The infrastructure for what is known as the one-person company (OPC) is being built in major cities across China's Yangtze River Delta region, with many experts saying OPCs can contribute to the national economy via new industrial growth and employment.

Local governments are providing the relevant support for OPCs, from office space and funding to talent policies and IP development, which is expected to not only boost innovation but also attract high-value talent, upgrade industries and drive high-quality growth, particularly in cutting-edge sectors.

Regarded as a new form of entrepreneurship, an OPC can be established by a single individual responsible for an entire project from idea to final implementation, according to a report by Xinhua.

The OPC term does not refer strictly to a single person, but can be used to describe startups operated by very small teams. With an emphasis on efficiency gains from AI, companies with fewer than 20 employees can be classified as OPCs, according to the Shanghai Commission of Economy and Informatization.

Lu Ming, a professor with Shanghai Jiao Tong University's Antai College of Economics and Management, said the rapid rise of OPCs is primarily driven by the development of artificial intelligence.

"As AI greatly empowers a large number of positions with high efficiency, it is natural to see the rise of a huge amount of flexible employment and OPCs," Lu said.

According to Lu, internet content creators supported by Shanghai illustrate the trend.

"Their core competitiveness lies in creativity, while tasks such as writing and formatting can be handled by AI, eliminating the need for full-time accountants," Lu added.

"Known for their efficient operations and management, OPCs are poised to seize opportunities in niche markets against the backdrop that China is constantly improving business environment and rolling out supportive measures," said Qi Xiaozhai, vice-chairman of the Commerce Economy Association.

"Compared with conventional large corporations, OPCs are better positioned to adjust their strategies in a timely manner in line with market changes," Qi said.

Calling one-person companies an important supplement to China's existing business entities, Qi described the business format as the birthplace of great companies.

"There are many examples of major companies growing from small businesses, and the prospects for OPCs to become well-known brands are bright, particularly in the age of AI," Qi said.

The OPC concept was first proposed in Jiangsu province in 2025, and major cities including Shanghai, Suzhou (Jiangsu province) and Hangzhou (Zhejiang province) across the Yangtze River Delta region have since introduced their own measures and plans to support OPCs.

During the 2025 Jiangsu artificial intelligence innovation and development conference, participants called for greater integration of individual creativity and artificial intelligence, leveraging the OPC model to reshape the fundamentals of entrepreneurship, according to a Xinhua News Agency report.

According to Suzhou's plan, the city looked to establish more than 30 OPC communities, cultivate 1,000 new OPC enterprises and attract over 10,000 OPC talents by 2028.

The Shanghai municipal government has proposed building an OPC innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem in its 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–30) guidelines. In the city's Lin-gang Special Area alone, 10 OPC communities are to be built in the coming three years, with the special area aiming to attract 1,000 teams and 10,000 entrepreneurs over the same period, according to the Shanghai Observer.

Labeled as the number one city for OPC entrepreneurship, Hangzhou's Shangcheng district announced in March that the district will build 10 OPC communities, cultivate 100 artificial intelligence enterprises, and attract 1,000 OPC entrepreneurs this year, according to China National Radio's online service.

"Through varied adoption of strategies in industrial transition, OPC is the vehicle of local government in their AI industrial development," Pan Helin, a member of the expert committee on information and communication economy with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, was quoted in the National Business Daily.

Pan suggested that focus should be placed on lowering transaction costs, optimizing the business environment and treating all business entities equally during the development of OPCs.