A fresh wave of policy support is set to boost small and mid-sized enterprises operating in the artificial intelligence space.
On September 4, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued the AI SME Entrepreneurship Support Plan (2026-2028). The initiative aims to cultivate a broad ecosystem of AI startups with strong innovation capabilities and substantial growth potential across key areas such as industry applications, data services, and intelligent computing power.
Over the three-year period, the plan targets the creation of over 10,000 newly cultivated tech and innovation-focused SMEs. It also seeks to push the number of specialized and sophisticated "little giant" enterprises past the 2,000 mark, while fostering the emergence of a number of Gazelle companies and Unicorns.
Focusing specifically on the AI sector, the Ministry will build 10 high-standard technology business incubators and 10 national public service demonstration platforms (bases) for SMEs. Additionally, 10 national-level SME specialty industry clusters will be established. The overarching aim is to continuously invigorate entrepreneurial and innovative energy within the AI SME space, laying the groundwork for a high-quality development model where AI empowers smaller businesses.
The plan outlines 15 key tasks across four primary areas: strengthening the supply of entrepreneurial elements, enhancing the cultivation of business entities, deepening the empowerment of the open-source ecosystem, and improving entrepreneurship service guarantees. Notably, it encourages the growth of new business models such as "one-person companies," "super individuals," and "intelligent native enterprises." It also supports innovation and entrepreneurship among core open-source community contributors and intelligent agent developers, promoting a mutually reinforcing cycle of technological, product, model, and application innovation.
On the funding front, the plan leverages the guiding role of the National SME Development Fund, the National AI Industry Fund, and the National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund to attract more private capital into early-stage investments. Furthermore, it will enhance AI investment and financing services within the gradient cultivation platform for high-quality SMEs, facilitating efficient connections between venture capital institutions and startups.
According to estimates from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, as of September 2025, the number of AI enterprises in China has surpassed 5,300, accounting for 15% of the global total. This forms a comprehensive industrial ecosystem that spans foundational infrastructure, model frameworks, and industry-specific applications.