Image source: Forbes China
Focusing on AI smart hardware and holding large models, the 2026 Forbes China AI Tech Companies Top 50 was officially released on May 17, showcasing a “city heat map” of China’s AI industry.
The selected companies reflect the different positions of cities within the AI industry chain: some are concentrated on upstream computing power and models, while others focus on downstream applications and terminals, demonstrating the differentiated logic of AI industry development across regions.
For example, in Chengdu, Mingtu Technology and Guoxing Aerospace were selected for their intelligent platform and space AI, respectively.
Mingtu Technology’s marketing director, Li Hui, stated in an interview that Chengdu’s dense “scene resources” and industrial policies provide a unique growth environment for AI companies.
Different Positions of Five Cities from Upstream to Downstream
This year’s evaluation includes not only the main selection of the “Forbes China AI Tech Companies Top 50” and subcategories like “Emerging AI Companies” and “Influential AI Figures,” but also five new subcategories: “AI Technology Breakthrough Companies,” “AI Commercialization Demonstration Companies,” “Global Benchmark AI Companies,” “Sustainable Development Excellence Practice Companies,” and “Ecosystem Construction and Open Source Contribution Companies.”
The companies selected in this year’s list reflect the different development characteristics of their respective cities within the AI industry chain, which is typically divided into upstream foundational, midstream technology, and downstream application layers.
Image source: Forbes
Beijing leads with 21 selected companies, showcasing a full industrial chain cluster advantage across multiple tracks. Companies like Cambricon are entering the mass production phase in AI chips, while others like Dark Side of the Moon continue to iterate on large models, and companies like Zero One Everything cover enterprise applications. This “full-stack” distribution results from the long-term concentration of core upstream and midstream AI enterprises in Beijing.
Shanghai and Shenzhen each have 12 companies on the list, but their track structures are distinctly different. Shanghai’s selected companies focus on embodied intelligence, AI chips, and physical AI simulation, with companies like Zhiyuan Robotics and Songying Technology forming a hard tech chain from computing power to robotics, aligning with the Yangtze River Delta’s industrial accumulation in high-end manufacturing and integrated circuits.
In contrast, Shenzhen’s selected companies are distributed across AI marketing, smart device manufacturing, and embodied intelligence, with firms like UBTECH and Variable Robotics reflecting the existing advantages of the Pearl River Delta region in hardware supply chains and commercialization.
Hangzhou has 9 companies on the list, making it one of the cities with the most prominent “star effect”: companies like DeepSeek occupy a prominent position in the main list, while Yushu Technology shines in the embodied intelligence sector.
Image source: Daily Economic News
Chengdu, with 11 selected companies, ranks fourth among all cities, showing a distribution that seeks breakthroughs in downstream applications based on consumer scenarios and industrial demands. Specifically, among the 11 selected companies, Mingtu Technology (intelligent platform) and Guoxing Aerospace (space AI) made it to the main list, while the other 9 are on sub-lists, focusing on AI education, AI agents, and AIGC film applications.
This reflects Chengdu’s proactive approach to promoting AI technology in specific scenarios, driven by local demands in consumption, cultural tourism, and digital cultural creation.
“The rapid rise of Chengdu’s AI companies in the application layer is not accidental,” Li Hui stated. Chengdu has dense “scene resources” in digital cultural creation and cultural tourism, with the government continuously promoting the “AI +” initiative, rich university resources, and significant talent cost advantages, forming a positive cycle of “technology - scene - data.”
Other cities such as Wuhan (3), Guangzhou (3), Changsha (3), Chongqing (2), Hefei (2), Nanjing (2), Qingdao (1), Suzhou (1), Dongguan (1), Changzhou (1), Sanya (1), and Wenzhou (1) also have companies selected, showcasing the flourishing development of AI across various cities.
“Base Camp” and “Experiment Center”: OPC’s Prominent Practice in Chengdu’s Digital Cultural Creation
Extending from the list to the forefront of the industry, the deep integration of AI and digital cultural creation is becoming one of the most recognizable tracks for AI in Chengdu. Several companies selected from Chengdu are directly related to digital cultural creation, covering intelligent platforms, AIGC creation, and AI education.
An important vehicle for organizing these capabilities and pushing them towards scale is the OPC (One Person Company) model, which is rapidly being rolled out nationwide in the first half of 2026.
The core production elements of digital cultural creation are creativity, content, and IP, which naturally fit the “one person + AI tools” production organization method. Theoretically, under the OPC framework, a creator can use an AI toolchain to complete the entire process from script to finished product, and the works can be distributed globally in multiple languages.
Image source: Forbes
The reason this model finds application scenarios in Chengdu’s digital cultural creation lies in its industrial policy logic. In March, the “Chengdu Action Plan for Building a New High Ground for AI OPC Innovation Development (2026-2027)” was officially issued, proposing to establish 20 OPC communities and cultivate 100 innovative products and 100 demonstration scenarios by the end of 2027.
On the ground, two Chengdu companies play a “chain master” role. Mingtu Technology operates the “Mingtu Qihang Camp,” focusing on empowering intelligent platforms, while Haiyi Entertainment operates the “Xinghai Entrepreneurship Camp,” focusing on AI + digital cultural creation monetization.
Regarding the logic behind promoting the OPC model, Li Hui noted that Chengdu serves as its OPC “base camp” and “experiment center,” leveraging local advantages in cultural creation, government, and education to form a complete link from training and certification to practical application and monetization.
She also mentioned that nationally, their OPC has covered 10 core urban circles through a “city partner mechanism,” prioritizing deep cooperation in cities with strong industrial foundations and high digital demand. Internationally, Mingtu Technology radiates Southeast Asia and the Middle East from Singapore, exporting replicable intelligent agent application templates.
In fact, the replicability of the ecosystem is a core challenge facing the OPC model. As AI continues to lower the barriers to content creation, the competitive focus in digital cultural creation is shifting from “who can create” to “who can create well.”
“Overall, OPC is not simply a franchise or agency; it is a global intelligent agent collaborative network characterized by technological standardization, transferable capabilities, and self-evolving ecosystems,” Li Hui stated.
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