Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) startups are lagging significantly behind their US rivals in global recurring revenue, making overseas expansion the default strategy for many mainland companies, according to a new report.
The AI competition between the US and China is getting fiercer as Chinese startups strive to expand into the global market to catch up with the revenue of their US rivals. (Source: Scmp)
According to a report released last week by Chinese research firm Unique Research and San Francisco-based consultancy Tech Buzz China, only four of the world’s top 100 AI applications by August 2025 were owned by private Chinese companies, measured by annual recurring revenue (ARR).
The four Chinese companies, Glority, Plaud, ByteDance, and Zuoyebang, generate an estimated $447 million in annual recurring revenue, just 1.23 percent of the $36.4 billion total for the entire top 100. This group excludes apps from large publicly traded tech companies like Alibaba Group Holding and Tencent Holdings.
According to Ms. Rui Ma - founder of Tech Buzz China - the difference between Chinese and American app developers stems from structural factors in the world's second-largest economy , where startups often prioritize short-term revenue sources such as projects from the public sector.
“Reaching global consumers and businesses requires more capital,” she said, adding that Chinese startups have a harder time raising capital domestically than their US counterparts.
While the report defines Chinese startups as those based in mainland China, Plaud, the developer of an AI note-taking app, is classified as a Chinese company despite being registered in the US.
Chinese developers Glority, Plaud, ByteDance and Zuoyebang generated an estimated combined annual recurring revenue of $447 million as of August. (Source: Shutterstock)
The highest-ranked Chinese AI app on the list is Hangzhou-based Glority, the developer of the popular plant recognition app PictureThis. The app has an estimated ARR of $173 million, ranking 20th on the list.
Topping the list are US platform model developers OpenAI and Anthropic, with estimated ARRs of around $17 billion and $7 billion, respectively.
Delta Wu, head of Unique Research, said the ARR estimates are based on internal modeling, which involves tracking traffic from each AI product's official website to third-party payment platforms like Stripe.
Meanwhile, 19 of China's 23 highest-grossing AI apps generate the majority of their revenue from overseas markets, suggesting growth potential from these markets, according to Tech Buzz's Ma.
Several prominent Chinese AI startups have moved abroad in recent years, amid growing US scrutiny of them — including generative AI company HeyGen and AI agent developer Manus.
While the domestic market remains the foundation for Chinese AI startups to build their initial user base, overseas markets offer more robust growth opportunities, especially in the enterprise software segment.
“To be honest, a lot of investors in China don’t even consider investing in AI software startups anymore,” said Ms. Ma, noting that the most popular category for Chinese investors now is robotics, an area related to AI.
Source: https://vtcnews.vn/cac-startup-ai-trung-quoc-kiem-tien-kem-hon-doi-thu-my-ar985478.html
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