China’s Start-Up “Godfather” Wants to Build Silicon Valleys Across China

A Chinese man known as China’s start-up “godfather” has set his eyes to build multiple Silicon Valleys all across the country.

Li Zexiang, often hailed as the “billionaire maker” of Chinese start-ups, is on a mission to spark innovation on a national scale.

Known for mentoring DJI’s founder and other billion-dollar tech ventures, Li now envisions multiple tech hubs.

Li Zexiang is known as the “billionaire maker”.

Li is Inspired By Silicon valley

Li said he is Inspired by Silicon Valley’s legacy of nurturing generations of tech pioneers and wants to replicate the same for China by producing a steady stream of start-ups.

His incubator, XbotPark, has already birthed unicorns like Narwal Robotics and Hai Robotics, valued at $1.4 billion and $2 billion, respectively.

Silicon Valley is a thriving hub for the world’s leading tech giants like Apple, Google, and Tesla. 

By parterning with universities, local governments, and manufacturing networks, Li hopes to connect ideas with production capabilities.

Despite geopolitical challenges—like US sanctions on Chinese firms—Li believes now is the time for Chinese companies to expand abroad.

“In a country as vast as China, one company isn’t enough. We need diverse communities of innovators across cities,” Li told SCMP.

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