Modern vaping was invented in China, and about 90% of the electronic cigarettes sold in the world are made there. But the country is currently home to only about two million e-cigarette users. That’s a situation former cigarette accessory industry executive Michael Gao wants to turn to his advantage with his vaping startup, Moti Technology.

Moti, founded in 2019 after restructuring earlier companies and with dual headquarters in Las Vegas and Shenzhen, makes and sells vaping pens and cartridges of flavored nicotine in China under the brand name Moti and launched its first products in January. Since then, it has grown quickly to become one of the biggest firms focused on China’s hotly competitive vaping market, where hundreds of companies jostle for customers and funding.