China may be the most fertile ground for business and startup creation. With 1.4 billion people, China’s user market is massive; there is fierce rivalry among entrepreneurs; firms receive enormous subsidies, and the economy is actively developing. In terms of the number of freshly formed unicorns, Chinese companies overtook Silicon Valley with 243 startups. Chinese startups made $25.7 billion from January to June 2023 up 8.8% YOY. In the second quarter of 2023, Chinese startups received a total funding of $11.2 billion, surpassing the funding levels seen in both the first quarter of 2023 and the second quarter of 2022. These businesses not only survived but flourished throughout the epidemic, growing at a breakneck pace by meeting and exceeding client expectations. With that in mind, let us look at the Top 15 startups in China.
- Yipin Fresh
- ByteDance
- WeRide
- Zuoyebang
- WeDoctor
- Pony.ai
- Huochebang
- Shannon Artificial Intelligence
- Intellifusion
- Jinke Hui’an
- Video++
- Miss Fresh
- Starfield
- Geek+
- Chehaoduo
Top 15 Startups in China
Here are listed some of the best Chinese startups:
Yipin Fresh
| Startup | Yipin Fresh |
|---|---|
| Founder | Jianfei Jiang |
| Founded | 2013 |
| Headquarters | Nanan, Chongqing, China |
Yipin Fresh, a grocery store company based in Hefei, operates almost 900 fresh-food neighborhood stores in 17 Chinese towns. Online ordering and second-day delivery are also available through the company’s Yipien Daojia app and WeChat microprogramme. This Chinese startup has been on a growth and financial tear over the previous three years, which the pandemic exacerbated in 2020.
ByteDance
| Startup | ByteDance |
|---|---|
| Founders | Zhang Yiming |
| Founded | 2012 |
| Headquarters | Beijing, China |
With a total worth of $220 billion in March 2023, ByteDance became the world’s most valuable unicorn, and its market capitalization has since risen to a staggering $353 billion in 2022. TikTok, its Chinese equivalent Douyin, the Indian Helo social network in many languages, the Chinese news site Toutiao, and several other services are all owned by the firm.
Pooja Uniyal
WeRide
| Startup | WeRide |
|---|---|
| Founders | Tony Han, Yan Li |
| Founded | 2017 |
| Headquarters | Guangzhou, China |
WeRide, a Chinese startup, is another critical competitor in the drone sector. The startup has already debuted its robotaxi, deployed 100 drones, and got approval to operate without drivers. Nissan, Renault, and Mitsubishi are among the firms that have invested in the business. This Chinese startup has raised $1.1 billion in funding over 6 rounds.
Zuoyebang
| Startup | Zuoyebang |
|---|---|
| Founder | Hou Jianbin |
| Founded | 2014 |
| Headquarters | Beijing, China |
For school children and preschoolers, Zuoyebang provides online classes, courses, and personal instructor consultations. During online broadcasts in the fall of 2020, 10 million people were recorded on the site.
Tiger Global Management, Alibaba Group, Sequoia Capital China, and SoftBank Vision Fund invested $1.6 billion in the firm in Round B in 2020. The platform raised $2.9 billion in total.
WeDoctor
| Startup | WeDoctor |
|---|---|
| Founder | Liao Jieyuan |
| Founded | 2010 |
| Headquarters | Xiaoshan, Zhejiang, China |
WeDoctor is a firm that provides a wide range of healthcare services to its users. The concept for the service originated with an application for an online doctor’s appointment. You may now obtain an online consultation, write a prescription, and diagnose using a built-in artificial intelligence system with the aid of WeDoctor. The startup is valued more than $7 billion in 2023.
WeDoctor secured a grand total of $1.4 billion in funding across six funding rounds. Their most recent funding round was a Series F, concluded on February 1, 2021.
Pony.ai
| Startup | Pony.ai |
|---|---|
| Founders | James Peng and Tiancheng Lou |
| Founded | 2016 |
| Headquarters | Fremont, California |
Startup Pony.ai debuted in 2016, and since then, the company has grown at the same rate as drones. Pony.ai is now one of the most valuable unicorns globally when it comes to producing drone technology. The company’s main line of business is autonomous deliveries, and it’s also working on a robotic taxi.
After the initial closing of its Series D funding round in 2022, the company achieved a valuation of $8.5 billion.
Varad Kitey
Huochebang
| Startup | Huochebang |
|---|---|
| Founders | Dai Wenjian |
| Founded | 2008 |
| Headquarters | Guizhou, Liaoning, China |
Huochebang, based in Guizhou, China, is an on-demand logistics network that connects commercial drivers with shippers in need of transportation across China. Huochebang and Yunmanman joined in 2017 to develop a platform with over 4 million trucks and no plans to slow down anytime soon.
Huochebang is predicted to expand significantly as consumers demand more online, faster delivery, and coverage across China.
Shannon Artificial Intelligence
| Startup | Shannon.AI |
|---|---|
| Founders | Jiwei Li |
| Founded | 2017 |
| Headquarters | Haidian, Beijing, China |
Shannon.AI is a financial artificial intelligence business that employs algorithms to evaluate, extract, and integrate vast financial data. It was founded in 2017. Shannon Technology promotes a new natural language-based information interaction paradigm that allows investors to get the information they want faster, more intuitively, and precisely. The company’s headquarters are in Beijing, China.
