Born in Chengdu, Sichuan province, Yi Shiqi has accumulated nearly 10 million followers on video-sharing platform Douyin, also known as Tik Tok. Every two days, she updates her feed with a short clip illustrating the funny, sitcom-like relationship she has with her boyfriend.

Except that she's not real. She is just a character simulated by computer.

"We designed her as a neighborhood girl, who is a little lazy, and cares about looks and money like most people do," Song Wei, founder of Chengdu Yiji Culture Technology Co, Yi's developer, says.

The company has recently received an angel investment from The Force Capital worth millions of yuan.

"The fund will be used for Yi's content incubation and commercialization, including livestreaming, vocal database development and song release," she says, adding that in the future, they will "sign" new virtual idols to build a "virtual star agency".

Lu Yuxiang, founder of The Force Capital in Chengdu, says that Yi's team combines creative content and Yi in a way which is vital for building virtual idols. Opened in May last year, Yi's Douyin account was recently valued at over 11 million yuan ($1.6 million).

"In the future, we will release a short sitcom series, which will unveil Yi's background and her life," Song says.

Born on Jan 12, 2001, Yi will "go to the Sichuan Conservatory of Music" soon, a designed plot for the character that will lay a foundation for her to expand her "career" as a singer and dancer, and encounter friendship, loss and love, just like every teenager does, according to Song.

After a year of development, a 3D version of Yi was released last month. With one blue and one brown eye, she wears a pair of headphones around her neck and two panda-shaped hairpins.

"Many brands have registered their interest in cooperating with us, but we are careful in inking a deal," Song says, adding that it depends on what will be good for Yi's career. Last year, on her Douyin, Yi promoted products ranging from facial creams to video games. "This year, there will be cooperation between Yi and some bigger brands," Song says.

Song says she hopes that within the year, Yi will have accrued 20 million followers. Currently, about 57 percent of Yi's followers are male and about 40 percent of the character's total fans are aged between 18 and 25.

"My team has injected love and passion into the program. I see Yi as my daughter and accompany her every day as she grows up," Song says.

Growing market

Following in the footsteps of trailblazing Japanese virtual idol sensation Hatsune Miku, who sings with a synthesized voice, an entire industry has sprung up and an increasing number of virtual idols, like Yi, have appeared.

According to short-video app data analysis service Caas Data, as of March 29, there were 23 such virtual accounts, each with more than 5 million fans on Douyin.

One of the most successful digital idols in China is Luo Tianyi, who was launched in 2012.

Last month, she was on the March cover of the Harper's Bazaar's e-zine Mini Bazaar. From the traditional Yellow Crane Tower to the cherry blossoms at the Wuhan University campus, Luo's pictures take readers on a tour of the capital of Hubei province, China's hardest hit city during the COVID-19 outbreak.

"Virtual idols are not real humans, but they have a large number of followers, which indicates that a market with a huge potential is emerging," notes a consumption trend report by the Trends Bigger consultancy in Beijing.

The February report showed that nearly 70 percent of its respondents keep an eye on the latest developments in the virtual idol market.

Unlike human influencers who will get old, or may get embroiled in a scandal of some sort, digital influencers are young, flexible, manageable and controllable, which makes them the perfect idol, according to the report.

So far, Luo has collaborated with at least 12 brands, including US fast-food chain KFC, Switzerland's food manufacturer Nestle, American household goods giant Procter & Gamble and homegrown skin care brand Pechoin.

"Luo is a predecessor in this sector, which sets a good example and is something we can learn from," Song admits, adding that, while Yi is more like an actress now, her plans to go to music school means that she might one day hit the stage, like Luo, to tap the country's huge ACG (anime, comics and game) culture market.

Before that, however, Song is busy preparing for Yi's debut livestream.

IQiyi statistics showed that thanks to the fast development of the internet and social media, the country's ACG fan base reached 490 million by the end of last year, a number that is expected to grow steadily in the coming years.

Citic Securities estimated that the subculture market's value will reach 210 billion yuan by 2022.

Online and offline

Thanks to technology development, such as virtual reality and holograms, these virtual idols are unplugging from their offline existence to interact with fans in the "real" world. "Like real human stars, the virtual ones can earn money through various means, including concerts, advertisements, online and offline appearances, and by shooting films or TV series," says Xiao Mingchao from Trends Bigger.

He adds that virtual idols are creating a brand-new consumer experience for offline services, blurring the lines between the virtual and reality.

The latest example was in December when Luo participated in a hugely successful live performance at Bilibili's New Year Gala, accompanying pipa master Fang Jinlong in a classic rendition of Jasmine Flower.

"The effect is so amazing that I cannot stop watching it. Luo, you are the jasmine fairy," Ling Ziwan, a hardcore fan of Luo, said following the gala.

To prepare for the four-minute song, Luo's development team prepared for more than four months.

"The whole chain operating Luo's IP covers hundreds of people," Bilibili's Chai Xuanhong told investment publication PE Daily.

In another example, a campaign last year by skincare brand, SK-II Power of Pitera, featured singersongwriter Dou Jingtong, Japanese actress Ayase Haruka, supermodel Behati Prinsloo and Japanese virtual influencer Imma, who was created by Japanese tech company ModelingCafe in 2018.

If it is not possible for a virtual idol to appear on the same stage as a real person, perhaps it still might be able to attend a fashion show.

In 2018, Lil Miquela, a virtual influencer created by US company Brud in 2016, attended several fashion shows in Milan, Italy. That same year, a newly launched website Dazed Beauty hired Miquela as its arts editor.

The half-Brazilian and half-Spanish woman, who claims that she is 19, has 2 million followers on Instagram.

For Yi's developers, besides the domestic operation, their next step will be to explore overseas opportunities, including the creation of Instagram and YouTube accounts.

The social media influencer marketing industry－covering both real and virtual influencers－is on track to be worth up to $15 billion by 2022, up from around $8 billion last year, according to estimates by Business Insider Intelligence based on Mediakix data.

IQiyi concluded in its report that human celebrities are for now, but virtual idols will be the future.

Contact the writer at wangqian@chinadaily.com.cn