Cover Zhou Qunfei and Apple Inc.’s chief operating officer Jeff Williams in a touchscreen factory (Photo: Weibo / @Derrick_Zhang_)
Zhou Qunfei and Apple Inc.’s chief operating officer Jeff Williams in a touchscreen factory (Photo: Weibo / @Derrick_Zhang_)
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Zhou Qunfei started with HK$20,000. Now she rules a tech empire, which is one of the key suppliers to Apple and Samsung
Zhou Qunfei, one of the richest women in China, may not be a household name, but people around the world interact with her “creations” every day.
Zhou is the founder and chairwoman of Lens Technology, a leading touchscreen manufacturer headquartered in Hunan, supplying touchscreens to tech giants like Apple, Samsung, and Tesla. According to Forbes, the 54-year-old is one of the top five of the 50 richest self-made women on earth in 2025, with a net worth of US$11 billion (approximately HK$86.35 billion).
From working as a factory labourer to becoming a billionaire queen, here, Tatler takes a look at five things about Zhou, whose journey is a testament to perseverance and determination—an impressive story built on hard work and resilience.
Also read: 10 Women Entrepreneurs You Need To Know In Hong Kong
Behind Zhou Qunfei’s success was a humble beginning
Zhou was born in a small village in rural Hunan province in 1970, and she experienced tragedy at a young age. Her mother passed away when she was five years old, and her father was partially blind and lost a finger in an industrial accident. She left school and her hometown when she was 15, and took a job in a glass factory in Shenzhen to help support her family.
Zhou Qunfei started with HK$20,000
Zhou wasn’t just another worker—she was a learner, even though she dropped out of school, she studied business, accounting and technology in evening classes at Shenzhen University after working 16 to 18 hours. After gaining valuable experience and saving up for around HK$20,000, she made the bold decision to leave her job at 22 and launched her lens workshop in a small rented house in Shenzhen, which eventually transformed into Lens Technology after two decades.
Zhou would later look back on that period of life, commenting in a 2015 interview with Chinese media that, “I had a different drive from others because they all came from downtown areas and had money, but I didn’t have any. All I wanted was to change my destiny with my own efforts.”
Turning point in Zhou Qunfei’s life
Above Lens Technology is a company that creates touchscreens, founded by Zhou Qunfei (Photo: pexels)
Lens Technology is a company that creates touchscreens, founded by Zhou Qunfei (Photo: pexels)
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In 2003, Zhou was still producing glass for watches when she received an unexpected phone call from executives at Motorola. They asked if she could help develop a glass screen for their new device, the Razr V3, at a time when most mobile phone displays were still made of plastic.
This opportunity proved to be a turning point. After working with Motorola, orders began pouring in from other major phone makers such as HTC, Nokia, and Samsung. Then, in 2007, Apple revolutionised the market with the iPhone, introducing a glass touchscreen that set a new industry standard. Apple chose Lens Technology as a supplier, catapulting Zhou’s company into a dominant position in China’s tech manufacturing landscape—and making Zhou a billionaire in the process.
Zhou Qunfei leads by example
The billionaire seems most at home pacing the floor of her factory. Zhou understands the factory floor intimately; her years of hands-on labour have given her a deep knowledge of the operations—a valuable perspective she still carries today.
She’ll dip her hands into a tray of water to check if the temperature is just right, and she can explain the intricacies of heating glass in a potassium ion bath. Even when passing a grinding machine, she’s known to nudge technicians aside and take their place, if only for a moment.
It is well reported that Zhou keeps living quarters in her office, allowing her to work up to 18 hours a day. Beyond walking the factory floor, she is also renowned for her careful attention to every step of the manufacturing process, consistently leading by example and through hands-on involvement.
Zhou Qunfei remains low-key
Zhou’s father, a skilled craftsman, lost a finger and most of his eyesight in an industrial accident. Raised by her father, Zhou took care to place everything in the right spot so he could find things easily. Living with him taught her to be meticulous with every detail—a quality she later brought to her workplace, where she became known for her high standards and attention to detail.
Despite her great fortune and success, Zhou remains low-key. “I’m not qualified to be a high-profile person,” she said in a 2015 interview. “I think it’s important not to get carried away when you are successful, and not to let yourself feel gloomy when times are bad”—a lesson she credits to her father.
With these values guiding her, Zhou is poised to continue leading Lens Technology to new heights in the touch-screen industry.
