Yifei Wang is the Founder and CEO of AIBUILD, an applied AI venture builder and commercialisation platform headquartered at Melbourne Connect, focused on turning advanced AI research into scalable technology businesses. Since founding AIBUILD in 2017, Yifei has built an ecosystem spanning more than a dozen AI ventures and industry collaborations across supply chain, critical infrastructure, property, healthcare, education, robotics and industrial automation. AIBUILD works with universities, government, corporates and research organisations to take emerging technologies from research and experimentation through to real-world deployment and commercialisation.

Yifei is also the founder of the Applied AI Innovation Centre (AAIC) at Melbourne Connect, an initiative bringing together industry, researchers, startups, investors, government and emerging talent to accelerate the commercialisation and adoption of applied AI.

Under his leadership, AIBUILD was selected as a Top 40 APAC team and one of the Top 5 Australian teams in the NVIDIA Inception Grand Challenge. AIBUILD was also named a finalist in the 2026 Australian AI Awards in the AI Innovator – Industrial Sector category and has received recognition through the Australian Financial Review’s 2026 Most Innovative Companies program. AIBUILD has contributed to more than A$20 million in Australian government-backed research and innovation projects, including initiatives supported through the Cooperative Research Centres Projects program, the Australian Research Council and other federal research and commercialisation programs. Its technologies and ventures have been deployed across retail, supply chain, infrastructure, manufacturing, property, healthcare and other industry sectors.

Yifei received the University of Melbourne Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology Teaching Excellence Award in 2024 and was a finalist for the City of Melbourne Lord Mayor’s Small Business Innovation Award in 2025.

Beyond AIBUILD, Yifei is an Industry PhD Supervisor at the University of Melbourne, a startup mentor, and a member of the Asialink Leaders Program 2026. His work focuses on building commercially viable AI companies, translating research into real-world impact, and strengthening technology, investment and innovation connections between Australia and Asia.