Chinese Factories Going It Alone to Build the Next Must-Have Device
- Star Wars-toy factory on the hunt for next big hardware hit
- Chinese plants back startups with prototypes, production run
This article is for subscribers only.
For decades China’s contract manufacturers have been content mostly to churn out gadgets designed by the world’s tech companies. Now they’re going a step further -- seeking out entrepreneurs and building their designs in hopes of finding the next must-have device.
Plants like Jetta Company Ltd. in Guangzhou are cutting out the traditional role of venture capital firms by shouldering some of the risk of developing a new product. They seek out ideas at trade events or from referrals. Then in-house teams build and test prototypes and even make small batches to gauge the market.