Recently, the Chinese Communist Party formally included “One Person Company” (OPC) and “Super Entity” startups relying on artificial intelligence (AI) into the scope of national policy support. Previously, a craze for “OPC incubation” had emerged nationwide. However, with an overall OPC survival rate of less than ten percent, industry insiders and outsiders alike are skeptical of this policy.
Analysis suggests that this move is merely a “foolish policy” by the Chinese Communist Party to beautify the grim unemployment data. In the end, most AI entrepreneurs may incur losses even faster, and this craze cannot rescue China from its ongoing economic downturn.
With the development of AI in recent years, tasks that previously required a large team can now be handled by individuals and AI tools, significantly lowering the barrier to entry for entrepreneurship. This has led to the rapid growth of One Person Companies in China.
Many regions in mainland China have incorporated policies supporting OPCs into their local “15th Five-Year Plan.” Various “OPC incubation” communities have sprung up across the country. By the end of 2025, the number of OPCs in China had surpassed 16 million. Currently, there are 826 OPC incubation communities covering 95 cities in China.
On September 4th this year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the Chinese Communist Party issued the “Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Entrepreneurship Support Plan for Artificial Intelligence (2026-2028),” officially including OPCs and “Super Entities” in the scope of national policy support, further fueling the OPC craze.
However, as OPCs proliferate, most of them face “homogeneous competition.” According to a study by the OPC Research Institute tracking over 500 cases, 80% of one-person companies disappear after one year of establishment, with a final survival rate of less than 10%, significantly lower than the 30% to 40% survival rate of general startups.
Regarding the policy, some experts express concerns. While AI may lower the threshold for starting a business, whether a company can survive depends not on the existence of intelligent tools but on actual market demand sustaining it.
A former engineer from an internet company also emphasized that a successful business model requires more than just content creation; operational distribution and other aspects are essential. However, AI cannot replace every aspect of business operations.
As the OPC trend unfolds, it highlights two main categories – one focusing on business consulting leveraging AI to enhance service quality and efficiency, and the other using AI to produce short dramas to attract attention and traffic online for quick monetization.
The production cost of AI-powered short dramas lies between 800 to 1,200 RMB per minute, which is one-fifth of that of live-action dramas. The low threshold has led to a surge in the number of AI short dramas in China. In the first half of this year alone, there were 221,900 AI short dramas launched on Douyin, accumulating a total view count of 515.738 billion.
However, among these numerous AI short dramas, only one out of 77 manages to recoup costs, with the rest incurring losses. An executive from a Chinese advertising data company admitted that while many operators believe AI lowers production barriers, it does not make creators more profitable but rather accelerates their losses.
In light of this trend, the Chinese government introduced the “Micro Short Drama Development Management Measures” on September 1, requiring “quality reduction” of AI short dramas and stipulating review processes based on investment size by the National Radio and Television Administration, provincial-level radio and television departments, and platforms.
Critics warn that the ongoing OPC craze may not rescue the economy but merely present a temporary facelift for unemployment figures, aiming to stimulate a weakening consumer market through an entrepreneurship narrative.
Ultimately, the enthusiasm around OPCs is seen as a “foolish policy under the guise of packaging,” shifting economic risks onto individuals rather than fostering sustainable growth.
As the market dynamics evolve, it is evident that the current fervor for AI-driven entrepreneurship and OPCs may not offer a genuine solution to the economic challenges China faces.