- Handbook offers regulatory and legal guidance from incorporation to exit
- Move builds on Hangzhou’s push to become a hub for AI-powered solo entrepreneurs
Hangzhou has released China’s first official handbook for AI-powered one-person companies (OPC), offering founders regulatory, legal and compliance guidance throughout the lifecycle of their businesses as the city steps up efforts to support a fast-growing startup model.
Issued by the Hangzhou Municipal Administration for Market Regulation on June 30, the “AI+OPC Market Entry Companion Handbook” is designed to help founders navigate everything from company registration and operations to compliance and eventual business closure.
The initiative follows a package of policies unveiled in April to support one-person companies, or OPCs, marking another regulatory experiment in governing emerging AI-driven business models.
‘1+N+IP’
Hangzhou defines an “AI plus OPC” as a business built around a “1+N+IP” structure: one founder acting as the core decision-maker, multiple AI agents serving as digital employees, and the founder’s personal brand and intellectual property forming the company’s key assets.
Recognizing that many solo founders focus on product development over compliance, authorities split the handbook into two sections.
One covers government services such as registration, AI-related intellectual property contributions and regulatory sandbox policies, while the other addresses legal risks including trade secrets, false advertising, unfair competition, trademark protection and AI-generated content labeling.
The handbook also includes case studies involving AI-related intellectual property theft and misleading AI marketing to illustrate common compliance pitfalls.
100 OPC communities by 2028
Officials said the guide is intended to bridge regulatory gaps created by new AI business models while helping entrepreneurs avoid costly legal mistakes. Authorities plan to update the handbook as laws and policies evolve.
The release came one day after Hangzhou unveiled a three-year action plan to become China’s leading hub for AI-powered one-person companies.
By 2028, the city aims to establish more than 100 OPC communities, incubate over 100 companies with annual revenue exceeding 10 million yuan, and attract more than 30,000 entrepreneurs.
Supporting measures include a cumulative 1 billion yuan in AI service vouchers by 2028, computing-power subsidies of up to 10 million yuan annually for eligible OPC founders, and an OPC-focused investment fund targeted to exceed 3 billion yuan.
