49 new tech start-ups per day coming from China’s Silicon Valley

The number of new tech start-ups coming out of China’s Silicon Valley rises to 49 every day.

China’s technology hub, Zhongguancun, is producing 49 new start-ups every day, according to Wan Gan, the minister of science and technology in China.

Speaking at a briefing for the National People’s Congress in Beijing, Mr Wan outlined how the region now has over 1,600 technology incubators, making it no surprise that entrepreneurs are flocking to the area.

Bloomberg attended the event and published an article on Mr Wan’s comments. He said that China now has over 1,000 organisations backing start-ups and the amount of capital being poured into these budding businesses has surpassed $56 billion.

“As innovation and entrepreneurship gain popularity, many high tech, small-and-medium-sized enterprises and micro enterprises are writing the wonderful story of Chinese innovation,” Mr Wan said, according to the Bloomberg article.

“Entrepreneurship has gradually become the spark that started a prairie fire,” he added.

The Zhongguancun in Beijing already holds a number of reputable tech companies, such as PC manufacturer Lenovo and Xiaomi, China’s biggest maker of smartphones and the world’s most valuable tech start-up.

Furthermore, whilst China is experiencing a veritable boom in the number of new businesses, the country is also reportedly seeing a significant innovative increase.

Mr Wan said the number of effective invention patents increased by 12 per cent in 2014 when compared to 2013, with more than 660,000 patents awarded.

It seems that China’s small business sector is set to receive further investment from Xiaomi, which has backed 27 start-ups already and has plans to invest in around 100 new companies this year, according to the firm’s chief executive officer, Lei Jun.

Lei said the investments will help the smartphone company expand outside its current product range to smart home products, such as cameras, security systems and air purifiers.

It remains to be seen whether the start-up boom will disrupt the already well established traditional businesses in China.

But, with the rapid advance of technology and connectivity, there might be space for some smaller, innovative companies to make their mark.