Editorial illustration for China’s AI boom powered by thousands of firms, tracked in new registry
China's AI Registry Reveals 5,300+ Tech Firms Driving Growth
China’s AI boom powered by thousands of firms, tracked in new registry
A new government‑run registry now lists more than 3,000 Chinese companies that claim to be working on artificial‑intelligence technology. The database, unveiled earlier this year, was meant to bring transparency to a sector that has exploded in size and ambition since 2020. While the list reads like a phone book of startups, research labs and state‑backed outfits, the sheer volume hints at a competitive environment far different from the handful of giants that dominate the U.S.
market. Yet scaling up large‑language models demands massive compute budgets and talent pipelines, pressures that are beginning to force smaller players into partnerships or acquisitions. Analysts note that a handful of firms—often dubbed the “AI tigers”—have emerged as the most well‑funded and technically capable, with names such as Moonshot, Minimax, Zhipu and Baichuan appearing repeatedly in funding rounds and benchmark results.
This backdrop frames a stark comparison between the fragmented Chinese field and its more consolidated Western counterpart.
Unlike in the US, where OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind dominate the market, China's competition to build foundational AI remains diverse and contested. But building these models is costly, and the market is beginning to consolidate. China's six "AI tigers"--Moonshot, Minimax, Zhipu, Baichuan, 0.1AI, and Stepfun--are all backed by Alibaba or Tencent.
ByteDance's Doubao surpassed DeepSeek as China's most popular chatbot, but its spot at the top is not assured. While the giants duke it out for chatbot supremacy, startups are hard at work in every sector imaginable. Founder Derek Li says his 12-year-old company is leaps beyond the ed-tech competition.
They "put wheels on a horse," he says, bolting AI onto their existing stale software. Squirrel claims to diagnose knowledge gaps, measure progress, and adjust lessons in real time. When China banned for-profit tutoring in 2021, the company's revenues collapsed overnight.
It pivoted to licensing its platform to franchisees who also sold the company's AI-powered tablets. Squirrel's network includes more than 3,000 centers across China, serving 1.2 million students. Now, the company is eyeing expansion to the US.
Li, who withdrew his sons from a private school in Shanghai so that they could be home-schooled on Squirrel's platform, says that "in the future, teachers won't teach knowledge." Instead, he says, "they'll become data analysts, understanding learning reports and students' ability, and psychologists, understanding emotions and shaping their personalities." AI Kanshe (translated as "AI Sees Tongue") is a traditional Chinese medicine startup that analyzes health through images of the tongue, palms, and face.
The registry now lists thousands of Chinese AI firms, each required by the Cyberspace Administration of China to file tools that can sway public opinion or mobilise users. How many of those will survive the inevitable cost pressures? Building foundational models remains expensive, and early signs point to a squeeze on smaller players.
Meanwhile, six so‑called “AI tigers” – Moonshot, Minimax, Zhipu, Baichuan and two others – already dominate headlines, suggesting a nascent consolidation. Unlike the United States, where a handful of companies control most of the market, China’s AI sector still appears fragmented and contested. Yet the sheer volume of registered tools hints at a competitive depth that could reshape the balance of power.
Whether the emerging concentration will curb innovation or simply streamline resources is unclear. The public archive offers a rare window into the scale of development, but the long‑term trajectory of China’s AI ecosystem remains uncertain, pending further market dynamics and regulatory decisions.
Further Reading
- Artificial intelligence market in China in 2025 - Chelidze Group
- China's AI chip firms lead 2025 top 50 ranking: report - Xinhua
- China's AI chip firms lead 2025 top 50 ranking: report - China.org.cn
- Understanding China's AI + Manufacturing Roadmap: Implications ... - China Briefing
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Common Questions Answered
How many generative AI services have been filed with the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC)?
According to the CAC statement, 346 generative AI services had been filed as of March 31, 2025. Notable filed services include DeepSeek and Baidu's Ernie Bot, with the CAC requiring these services to prominently display their filing or registration numbers.
What is the current scale of China's AI industry as of 2025?
China's AI sector has grown to over 5,300 enterprises, accounting for 15 percent of the global total. The industry's scale exceeded 900 billion yuan (about 126.7 billion U.S. dollars) in 2024, with a year-on-year increase of 24 percent across foundational infrastructure, model architecture, and industry applications.
Who are China's emerging 'AI tigers' in the generative AI market?
China's six 'AI tigers' include Moonshot, Minimax, Zhipu, Baichuan, 0.1AI, and Stepfun, most of which are backed by tech giants Alibaba or Tencent. ByteDance's Doubao has recently surpassed DeepSeek as China's most popular chatbot, highlighting the competitive and rapidly evolving nature of China's AI landscape.