China produces many new software developers every year - over 100,000 annually - based on the latest market estimates. Modern Chinese software companies are getting bigger, and it is possible the country will soon overtake Germany, Japan, and even the United States in the global software battlefield.
China's five biggest and most valuable software companies have more than $1 trillion in combined market capitalization:
1. China Mobile
Like many major companies in China, China Mobile Ltd. is owned and controlled by the Chinese government. The company is mainly a mobile telecommunications service provider, not an operating systems maker, but it does have a very capable group of software engineers in its almost 240,000 workforce.
China Mobile is the trade name of both China Mobile Ltd and its controlling stockholder, China Mobile Communications Group Co., Ltd. Headquartered in Beijing, China Mobile has over 800 million subscribers and, by this figure, is the biggest phone company in the world. Most of its client base is Chinese.
China Mobile market value: $195.6 billion.
2. Tencent
Tencent Holdings Ltd. is a Chinese multinational holding firm established in 1998, whose subsidiaries engage in various Internet-related services and products, entertainment and technology in China and globally.
The Chinese social networking giant's WeChat messaging app has over one billion monthly users in 2018, its social networking website QZone registered 630 million users while its instant messaging service had 820 million monthly users. In perspective, these figures are more than double the population of the United States.
Tencent market value: $534 billion.
3. Alibaba
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd is a Chinese multinational technology firm that specializes in e-commerce, online retail, and technology. As the biggest e-commerce retailer in the world - moving more than twice the production volume of eBay and Amazon combined, Alibaba Group Holding is considered as the most valuable software company in China.
All of the company's software offerings are made through a wholly-owned affiliate, Alibaba Software. The company has its own payment and banking service, Alipay. Alibaba has also invested in many American startup companies, including video messaging app Snapchat and Lyft.
Alibaba's market value: $481 billion.
4. Baidu
Baidu, Inc. is a Chinese technology firm engaged in online-related services and products. It is based out of Beijing's Haidian District and is one of the biggest Artificial Intelligence companies in the world.
Baidu was established in 2000 by Li Yanhong, and has consistently ranked as the leading online search engine in China. The company offers various types of free software products, a large number of which target desktop computer users in the Asian region.
Baidu market value: $59.7 billion.
5. Xiaomi
Xiaomi Corporation is a Chinese electronics conglomerate established in April 2010 and based in Beijing. Sometimes referred to as the 'Chinese Apple', Xiaomi is a smartphone maker with tons of market potential. In 2014, the company was worth more than $45 billion, making it the most valuable tech company in the world.
Xiaomi market value: $56.4 billion.
