Taopu Zhichuang City core area is 4.2 square kilometers. It is known as a rare piece of "coat material" in the process of economic transformation and development in the central urban area of Shanghai. How to use this piece of "coat material" well? How can "coat material" bring new vitality to industrial development? Taopu Zhichuang City took the lead in trying out, creating an unprecedented "innovation paradise", and used the "baton" of innovation to interpret a new chapter in industrial development here.
"Hero Returns" new legend
At the portal of Taopu Zhichuang City, a park with a construction area of 20,000 square meters carries the glory and dreams of many Putuo people. "This was once the Hero Golden Pen Factory. I am familiar with the story of the 'Hero Chong Parker' that was born in this Soviet-style factory." An old employee of the Hero Golden Pen Factory proudly recalled.
Now that I walk here again, the words "China-ISRAEL INNOVATION HUB (SHANGHAI)" are engraved on the door, becoming a thriving innovation paradise in the northwest corner of Shanghai, staged a new legend of "Return of Heroes".
(Shanghai) Innovation Park
Around 2010, exchanges between Shanghai and Israel enterprises, universities and the public are becoming increasingly active. "At that time, some prototypes such as Shanghai Zhongyi Innovation Center or incubator were also born, but in the exchanges and cooperation between the two places, I always felt a little short of breath." Qiang Hao, general manager of China-Israeli Innovation Park (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., recalled that it was not until October 2018 that the "China-Israeli Innovation Cooperation Action Plan (2018-2021)" was signed and proposed to build China-Israeli Innovation Park in Shanghai. With the encouragement of the two governments, how to build a distinctive innovation park has become a must-answer question for Shanghai people. Shanghai handed over this task to Taopu Zhichuang City located in Putuo District, . An old industrial area that is undergoing transformation has sparked with international innovation...
In Taopu area in 2018, most of the traditional factories have just been relocated. Everything is in trouble. It is a fresh topic to be built in Taopu. With the support of the Shanghai Science and Technology Commission and the Shanghai Foreign Affairs Office, Putuo District quickly became the "Shanghai Putuo District Zhongyi (Shanghai) Innovation Park Construction Leading Group". The specific work was implemented by Shanghai Taopu Zhichuangcheng Development and Construction Co., Ltd. The first phase carrier of the park was selected in the original Hero Golden Pen Factory of the Style Protection Building, which was built in 1954. This is also one of the few old buildings preserved after the transformation of Taopu Industrial Zone.
should not only retain the historical style and national characteristics of the old buildings, but also integrate into international trends to match the needs of building a highland of scientific and technological innovation between China and Israel. The China-Israel (Shanghai) Innovation Park team began to solicit transformation plans everywhere. "At that time, almost everyone told me that the office environment of Wework was needed. So during the first round of renovation, we took out two buildings to transform the internal space into small grid spaces. Each unit introduced, we would first provide entrepreneurs with 1 to 2 rooms. Gradually, the company grew and needed greater space, so we would re-arrange it." Qiang Hao said that for some science and technology enterprises that had developed to a certain scale, we also had greater space to match.
"change-new" innovative ecosystem
"We just cross the river by feeling the stones." Qiang Hao described the construction path of the park in this way. He recalled that around 2019, he and his team found that there were at least 30 China-Israel cooperative parks in China, including Changzhou , Hangzhou, Beijing, and Yunnan, Inner Mongolia, Guangdong, Dalian, Chengdu, etc., but when they called for inquiries or conducted on-site inspections, most of the parks said that China-Israel cooperation has not achieved much results in the exploration stage. "In our exchanges with the Israel Innovation Agency, we also found that although the first two China-Israel Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competitions were lively, projects that were truly implemented in China are rare, and it is very difficult for Israeli scientists to calm down in China to do scientific research. Finally, we came to a conclusion that China-Israel innovation cooperation is in a stage of blooming in China. Although there are precedents to learn from, there are no role models to learn. Everyone is feeling the stones together," said Qiang Hao.
Crossing the river by feeling the stones means everything is brand new.In the China-Israel (Shanghai) Innovation Park, a new innovation ecosystem has been created.
