C olin Huang is a Chinese technology billionaire and the founder of PDD Holdings, the company behind the disruptive e-commerce platforms Pinduoduo and Temu. A data scientist by training and a former Google engineer, Huang applied his expertise to revolutionize online retail. He founded Pinduoduo in 2015, introducing a 'social commerce' model that integrated group buying and social media elements to offer consumers lower prices, a concept that proved wildly successful in China.

Pinduoduo's innovative approach allowed it to rapidly gain market share from established giants like Alibaba and JD.com, making it one of the fastest-growing tech companies in history. The company's successful IPO on the NASDAQ in 2018 turned Huang into one of China's wealthiest individuals. In a surprising move, he stepped down as CEO in 2020 and as chairman in 2021 at a relatively young age to focus on research in life sciences. His company has since launched the international shopping app Temu, which has also experienced explosive growth.