Suzhou OPC Night. [Photo/jsenews.com]

In the early hours of Jan 1, the shores of Huanxiu Lake in Suzhou glowed under a dazzling display of New Year fireworks. Among the crowd of cheering university students were not just revelers, but young innovators whose entrepreneurial dreams were powered by AI.

The vibrant scene was part of the "Suzhou OPC Night" event, showcasing the city's growing enthusiasm for the One Person Company model. Once a narrow legal definition, OPC has evolved into an innovation paradigm in which individuals deeply integrate AI into their entrepreneurship efforts.

This event is the culmination of a larger movement across Suzhou's universities. In November 2025, the city introduced the concept of AI-powered OPC, creating a collaborative system that combines innovation, entrepreneurship, and talent development. Universities now offer OPC-focused courses, support the incubation of student projects, and encourage entrepreneurship, giving every student the opportunity to launch a solo venture enhanced by AI.

Nanjing University recently partnered with Suzhou New District to launch an OPC community, providing students and faculty with full-chain support, including training, incubation, and financing, through OPC bootcamps, competitions, and a 10-million-yuan ($1.43 million) youth entrepreneurship fund.

For students, the model is already showing results. He Haoyang from Suzhou Polytechnic University used AI to complete market analysis, operational design, and project deployment work within two weeks, translating what he learned in the classroom directly into real-world applications.

Wang Jin, executive vice-dean of Soochow University's School of Future Science and Engineering, emphasized the transformative potential: "Individual entrepreneurs can overcome limitations with cutting-edge AI — coding, designing, analyzing markets, optimizing processes. One person can be a whole team."

Suzhou OPC Night. [Photo/jsenews.com]

That night also united 119 Chinese and international universities with 1,013 leading companies in Suzhou. The alliance aims to provide comprehensive support for youth employment, entrepreneurship, university-industry collaborations, and technological development.