- Insta360 gave away golden keys worth $45,000 each to top employees
- More than fifty golden keycaps have been distributed since 2019
- Employees used to receive gold bars, coins and stickers as party favors.
Popular webcam maker Insta360 has turned workplace awards into a spectacle with another stellar round of giveaways.
The Shenzhen-based imaging company recently handed out gold keys worth up to $45,000 each to selected employees during China’s “Programmers’ Day.”
This decision marks the continuation of a tradition which began four years ago and which has seen more than fifty prizes awarded.
A golden working tradition
As the price of gold has risen, so has the value of gifts, making each year’s celebration a talking point in China’s tech industry.
What might seem like a marketing stunt actually became part of what observers now call an established gold culture within the company.
Past celebrations have included a 50 gram pure gold bar given to a competition winner and a gold coin given to a newly married employee couple.
Even interns received gold stickers during the company’s tenth anniversary in July 2025.
The motif has earned Insta360 the local nickname “gold factory,” a title that blurs admiration with disbelief, and founder Liu Jingkang insists the symbolism is intentional and not excessive.
He says each golden key represents the idea that each strike “turns stone into gold,” linking reward to creative effort and innovation.
Liu believes that gold stands for reliability and stability, qualities he considers essential in both employees and technology.
Yet to outsiders, the line between genuine appreciation and calculated branding seems increasingly thin.
Lavish gestures like these can engender loyalty, but also invite scrutiny to determine whether such displays distract from the company’s long-term business direction.
Far from the glamor of precious metal, Insta360’s real strength lies in imaging technology.
Its Insta360 Link is one of the best webcams for content creators with solid performance in video conferencing and online collaboration environments.
The company continues to deliver updates with AI-enhanced features that improve the user experience for professionals and enthusiasts.
However, despite these technological advances, its image as a gold-rich company now risks eclipsing the very innovation that made it successful.
Via Toms material
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