China accelerates AI expansion with 71 unicorns and 5,100 AI companies
the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT)
. Both listed companies and unicorns are recognized as major drivers of China's AI industry. There are more than 300 AI-related publicly traded companies in China, whose AI-related revenue constitutes about 70 percent of the total scale of the country's AI industry, as per CAICT. The top five innovation fields for Chinese AI unicorns include large models, autonomous driving, intelligent robots, business intelligence applications, and AI computing chips.
Yu Xiaohui, president of CAICT, pointed out that the rapid iteration of foundational large models this year, combined with new technological approaches, showcases significant potential for progress toward Artificial General Intelligence. He stated that a positive developmental landscape has emerged in China, marked by leading companies, rising unicorns, specialized firms, and emerging startups. The expansion of China's AI industry is swift, driven by a continuous influx of new technologies, applications, and business models. It has become a crucial growth engine for high-quality economic and social development, Yu emphasized.
Read more: Nvidia H20 AI chip sales to China approved by U.S. amid trade talks
Leadership in AI patents
In 2024, China's AI market was valued at approximately 747 billion yuan (over 103 billion USD), marking a 41 percent increase from the previous year. The AI industry is projected to surpass 1 trillion yuan (about 138 billion USD) by 2025, accounting for over 20 percent of the global AI market share.
China's AI investments have been robust, with state venture capital reportedly investing around $209 billion in AI ventures from 2013 to 2023, and public sector spending on AI expected to exceed 400 billion yuan ($56 billion) in 2025.
China currently leads the world in AI patent filings, holding about 300,000 AI patents, and has around 220 AI labs affiliated with Fortune Global 500 companies, constituting 50 percent of the world's total.
The AI sector is further a substantial economic driver, with potential to add 0.2 to 0.3 percentage points to annual GDP growth in the next two to three years, equivalent to $930 billion in labor value or 4.7 percent of China's 2024 GDP.
Rapid market growth
China's AI market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of nearly 27 percent between 2025 and 2031, reaching a market size of roughly $194 billion by 2031.
Additionally, by 2030, AI technologies are projected to increase China's GDP by 26 percent, potentially adding $7 trillion to the economy. Adoption rates in AI manufacturing applications could hit 67 percent by 2025, with AI providing up to 38 percent of job opportunities by 2030.
The government's AI development strategy, including the 2017 Next Generation AI Development Plan, supports China's goal to be a global AI leader by 2030. Moreover, China emphasizes leveraging its population's vast data, strong institutional funding, and a permissive regulatory environment to accelerate AI growth.
AI application areas seeing rapid adoption include internet services with an 89 percent penetration rate, telecommunications 68 percent, government services 65 percent, and finance 64 percent in 2023, reflecting broad sectoral integration.
Also, the generative AI user base in China had reached 250 million by early 2025, and vertical AI applications in social networking, video, aesthetics, psychology, and design are expanding quickly.
China's AI ecosystem is supported by major tech giants like Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent, which power consumer-facing applications and contribute considerable investment and innovation toward foundational and applied AI technologies.
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