks as Netscape expanded globally.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I am particularly grateful to Ed, my skip-level manager at Oracle. He recognized my technical and leadership skills, promoted me rapidly, and mentored me in team management. His approach to motivating and retaining talent was invaluable. I followed Ed to Netscape and later Chinadotcom, and if he hadn’t retired, I would have continued to work with him. His guidance and support were instrumental in my career development.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
My favorite quote is, “Where there is a will, there is a way.” This mindset helped me overcome numerous challenges, from learning English as a new immigrant to achieving academic and career success. It underscores the importance of determination and perseverance in overcoming obstacles and reaching goals.
You are a successful business leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
- Work hard, but more importantly, work smart: Working smart often yields better results than sheer hard work. Finding efficient methods to solve problems has been crucial throughout my career.
- Failure is the mother of success: Learning from mistakes is essential. The proverb “where there is a will, there is a way” has guided me through many difficult times.
- Constant life-long learning: Staying updated with new technologies and trends is vital, especially in technical fields. Continuous learning has helped me stay relevant and successful.
Which particular problems are you aiming to solve with your technology?
Our primary aim at Zepp Health is to address several pressing health and wellness issues that significantly impact a vast number of people globally. First, we are tackling the challenge of low physical activity levels, which puts over 1.4 billion adults at risk for chronic diseases, through our flagship wearables brand, Amazfit. In addition to fitness and wellness tracking technology, we integrate generative AI into our wearables to enable natural language interaction between the user and the device, making health management more intuitive and accessible. Our products function as a personal training coach and more, helping users stay active and optimize their fitness and wellness plans.
Sleep inadequacy is another area where our technology makes a significant impact. With 62% of adults worldwide reporting insufficient sleep and over 70 million adults in the US experiencing recurring sleep issues, our devices serve as mindfulness and sleep coaches. Rooted in scientific rigor and powered by AI, Zepp Aura — a personalized sound health solution — provides actionable insights with monthly sleep reports guided by our AI Assistant to optimize sleep patterns. Zepp Aura also goes beyond sleep with additional tools for assessing recovery and readiness for mental and physical activity. Zepp Aura’s EDA (electrodermal activity) tool, for example, identifies and tracks emotions to help users manage stress levels and grow awareness of how their bodies respond to different experiences. Coupled with Zepp Aura’s readiness report, users can improve their mind-body connection and unlock their wellness potential each day.
Zepp Health is also tackling the critical issue of hearing impairment through our hearable brand Zepp Clarity. By 2050, hearing impairment is projected to affect 2.5 billion people, yet only one in five individuals who could benefit from a hearing aid currently uses one (Source: WHO). The remaining four face risks, such as cognitive decline, depression, and isolation. We’re committed to providing discreet, nearly-invisible, easy-to-use hearables through Zepp Clarity to make this transformative technology more accessible to all.
Ultimately, our goal is to transform smart wearables into comprehensive wellness partners.
How do you think your technology can address this?
Our Zepp Digital Management Platform, including the Zepp OS, AI chips, biometric sensors, and data algorithms, provides 24/7 actionable insights and guidance. This helps users track and improve their health and wellness through detailed analysis on our Zepp App.
Zepp Health is committed to addressing critical health and wellness issues through innovative technology, all while operating as a distributed global entity. We have established regional hubs in key cities such as Beijing, Shenzhen, and Silicon Valley and extended our R&D, marketing, sales, operations, and management activities into the European Union, UK, and North America. This distributed approach ensures our operations remain resilient and adaptable, effectively mitigating risks such as geopolitical tensions, health crises, and economic fluctuations. Our senior executives, including Los Angeles-based founder and CEO Wayne Huang, oversee headquarters functions and participate in local market decision-making across major global hubs like Los Angeles, Amsterdam, and the San Francisco Bay Area. By leveraging global intelligence and resources and strategically positioning our sales and service teams, we can address local market needs worldwide with real-time data and insights to improve our technology offer. This global integration allows us to drive efforts to combat low physical activity levels, impaired hearing, and inadequate sleep, making our smart wearables trusted wellness partners for users in over 90 countries.
Can you tell us the backstory about what inspired you to originally feel passionate about this cause?
Attaining health and wellness goals is a universal desire. My interest in the health industry grew during my time as a venture capitalist. Health and wellness are perpetual needs, and I find working in this field spiritually rewarding. The aging population and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic further reinforced my belief in the importance of health and wellness.
How do you think this might change the world?
Zepp Health’s products are built from the ground up with a singular focus on wellness and fitness. We develop every component — from the chipset and biosensors to the operating system, algorithms, apps, and the device itself — to better serve our users’ wellness and fitness needs.
By placing health at the core of our products, rather than treating it as a mere byproduct of other accessories, we help people receive the most dedicated and comprehensive data and insights to support their fitness and wellness journeys. This enables users to make informed decisions about their health sooner rather than later. Our goal is to help make healthcare preventative, not reactive.
Keeping “Black Mirror” and the “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?
Data privacy is a critical concern. Smart wearables collect extensive personal data, so companies must comply with local privacy laws and prioritize user consent. Users should be aware of the data protection policies of the companies they purchase from to ensure their information is secure. Zepp Health, for example, has publicly committed to not selling user data. Our Zepp OS features advanced security measures that securely and privately store all user data on the cloud.
Based on your experience and success, can you please share “Five things you need to know to successfully create technology that can make a positive social impact”?
- Innovate by thinking out of the box: Leverage new technologies to find more efficient ways of doing things. For example, the internet enabled e-commerce, revolutionizing how we buy and sell products.
- Ensure practicality and affordability: Innovations should address real-life problems and be accessible to have a positive social impact. Practical, affordable solutions are more likely to be adopted and make a difference.
- Think big, but start small: Focus on excelling in one area before expanding. This approach increases the chances of success and allows for sustainable growth.
- Anticipate future trends: Instead of jumping on current trends, anticipate future ones to gain a first-mover advantage. For example, OpenAI anticipated the rise of AI, which paid off in the long run.
- Learn from failures: Persistence and learning from mistakes are key to success. Repeatedly making the same mistake indicates a decision, not a learning process.
If you could tell other young people one thing about why they should consider making a positive impact on our environment or society, like you, what would you tell them?
Making a positive impact on the environment benefits both current and future generations. Addressing issues like global warming is crucial before it’s too late. Everyone should contribute to improving our environment for themselves and their children.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US, with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why?
I admire Dr. Anthony Fauci for his science-based, data-driven health policy recommendations during the COVID-19 pandemic, despite facing significant political pressure. His commitment to science and ethics is inspiring, and I would love to have a conversation with him about health and wellness.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Readers can learn more about us through our websites: www.zepp.com, www.amazfit.com, and clarity.zepp.com. They can also follow us at: https://www.linkedin.com/company/zepp-health/ and https://www.instagram.com/amazfit.global/.
Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational, and we wish you continued success in your important work.
About The Interviewer: David Leichner is a veteran of the Israeli high-tech industry with significant experience in the areas of cyber and security, enterprise software and communications. At Cybellum, a leading provider of Product Security Lifecycle Management, David is responsible for creating and executing the marketing strategy and managing the global marketing team that forms the foundation for Cybellum’s product and market penetration. Prior to Cybellum, David was CMO at SQream and VP Sales and Marketing at endpoint protection vendor, Cynet. David is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Jerusalem Technology College. He holds a BA in Information Systems Management and an MBA in International Business from the City University of New York.
