6 Hot Startups From China's Spiciest Province

The Chinese province of Sichuan (sometimes still referred to in the anachronistic spelling “Szechwan”) is home to the country’s spiciest food. And these days, despite being far from the tech hubs around Beijing or Shenzhen, the region is also cooking up some hot startups.

With the province, along with neighboring Chongqing, being groomed by authorities as a new base for hi-tech manufacturing, we can expect more tech startups blossoming in Sichuan in the future too.

Here’s a list of six impressive Sichuan startups, covering the gamut of gaming, social, lifestyle, and e-commerce. Note that all but one focuses on mobile – and that three of them have had great international success.

Tap4Fun, makers of King’s Empire

Tap4Fun is one of China’s top game developers for iPhone and iOS. Its most popular current game is King’s Empire – a title that’s often in the top 50 in terms of top grossing games in the US iTunes App Store, though it’s now in 69th spot.

Founded by Kevin Yang, Tap4Fun is a great example of a Chinese startup thinking globally, as well as an indication that in-app purchases are the way to go for mobile gaming developers. The startup’s two other games are Island Empire and Galaxy Empire. Though apparently able to remain self-funded for now, we won’t be surprised to hear of a major funding round in the near future.

Pinguo, makers of Camera360

Camera360 is an app that many readers might be using already – perhaps without even realizing its country of origin. Developed in the Sichuan capital of Chengdu, it’s one of the world’s top free photography apps, and is on both iOS and Android. It’s a bit like Instagram, but without the social network element, and is said to have over 30 million users.

The company behind it, Pinguo, attracted $10 million in funding in May of this year, led by Singapore-based Gobi Partners and US-based Matrix Partners.

Mobotap, makers of Dolphin Browser

Another global hit comes in the form of Dolphin Browser, a speedy mobile web browser with easily-accessible tabs – and on Android it’s even more customizable with lots of add-ons. The browser has had over 12 million downloads across iOS and Android, and 80 percent of its user-base is in the US.

The startup makers of the app, Mobotap, is headquartered in San Francisco but also has its China offices in Chengdu’s hi-tech industrial development zone. It raised $10 million in funding last summer, and we hear rumors of a second major round happening soon.

Ikamobile, makers of Hotel Finder