How AI is driving 'one-person businesses' in China.

For Wang Yao, founder of an OPC (Online Public Company) related to a personal channel called Wiley, the appeal lies not in scale, but in flexibility and low risk. Through sharing content on social media about personal development, life abroad, and cost-saving tips to improve one’s quality of life, her channel has attracted over 100,000 followers on Xiaohongshu—a popular e-commerce-integrated social media platform in China.

In real life, Yao also runs a business focused on consulting services and brand collaborations. More importantly, she is her own boss.

“The company operates very efficiently because it has no debt, low costs, and high flexibility,” Yao told China Daily , describing his business model as “making money by turning trust into revenue.”

According to Yao, more and more people are realizing that entrepreneurship doesn’t necessarily require a large team, venture capital, or support from corporations. “People are gradually realizing they don’t need to join a large company or pursue fundraising and IPOs,” she says. “One can still build a successful business using their own skills and influence.”

Yao attributes the current stability to AI’s crucial role. Thanks to artificial intelligence, she doesn’t need to hire content writers, designers, or video editors, keeping OPC’s operating costs low while allowing her to experiment with new content directions or business models with very low risk.

“Single-person businesses are a product of the AI era,” Karen Dai, founder of SoloNest, a small event organizer in Shanghai, told Straitstimes . “Previously, running a business independently was very difficult, but AI has significantly reduced the barriers to entry.”

Dai argues that OPC is one of the answers to the “35-year-old curse”—a term referring to the high turnover rate among tech companies at this age. “At 35, there seems to be an invisible line,” said Dai, 38. “People may face challenges at work, and businesses are also reconsidering the suitability of personnel at this age.”

Wei Xin, 34, a Shanghai resident, said she had anticipated her job being replaced by AI years ago. Despite graduating from a prestigious American university, she returned to China to take a course in Gemini before transitioning to social media content creation. “I’m a little worried about AI,” she said. “If I don’t use it, if I don’t engage with it, I might be eliminated soon.”

“The widespread use, accessibility, and increasing usefulness of AI are enabling individuals to function like an entire team,” said He Xia, a former expert at the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT).

He noted that AI tools now integrate many functions, from software development and search to image creation and audio/video production. AI agents like OpenClaw are also helping to reduce programming barriers, providing opportunities for entrepreneurs with little technical knowledge.

This trend is currently reshaping China’s startup landscape. According to a report on the development trends of private enterprises in China from 2025-2030, published in February by the Zhongguancun Talent Association, the number of private enterprises (OPCs) nationwide exceeded 16 million by June 2025, accounting for 27.4% of the total number of enterprises in China. In the first half of 2025 alone, the country recorded 2.86 million newly established private enterprises, a 47% increase compared to the same period in 2024 and nearly a quarter of all newly registered enterprises. Meanwhile, People’s Daily, citing sources, reported that by the end of 2025, nearly 7.32 million new OPCs will have been registered in China, a 42.3% increase compared to the same period in 2024.

According to Rest of World , the one-person-entrepreneur (OPC) trend began spreading last November when Suzhou, a high-tech manufacturing hub, pledged to become a destination for “individual AI entrepreneurs” by building 30 OPC communities and aiming to nurture 1,000 one-person businesses by 2028. Other localities quickly followed suit with their own incentives. For example, Shanghai’s Pudong district offered to cover computing costs for startups up to 300,000 yuan ($44,000). Wuhan is offering special loans to OPCs in the AI sector, promising to help “partially offset losses” if they default.

Meanwhile, according to AFP , in November 2025, Suzhou city pledged to train more than 10,000 OPC talents by 2028 and invest approximately $100 million in areas such as robotics and healthcare. In March, Chengdu city also announced a subsidy of about $2,800 for graduates to establish one-person AI companies. According to ThinkChina , on March 16, Guangdong province issued its first provincial-level OPC policy, proposing to build 100 ecosystem communities and cultivate 1,000 model OPC companies by 2028 to promote regional competitiveness.

According to Our China Story , OPC entrepreneurs are primarily those born after 1990 and after 2000. This generation is proficient in digital tools, pursues flexible and autonomous working methods, and directly translates personal creativity and professional skills into commercial value.

Kyle Chan, a researcher at the Brookings Institute, assesses China’s stimulus measures as a catalyst for the take-off of small businesses. Funding for OPCs is a low-cost solution to address unemployment, as millions of young Chinese workers aged 16-24 are currently unemployed.

Alibaba chairman Kuo Zhang said that 30-40% of the e-commerce platform’s customers are “independent entrepreneurs.” Earlier this year, the company launched Accio Work, an AI assistant designed specifically for small businesses, which now has 10 million monthly users and helps manage customer service, tax compliance, marketing, and logistics.

However, analysts also warn that AI alone cannot guarantee long-term success for businesses. “Many people focus only on the impact of AI on productivity, overlooking the fact that, in the ‘human plus AI’ model, humans remain the core competitive factor,” said Professor Zhou Guangsu of the School of Labor and Human Resources at Renmin University of China.

Guangsu believes that AI can help entrepreneurs quickly build products and applications. However, commercialization still heavily depends on business acumen, market understanding, and the ability to adapt under pressure.

Pan Helin, a member of the Expert Committee on Information and Communication Economy under China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, argues that OPC (Operations for Procurement) should not become a trend if it is merely symbolic. “Content is more important than form,” Helin said. “Reducing transaction costs, improving the business environment, and strengthening policies to support talent are key to the sustainable development of the industry.”

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