Top DefenceTech Startups In China To Watch

China’s defence technology is accelerating at a pace that’s turning heads across the globe. Thermal imaging sensors the size of a smartphone to fully autonomous flying taxis that double as emergency response platforms sound like something out of a science-fiction movie.

But it’s all real. These Chinese startups are redefining what modern defence and dual-use technology looks like. And they are investing heavily in autonomous systems and dual-use technology with a long-term consistency that few other nations can match.

How China’s Dual-Use Startup Ecosystem Is Reshaping Military Power

China’s approach to defence innovation is completely different to the West’s. Rather than having a clean line between commercial and military technology, they have deliberately blurred it.

They have a national policy which actually encourages civilian companies to develop technologies which can serve both commercial and defence purposes, and vice versa.

The result? A growing ecosystem of nimble dual-use AI and tech companies working directly with the Chinese military who are coming from universities and private labs, not state-owned defence enterprises.

Top DefenceTech Startups In China

Whether you’re an investor or defence analyst, here are some of China’s top defencetech startups that are definitely worth knowing about.

1. Meridian Innovation

Founded in 2016, Meridian Innovation builds ultra-low-cost thermal imaging sensors. They use a patented CMOS (Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor) process which has typically been reserved for everyday computer chips, not heat-sensing technology.

Conventional thermal sensors are expensive and difficult to manufacture at scale. However, Meridian’s SenXor™ technology brings thermal imaging down to a price point that makes it viable for mass-market consumer devices including defence applications like drone guidance and night-vision systems.

In October 2024, the company closed a significant funding round of $12.5 million.

2. Casicloud

Casicloud was established as a subsidiary of China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation, one of China’s most powerful state-owned defence enterprises. Its purpose is to take the deep engineering expertise forged in aerospace and weapons development and apply it to civilian and commercial industry.

The company’s INDICS platform is an industrial internet ecosystem which integrates cloud computing, big data, cybersecurity and intelligent manufacturing across an entire industrial supply chain.

Its Series D round raised approximately $405 million in 2021, making it the highest-funded military tech company in China.

3. DJI

DJI is a Shenzhen-based company that currently holds 70% of the global consumer drone market. In fact, they have effectively become synonymous with the category itself. In 2025, DJI’s drones accounted for 83% of all drone detections in Dedrone’s operational dataset across Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

The company’s product range varies from pocket-sized cinema cameras to industrial inspection platforms and high-end mapping systems used by militaries and emergency services.

4. OceanAlpha

OceanAlpha is widely recognised as the world’s leading manufacturer of unmanned surface vessels (USVs). Their autonomous boats are used for marine surveying, environmental monitoring, as well as coastal security patrol.

The company currently has over 200 engineers and holds 402 USV-related patents. In 2020, they established China’s first USV Research, Development and Testing Centre.

In addition to training Malaysia’s Maritime Department on USV operations, they have also delivered vessels to survey companies in Nigeria and demonstrated their technology across the Middle East.

5. Aerofugia

Aerofugia is the aviation extension of Geely Technology Group, who also own Volvo Cars and is one of China’s most ambitious industrial players. They develop electrical vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft which are designed for both passenger transport and longer-range unmanned missions.

In 2021, the company formed a joint venture with Volocopter, a German eVTOL company to bring urban mobility to China.

Aerofugia closed a Series A round worth around $14 million in June 2023 led by Tshinghua Holdings Capital, with a Series B-II round in 2024.

6. EHang

EHang is a Guangzhou-based company which set out to get a fully autonomous, passenger-carrying aircraft certified for commercial flight. This was achieved in October 2023, making it the first company in the world to receive a Type Certificate from China’s Civil Administration (CAAC) for a pilotless eVTOL aircraft.

In April of last year, the company received Air Operator Certificates for pilotless human-carrying eVTOL services. This means that ordinary consumers can book tickets to ride EHang aircraft for sightseeing around Guangzhou.

EHang has carried out flights in 17 countries and partnered with governments across Asia and the Middle East.