13-Year-Old Creates AI Study App, Earns Rs 2.5 Lakh in 3 Days at National Competition

Shanghai Student Builds AI-Powered App Without Coding Background

Zhu Shuhan, a 13-year-old Shanghai student, has demonstrated how AI tools for app development are democratizing app development by creating a commercially successful study app called Zai Chang without any formal programming experience1

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. The Grade Two junior secondary school student built the AI app in just 3 to 4 days by describing her concept to a large language model, which generated the necessary code2

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. When technical challenges arose, she consulted AI-powered programming tools for solutions, completing the core functions without writing code herself1

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Virtual Parent Technology Addresses Study Habits Challenge

The study app, Zai Chang (meaning "On Site"), creates a virtual parent to monitor children's study sessions by allowing parents to upload their photograph, which the system uses to generate a digital supervisor1

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. The AI-powered app uses a camera to track the child during homework sessions and delivers voice reminders when it detects phone usage or movement away from the study area2

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. After each session concludes, the application generates a concentration report that provides parents with insights into their child's study behavior1

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Zhu Shuhan developed the concept from personal experience with distractions during homework when her busy parents couldn't supervise her studies. "My parents were so busy that they did not have time to accompany me while I studied. I often found myself distracted and discreetly using my phone while doing homework," she explained1

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. Recognizing that many classmates faced similar self-discipline challenges, she decided to create a digital solution1

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Commercial Success at National AI Product Marketing Event

At the national AI product marketing event held in Hangzhou from August 21 to 23, Zhu Shuhan achieved remarkable commercial success, generating 18,000 yuan (Rs 2.55 lakh) from 90 orders in just three days1

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. Her performance secured third place among more than 50 participants and earned her an additional 5,000 yuan prize1

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. Unlike traditional competitions that evaluate technical expertise, this event judged participants based on actual revenue generated by their AI-generated products during the competition period1

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Supportive AI Design Philosophy Guides Development

Zhu Shuhan deliberately chose to build supportive AI rather than punitive technology when developing Zai Chang. She originally included a "mother getting angry" feature designed to alert parents when children repeatedly became distracted, but removed it before the competition1

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. "I dislike whistle-blowers. I want my app to be gentle and allow room for improvement for children," she explained1

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. Her younger brother, a Primary One student, became one of the app's first users, and Zhu Shuhan reports the monitoring system has helped him study more diligently1

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Future Plans Signal Broader Market Potential

The experience transformed Zhu Shuhan's understanding of technology accessibility. "From this app development experience, I realised that as long as you have a good idea, AI can bring it to life," she stated1

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. She now plans to expand Zai Chang beyond the competition environment and make it available to more users at a lower price point if demand continues1

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. Online users have praised both the originality of her concept and her ability to use AI tools to transform an everyday problem into a functional product1

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. Watch how this case signals a shift in who can build commercial software products and whether revenue-based AI competitions become more common in evaluating young innovators.