The number of commercial aerospace companies in China has grown rapidly over the past three years.
In 2025 alone, 36 startups received financing. But there are actually not many teams that are truly capable of going from 0 to 1, from technology to product, from verification to commercialization.
At this point in time in early 2026, the market is reordering: Who is just telling stories? Who has started delivering? Who is doing the right thing in the long term?
This list gives a relatively calm answer.
01
What we do is not traffic ranking
Nihao Space released the “Top 10 Chinese Commercial Aerospace Startups in 2026” with only one purpose:
Before the industry truly enters the technology realization cycle, identify those teams that have the opportunity to ride through the cycle.
We do not use the amount of financing as the core criterion, nor do we use media exposure as the core criterion, nor do we use “concept popularity” as the basis. We are more concerned about three things: Does the founding team have real engineering and industrial capabilities? Is the technical direction on the right track for the next 5-10 years? Has the company begun to complete key verification nodes? In 2025, China’s commercial aerospace financing will start 140 times, with a disclosed amount of 16.342 billion yuan. Among them, the disclosed financing amount of new companies registered from 2023 to 2025 only accounts for 8%. Capital is concentrated in mature companies. However, the structure of leading companies is gradually taking shape, and it is likely that today’s young teams will really determine the direction of the industry in the next ten years. Start-up companies have three advantages: high decision-making efficiency, quick direction adjustment, and more daring breakthroughs in technological paths. Of course, the risks are higher. Being shortlisted does not mean success; but it represents a group of names that are most worthy of continuous observation at the current stage.
02
How do we judge?
NiHaoSpace’s judgment of shortlisted companies does not just look at the amount of financing or popularity. We focus on six aspects: Has the founding team actually done engineering? Does the technical direction comply with future trends? Have key technologies completed phased verification? Does the entry point avoid head-on red ocean competition? Is there room for expansion into platform-level capabilities in the future? What are the forward-looking judgments of industry experts on its technical roadmap? These six dimensions constitute our internal core judgment system. The specific scoring method is not public, but the core principles are simple: 1. The team’s ability has the highest weight. Commercial aerospace is an engineering-intensive industry, and the ultimate competition is system engineering capabilities, industrial organization capabilities and long-term stress resistance. If the team is strong, it can adjust if the direction is wrong; if the team is weak, it can’t go far if the direction is right. 2. Next is the technical direction and verification progress. Has it entered project verification? Have pivotal trials been completed? Is the customer interface starting to form? These are much more important than the “vision on PPT”. 3. The entry point into the industry is also crucial. Satellite manufacturing, launch services, on-orbit services, and space resource utilization, the business paths of each track are completely different. At today’s stage, the entry point determines the survival probability for the next three years. During the screening process, we discovered a phenomenon: there are not many companies that truly possess “strong team + correct direction + key verification nodes” at the same time. This shows that commercial aerospace is still in the capability screening period. Companies that can truly succeed need to find a balance between engineering capabilities and business understanding.
03
In what directions are the shortlisted startups distributed?
