Top 10 Chinese Startups to Watch in 2021

11 min readJan 4, 2021

As I’m writing this, it’s the beginning of 2021. There were certainly a lot of ups and downs last year to stay the least. Many things changed dramatically around the world.

Many businesses failed, but some startups thrived.

I’m excited to write about many of the impressive startups in China that you need to watch in 2021. These startups not only survived the pandemic but thrived in it, managing to grow incredibly quickly by meeting and exceeding customer needs.

Other Startups to Watch in 2021:

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China’s Startup Environment

During the first 8 months of 2020, startups in China raised ~$33B.

While this amount is very similar to the same period of 2019, the fundraising was far from consistent over the course of the year. In the first 3 months, Chinese startups brought in approximately $7.5B. In the 2nd quarter, funding increased to more than $13.2B. In July and August alone, startups attracted nearly $12.2B.

Similar to how China managed the COVID pandemic, there was a dramatic shutdown/lockdown in Q1, followed by a rapid recovery of the startup funding market.

During 2020, much of this funding found its way to online medical care and remote learning startups, both benefitting heavily from the “new normal.”

Additionally, China saw an increasing number of large deals, including: