ABOUT
Our Company
Founded in 2016, Soul App is a leading social platform among open-ended social networks in China. For younger generations in China, Soul provides a virtual space to make friends and explore diverse gamified activities using avatars based on common interests. Guided by its vision of “Making loneliness go away for all”, Soul gives users a space to voice their thoughts and values while fostering meaningful connections. It is continuously evolving into an iterative digital social playground built on the creativity of its user community.
Leadership
With deep insights and understanding of online social products and years of experience in data-driven businesses, Ms. Lu Zhang identified underserved social needs in China and independently developed Soul’s initial product prototype in 2015. As a female leader in the technology, media and telecoms, or TMT, sector, her distinctive perspectives on business operations and product design give the company a unique competitive edge, enabling Soul to become an inclusive and warm social networking platform, friendly and attractive to a wider audience. Prior to founding Soul, Ms. Zhang was the chief executive officer of Innext China, an enterprise consultancy, where she gained invaluable insights into data analytics and corporate expansion strategies in the internet space.
Mr. Ming Tao has served as Soul’s chief technology officer since 2017, and has been responsible for overseeing and building the company’s technology and development team. Prior to joining Soul, Mr. Tao was a technology leader at Waterdrop (NYSE: WDH), which is an online health care mutual aid platform in China. Before that, Mr. Tao was a research and development engineer at Sogou Inc. Mr. Tao received his master’s degree in computer science from Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications in 2013.
Mr. Ran Wang is responsible for Soul’s capital operation and finance. Prior to joining the company, Mr. Wang served at UBS AG Hong Kong Branch from 2013 to 2022 in various roles, most recently as a managing director in the global banking department. Before that, Mr. Wang worked at HSBC Bank Plc and HSBC Markets (Asia) Limited from 2005 to 2013 in various roles, the last of which was as an associate director in the global banking and markets department. Mr. Wang received his master’s degree in law and accounting from the London School of Economics and Political Science in 2004 and his bachelor’s degree in international trade from Beijing Foreign Studies University in 2003. In addition, Mr. Wang was recognized as a chartered financial analyst by the CFA Institute in the US.
Mr. Gaozheng Zhang has served as Soul's vice president of technology since 2017. Before joining the company, Mr. Zhang was a senior research and development engineer at Sogou Inc., where he was mainly responsible for the research and development supporting the company’s advertisement business and commercial platform. Mr. Zhang received his master’s degree in computer science from Beihang University in China in 2013.