A total of 18 companies have entered the watch list this time, and we have divided them into four categories according to industry capabilities. 1. Carrying capacity: There are 49 registered rocket companies in China, 8 of which have successfully achieved regular launch into orbit. In 2026, more than 12 new rocket models are expected to make their first flights. The rocket track has entered the stage of efficiency competition, and late entrants can only find space in reuse and cost. ①Microlight Launch has not been established for a long time, but it has chosen the all-carbon fiber composite liquid oxygen methane reusable rocket path. Its carbon fiber bottom tank has finished rolling off the production line, and the igniter has also successfully completed the ignition test. This route is difficult to engineer, but if weight control and recovery efficiency meet expectations, it will have long-term advantages. ②Xinghuo Space chooses the electric circulation liquid oxygen kerosene route. The electric circulation path is still in the minority in China, and the technical control accuracy is high, but the upper limit of thrust is low. Multiple rounds of financing have been completed. If the first flight can be completed as planned, it will form differentiated capabilities in the small capacity market. ③ Star Shuttle Technology is betting on heavy-duty recyclable liquid oxygen methane rockets, with engines benchmarked against the Raptor system and a 28-ton LEO capacity. Research and development of full-flow afterburning cycle engines is progressing. The core of this technical path lies in whether the engine test run progress is stable. The bet is on the heavy reusability window. ④ Yushi Space adopts a stainless steel arrow body and a “chopstick-type” capture arm recovery solution. This is a route that prioritizes efficiency. Currently, not many domestic companies choose this option. The first rocket has been delivered, and the key next step is to recover the test results. ⑤The founding team of Zhihang Technology has mature power system experience. The full system test run of the first stage of the 4-ton capacity rocket has been completed. If the first flight goes as planned, its location will quickly become clear. ⑥Zhiyu Aerospace A team of college students entered into the electric-pump liquid oxygen methane rocket and completed the hot test of the entire engine system. The market for small recyclable rockets is not completely closed, and there is still a window if the verification rhythm is stable. 2. Satellite and constellation capabilities: China will launch 309 commercial satellites in 2025, a year-on-year increase of 54%, and batch capabilities have become key. This group of companies is seizing the window for mass production and special capabilities. ⑦ Dongsheng Aerospace plans multi-orbit satellite capabilities and has built an intelligent satellite manufacturing factory with an annual output of 100 satellites. If the annual production capacity is realized, its competitiveness will not be in the concept, but in the delivery efficiency. ⑧Orbital Time Betting on the direction of the morning and evening orbital computing power satellite. The concept of 7×24-hour power supply is bold, and the test satellite has been developed and launched selectively. The key to this direction is not the number of satellites, but the maturity of continuous power supply and on-orbit computing power scheduling capabilities. ⑨Xinghuo Chuanming focuses on the field of high spatial and temporal resolution infrared satellites, and its self-developed satellite has been launched. The key lies in whether the subsequent constellation rhythm can be steadily advanced. ⑩Surveying thousands of rivers in the sky has formed multi-model platform capabilities and completed the launch of multiple satellites. It has a clear product line and has the advantage of flexibility in the micro-satellite customization market. 3. Key systems and core components This track has the highest technical barriers and determines the performance ceiling of the entire machine. ⑪ Tianyuan Exploration has built a flexible fifth-generation storage container production line. If material consistency and batch control are stable, it will directly affect the performance of multi-type rockets. ⑫Xinghui Aerospace has completed 100% localization of thermal control materials. Once the material supply enters the stable procurement system, it is difficult to be replaced. ⑬Star Network Power Hall electric propulsion system has formed an intention to cooperate with the industrial chain partner company Industrial University Satellite. The demand for electric propulsion will continue to grow in the constellation era. ⑭Interstellar Light Remote is the first to complete the delivery of sub-meter optical payloads. Optical payload stability and resolution are the core values of remote sensing satellites. ⑮Xingyao Guangyu covers multi-orbit laser communication payloads. Laser communications will become an important link method between constellations in the future. ⑯ Zhongke Tiansuan’s spaceborne intelligent computing platform has been verified in orbit for more than 1,000 days. If the computing power reaches the star scale, it will change the constellation operation model. 4. Satellite data and services The key to the satellite application track is “payment ability”. Understanding the industry is more important than being able to build satellites. ⑰Lan Lingxingtong Bluetooth directly connects to the satellite direction and has completed the launch of China’s first Bluetooth satellite communication payload. If the scale of terminal deployment expands, new communication application scenarios will be formed. ⑱Jiusheng Satellite integrates high and medium orbit resources to complete emergency communication drills. The real test lies in converting commercial orders.
04
How is the industry changing?
Compared with entrepreneurs ten years ago, this group of startups is obviously different: the founding teams are more engineering-oriented, technology-focused, and product-oriented. This shows that the industry has entered the second stage. Evolving from “can it be done” to “can it be scaled and sustainably profitable?” This is why we did not include some “hot companies”: some companies have larger financing scales, but their technical routes are highly crowded; some companies have newer concepts, but key verifications have not yet been completed; some companies are highly exposed, but the engineering rhythm still needs to be observed. We prefer to reserve positions for teams that have completed substantial engineering progress.
Conclusion
In the next five years, China’s commercial aerospace industry will definitely experience a differentiation. This group of start-up companies assumes the role of technical trial and error and direction verification.
The obsolescence rate of startups is extremely high. Some of them will disappear and some of them will grow up. But maybe the next round of leading companies will emerge from here.
