No workers, no downside: How AI helps China’s under-35s earn 1000’s on their very own

SHANGHAI, April 22 — Young Chinese, many who worry age discrimination of their office after turning 35, are more and more beginning “one-person companies” which have synthetic intelligence do a lot of the work.

Smaller startups are already in vogue in Silicon Valley and elsewhere, with quickly advancing AI instruments seen as a welcome teammate at the same time as they threaten layoffs at present companies.

More younger individuals in China are subscribing to the mannequin, as cities pledge thousands and thousands of {dollars} in funding and lease subsidies for such ventures, in alignment with Beijing’s political purpose of “technological self-reliance”.

“The one-person company is a product of the AI era,” stated Karen Dai, founding father of Shanghai-based SoloNest, which hosts weekend occasions for solo entrepreneurs.

In the previous, it was very tough to run a enterprise by yourself, she stated, however the vary of duties that AI will help with has “lowered the entry barrier”.

On a Sunday in Shanghai, round 20 individuals of their 20s and 30s packed right into a convention room for Dai’s 134th iteration of a three-hour concepts swap on going it alone.

One attendee, Wang Tianyi, now earns as much as 40,000 yuan (US$5,800; RM22,939.25) per thirty days making AI-generated commercials for companies.

The 26-year-old, who give up his product supervisor job at an web firm final 12 months, predicts that folks flying solo will change into a “major trend”.

“Because of the technological empowerment brought on by AI, (one-person companies) have an efficiency advantage,” he instructed AFP.

‘Invisible line’ 

On Chinese social media, individuals have lamented for years the so-called “curse of 35” — widespread age discrimination in tech, authorities and different aggressive sectors.

“At 35 years old, there’s like this invisible line,” stated Dai, who’s 38.

“People might face some challenges in the workplace. The company might re-evaluate who is more fit to stay.”

But younger individuals, who witnessed a decade of fast financial growth in China, have a starvation to develop, stated Dai, additionally writer of the ebook “One Person Company”.

“When you’re 30 or even younger, you’ll ask yourself: when I reach that invisible line of 35, what preparations should I make?” she stated.

Founder of one-person firm SoloNest Karen Dai (centre) shares her expertise with contributors throughout a espresso chat at a convention room in Shanghai on April 12, 2026. Young Chinese, many who worry age discrimination of their office after turning 35, are more and more beginning ‘one-person companies’ which have synthetic intelligence do a lot of the work. — AFP pic

Shanghai resident Wei Xin, 34, knew her job as a doc reviewer at a international consulting agency would get replaced by AI earlier than it really occurred.

So she signed up for a course on Google’s Gemini and dabbled in creating an AI-generated digital model of herself, earlier than turning to social media content material creation.

“There’s a bit of AI anxiety,” stated Wei, who returned to China final 12 months after finishing a level within the United States.

“If I don’t use it, don’t approach it, I might soon be eliminated.”

Government ‘carrots’ 

Chinese municipalities are rolling out insurance policies to help AI-powered one-person corporations, utilizing the initials “OPC” – a uncommon use of English in official coverage.

In November, the jap metropolis of Suzhou vowed to domesticate “more than 10,000 OPC talents” by 2028 and funnel round 700 million yuan (US$100 million; RM395.5 million) in the direction of sectors together with AI robotics, healthcare and sensible transportation.

Southwestern Chengdu additionally final month promised subsidies of as much as 20,000 yuan for graduates to determine AI-driven one-person companies.

These measures are “carrots to help these startups get off the ground and be successful”, stated Brookings fellow Kyle Chan, an professional on China’s expertise growth.

Sponsoring OPCs is a brand new, low cost solution to deal with excessive youth unemployment in China – the place one in six individuals between the ages of 16 and 24 are jobless.

“The cost of doing this, from the local governments, for an OPC, is very low,” Chan stated.

Wang, the previous product supervisor, stated a lot of his buddies have been opting to work on impartial initiatives as an alternative of vying for company jobs.

But “the important thing in the future will be how to sell it”, he stated, with new corporations usually struggling to show a revenue.

Young Chinese are investing in back-up plans whereas “asking themselves, ‘can I, with my own two hands, helped by the convenience of AI, explore the things I say I want to do?’” Dai stated.

“There is a sense of control, of creativity.” — AFP