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.
