The Xiantao Data Valley in Chongqing Liangjiang New Area builds OPC communities. (Photo/Yin Hongwei)
Chongqing —The One Person Company (OPC) model surged in popularity across China in 2026. Closely tracking this trend, Chongqing has outlined plans to build distinctive OPC communities and cultivate high-growth OPC enterprises by the end of 2027, aiming to boost its digital economy.
While often misconstrued as literally a "one-employee firm," OPCs actually rely on a "super individual" who leverages AI agents and minimal support staff to operate as a "one-person army." Ideally, AI handles foundational tasks such as coding and marketing setups, allowing founders to focus solely on optimizing core creative concepts.
The explosive rise of the OPC model in early 2026 stems from several factors. First, AI has lowered the barrier to entrepreneurship. Wei Qing, Chief Technology Officer of Microsoft China, noted that as AI becomes popular, leveraging it to launch startups and solve real-world problems will become a standard skill.
The pool of entrepreneurs continues to expand. Ding Chunfa, CEO of the Dagongfang iMakerbase in Shenzhen Bao'an, observed that while makers, tech executives, and scientists remain the core driving force, lower AI barriers are now enabling ordinary individuals to join the fray. Furthermore, OPCs slash operational costs, avoid the interpersonal friction often associated with technical teams, and accelerate decision-making efficiency.
Unwilling to miss out on the OPC boom, Chongqing is making its move. An official from the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Economy and Information Technology stated that the city leverages its software and AI industries to build an "innovation partner."
Chongqing has identified OPC communities as the core avenue for growth. These communities specifically address the organizational, resource, and industry-adaptation shortcomings of one-person companies, offering them comprehensive support.
"For OPCs, deep integration with application scenarios is critical," Fan Yu, Chairman of the Liangjiang New Area Industrial Operation Group, told reporters. The survival and growth of OPCs heavily rely on access to supply chain resources and operational scenarios yielded by anchor enterprises.
OPC communities can integrate diverse resources, providing an industrial ecosystem where upstairs and downstairs represent upstream and downstream. By actively coordinating anchor and leading enterprises, these communities facilitate the efficient alignment of technology with the market.
Beyond scenario integration, services are another core advantage. "OPCs lack large teams and rarely have time to manage foundational tasks like taxes, legal affairs, and accounting. This is where OPC communities step in," said a representative from the Chongqing Digital Economy Innovation Park. The park provides free workstations, shared facilities, and public services covering business registration, taxation, and legal consulting.
An office area in an OPC industrial community in Chongqing. (Photo/Liangjiang New Area Industrial Operation Group)
To address the "computing power anxiety" prevalent in AI startups, several OPC communities in Chongqing have rolled out targeted support measures. For instance, Chongqing Yuzhong offers financial subsidies to OPCs utilizing intelligent computing and supercomputing resources. Meanwhile, the Xiantao Data Valley in Liangjiang New Area plans to issue "computing vouchers" and "data vouchers" in the first half of this year, helping founders reduce their technical costs.