China’s digital economy is witnessing a new entrepreneurial wave: as AI tools become ubiquitous and business-registration reforms take hold, one-person companies (OPCs) are growing explosively, emerging as a mainstream choice for young people seeking alternatives to traditional employment. Official data show that by June 2025, the national stock of OPCs exceeded 16 million, accounting for nearly 30% of all enterprises, with new registrations in the first half of the year surging 47% year-on-year—underscoring how rapidly the new-economy startup trend is advancing.
According to the State Administration for Market Regulation and authoritative industry reports, this OPC expansion is concentrated in five light-asset sectors: digital content, cross-border e-commerce, software R&D, design/creative services, and business consulting. The core cohort comprises post-90s and post-00s entrepreneurs. Unlike traditional startups, modern solo founders leverage AI tools to offset individual execution gaps, enabling one person to accomplish work that previously required multi-person teams—significantly lowering entry barriers and aligning with younger workers’ desire to escape high-intensity jobs in favor of autonomous employment.
More than 20 cities across mainland China have rolled out dedicated support policies covering computing-power subsidies, startup grants, and free office space. Innovation hubs such as Shenzhen have introduced special measures for AI micro-startups to nurture new business models. The combination of policy incentives and AI productivity gains has propelled OPCs into the spotlight, with many viewing the trend as the next top-down commercial wave following the earlier “mass entrepreneurship and innovation” (shuangchuang) drive.
However, academics are urging a more sober assessment. Zhang Lin, a scholar at the University of New Hampshire who has long tracked China’s digital economy, said after field visits to Shenzhen’s tech parks that most OPCs today are essentially upgraded versions of traditional sole proprietorships—using AI mainly to boost efficiency rather than to introduce disruptive business models, resulting in a market that remains highly mixed in quality.
As the number of practitioners swells, competition is intensifying; AI’s widespread adoption is also compressing service pricing, making it harder for solo founders to sustain profits. Though often branded as “super individuals,” the vast majority of micro-entrepreneurs must shoulder business risks alone and face unstable income, blurring the line between entrepreneurship and gig work. Scholars conclude that the OPC boom reflects deeper socio-economic dynamics: narrowing channels for upward mobility among young people and the individualization of employment risk—structural issues that warrant attention amid the rapid growth.
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