Squirrel Ai Founder Highlights AI-Driven Education at Saudi Arabia’s FII9

Derek Haoyang Li, founder and chairman of Squirrel Ai, represented China's education technology sector at the 9th Future Investment Initiative (FII9) conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, announced in a press release. The event, held from October 27 to 30, 2025, gathered more than 8,000 leaders from politics, business, and industry to discuss global growth under the theme “The Key to Prosperity: Unlocking New Frontiers of Growth.”

Li joined Pearson CEO Omar Abbosh and ETS CEO Amit Sevak in a panel on the future of education. He emphasized the need for education systems to adapt to automation-driven changes in the global labor market, citing McKinsey projections that nearly one-third of jobs could be replaced by automation by 2030. Li advocated for a shift from standardized education models to personalized, AI-supported lifelong learning.

Using Squirrel Ai’s intelligent adaptive learning system as an example, Li described how AI can assess each student’s knowledge mastery and create tailored learning paths that improve efficiency and engagement. He said the approach enables students to learn independently and at their own pace, regardless of time or location.

Li also discussed the potential of AI to redefine how talent is measured, proposing a move from traditional academic credentials to competency-based assessments. He noted that AI-driven evaluation systems can quantify problem-solving, reasoning, and collaboration skills, forming continuously updated “competency profiles” that reflect real-world abilities and support more accurate talent selection.

Li’s participation highlighted the growing influence of China’s education technology sector and its role in developing AI-powered solutions for global education and workforce transformation.