Intellifusion
| Startup | Intellifusion |
|---|---|
| Founders | Ning Chen, Dihong Tian |
| Founded | 2014 |
| Headquarters | Shenzhen, Guangdong |
Intellifusion was created in 2014 and is a visual intelligence AI firm providing solutions for public safety, social governance, new business, AIoT, and other disciplines based on their computer vision technology. The headquarters of Intellifusion is located in Shenzhen, Guangdong.
IntelliFusion has successfully secured a total of $287 million in funding across five funding rounds. Its inaugural funding round took place on May 1, 2015, while its most recent funding round was a Series D round on September 28, 2020, raising an impressive $147 million.
Intellifusion is on track to follow in the footsteps of a slew of AI unicorns that have forged close ties with China’s municipal, regional, and national governments.
Arbaz Sayed
Jinke Hui’an
| Startup | Hui’an Jinke |
|---|---|
| Founders | Ling Huang, Wei Xu, Yitao Duan |
| Founded | 2017 |
| Headquarters | Beijing, China |
Hui’an Jinke, like Shannon.ai, uses AI for a different reason than many other Chinese AI unicorns. The startup, which was formed in 2017, uses artificial intelligence to manage and mitigate risk.
Fraud Monitoring, Operational Risk Identification, and Anti-Money Laundering are AI/ML improved products.
In 2018, the firm secured a Series A round of funding.
Video++
| Startup | Video++ |
|---|---|
| Founders | William Joy |
| Founded | 2014 |
| Headquarters | Shanghai, China |
Video++, founded in 2014 and provides streaming services and advertising solutions to 65 percent of China’s leading video platforms, reaches over 500 million unique video users each month.
Video++ uses AI to insert adverts in post-production material, in addition to more standard streaming and advertising services.
Video++ most recently received $105 million in Series C financing in September 2018 and has amassed a total of $165.5 million in funding through five funding rounds.
Miss Fresh
| Startup | Miss Fresh |
|---|---|
| Founders | Xu Zheng |
| Founded | 2014 |
| Headquarters | Beijing, China |
Meiri Youxian/MissFresh has reaped significant benefits from the epidemic.
In 2020, the firm, which was launched in 2014, will get two rounds of finance. In July 2020, they secured $495 million in a Series E round, and then in December 2020, they raised an additional $306 million from investors with a total of $1.7 billion to date.
Although MissFresh is sometimes compared to Instacart, its business strategy is more akin to Farmstead. The corporation has 1,500 smaller distribution centers closer to residential areas, which allows for speedier delivery and cheaper cold-chain expenses.
Starfield
| Startup | Starfield |
|---|---|
| Founders | Kiki Wu |
| Founded | 2019 |
| Headquarters | Shenzhen, China |
Starfield is a fast-growing alternative meat brand in China, founded in 2017 in Shenzhen. From August through October 2021, the firm received $10 million in a Series A round followed by $100 million in Series B in 2022.
Starfield has become China’s fastest-growing plant-based brand. Starfield intends to establish a facility in Shenzhen with this fresh capital to continue its research and development.
In addition, through working with eateries, the firm hopes to market its products to Chinese consumers. Despite the pandemic, it started partnering with many food service firms in 2019 and has created several new collaborative connections in 2020.
Geek+
| Startup | Geek+ |
|---|---|
| Founders | Yong Zheng, Hongbo Li, Kai Liu, Xi Chen |
| Founded | 2015 |
| Headquarters | Beijing, China |
Geek+ was established in 2015 to assist warehouse and industrial operators in meeting the rising demands of eCommerce. Nike, Toyota, DHL, and Dell are among the firms that use the company’s logistics solutions today.
The business has installed over 10,000 logistics robots for a new generation of automated facilities.
In June 2020, the firm secured $50 million in a Series C expansion round. The company secured a remarkable $100 million in Series E1 funding, pushing its valuation beyond the $2 billion mark.
With offices in Germany, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and the United States, the corporation is headquartered in Beijing.
Chehaoduo
| Startup | Chehaoduo |
|---|---|
| Founders | Mark Yang |
| Founded | 2015 |
| Headquarters | Beijing, China |
Chehaoduo is an online marketplace for secondhand cars that connects sellers and buyers. The Beijing-based startup was formed in 2015 and has raised an incredible $3.9 billion in the last six years, with the latest funding from a Series E round in June 2021.
Conclusion
Developed Asian nations are becoming full-fledged Silicon Valley rivals, and they have several advantages. The size of the potential user market to state business assistance and other regional benefits is excellent since competition fosters company development and new ideas and startups contribute to further human progress.
FAQs
Which are the top startups in China?
Some of the top startups in China are:
- Yipin Fresh
- ByteDance
- WeRide
- Zuoyebang
- WeDoctor
- Pony.ai
- Huochebang
- Shannon Artificial Intelligence
- Intellifusion
- Jinke Hui’an
- Video++
- MissFresh
- Starfield
- Geek+
- Chehaoduo
What are the top Chinese startups operating in India?
Some of the top Chinese startups operating in India are:
- Xiaomi Mi
- Vivo
- Oppo
- Huawei
- One Plus
- Lenovo
- Haier
- Motorola
- Coolpad
- TCL
- Realme
- WISCO