There is a "dumbbell-mounted service system". In the third quarter of 2019, under the coordination of the Shanghai Science and Technology Commission, the National Technology Transfer Eastern Center established the "Shanghai Innovation Center" in Israel, and Putuo District established the "China-Israel (Shanghai) Innovation Park" in Shanghai as both ends of the dumbbell. At the same time, the "Shanghai China-Israel Innovation Promotion Center" jointly initiated by the National Technology Transfer Eastern Center, East China Normal University , China-Israel (Shanghai) Innovation Park, Rongzhi Intellectual Property, and Rehavi Incubator. The center covers R&D, education, Intellectual Property Protection , operation carriers and other aspects, as an important bridge for the two ends of contact and service.
signs a contract with the (Shanghai) Innovation Park (data picture)
here has "a paradise carrier to realize dreams". The first phase of the China-Israel (Shanghai) Innovation Park has a carrier area of about 18,000 square meters. It has two roadshow centers that can accommodate 100 people, dozens of small offices suitable for start-ups, and several independent office buildings and some supporting facilities suitable for accelerating enterprises. In the future, relying on the 4.2 square kilometers of the core area of Taopu Zhichuang City, it has a variety of business formats such as scientific and technological research and development, business office, and residential, and strives to become an international community that is "profitable for creation, business and living".
There is also a comprehensive guarantee system that uses "R&D to promote innovation", "Investment to promote innovation", "Cultural helps innovation" and "Activities enrich innovation". Taking "Events Rich Innovation" as an example, the China-Israel (Shanghai) Innovation Park, on the one hand, hosted the "China-Israel Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition" with the Shanghai China-Israel Innovation Promotion Center. The event is co-organized by China Science and Technology Exchange Center and the Israel Innovation Agency. It is the only event platform under the China-Israel Innovation Joint Committee mechanism. Based on the original innovation competition, the Shanghai China-Israel Innovation Promotion Center and the China-Israel (Shanghai) Innovation Park also proposed a challenge model, and Chinese companies issued invitations, and Israel solved the problem, making the results of the competition more meaningful. At the same time, the China-Israel (Shanghai) Innovation Park restored the "Shanghai Digital Innovation Conference" and actively participated in various activities such as "Global Technology Transfer Conference", "INNOWEEK China-Israel Innovation Week", "China-Israel CEO Forum", and "China-Israel Life and Health Forum". Every month, it organizes centralized roadshows, new product releases and other activities for park enterprises, and displays the corporate and cutting-edge technological styles of China and Israel.
"accelerating trend" science and technology innovation industry
Zhongyi (Shanghai) Innovation Park is one of the two golden signs in Putuo District and is currently the only park named after the country. In June this year, the park also successfully included in the technology enterprise incubator list of Shanghai's science and technology innovation and entrepreneurship carrier cultivation system. While the atmosphere of science and technology innovation is becoming increasingly intense here, the development of science and technology innovation enterprises is also growing here.
Take the park enterprise Mantis Vision as an example. It is a 3D imaging technology enterprise originated from Israel. It entered China in 2018 and currently has R&D centers in China and Israel respectively. It has 46 authorized patents worldwide and 28 series of patents are applied for. It has the qualification of national high-tech enterprise .
In early 2019, under the introduction of the Commercial Office of the Israeli Consulate General in Shanghai, the management team of the China-Israel (Shanghai) Innovation Park visited Mantis Huishi. At that time, the company had just started its business in China, worked with domestic investor Lianmei Investment, and had plans to switch to Guangdong. China-Israel (Shanghai) Innovation Park conducted an in-depth investigation of Mantis Huisi and learned that the company has mastered the core patented 3D mask encoding structured light technology. Its product system mainly includes embedded 3D sensing equipment, AIOT and industry solutions, 3D studio solutions, etc. It will be widely used in various fields of the metaverse. The difficulty for the company at that time was financing and international technology transfer.
China-Israel (Shanghai) Innovation Park immediately decided to invite Mantis Huishi to join the park, and tailored a 2,000-square-meter office headquarters and display area for the park, supporting enterprises to participate in various competitions such as the Global Technology Transfer Conference, and coordinated CITIC Bank to provide loan support to enterprises, actively contact the "China-Israel Angel Fund". Finally, on November 18, 2021, it jointly promoted Mantis Huishi's A round of financing.This round of financing was led by Shang Tang Guoxiang Capital ( Artificial Intelligence Industry Fund), followed by Wenxingshengshi and "China-Israel Angel Fund", and the original shareholder Mantis Vision continued to follow-up investment. The financing funds will be mainly used for subsequent 3D technology software and hardware research and development, 3D studio landing and meta-universe content production.
Menti Huishi's technology exhibition hall
Menti Huishi CEO Chen Ling was deeply moved by this: "First of all, the brand of the park attracted us, and the China-Israel (Shanghai) Innovation Park can brand and specialize in enterprises and technologies from Israel; secondly, the service of the park moved us and helped us solve various problems in office, talents, financing and other aspects; in the end, the park's concept of "research and development to promote innovation, investment to promote innovation" inspired us, so I We have decided to settle in the park in just one month. In the future, we will continue to take root in the park and attract outstanding R&D talents from all over the world to join. "
, and Mantis Huishi is just a microcosm of many companies in the park. In the past three years since the opening of the park, the China-Israel (Shanghai) Innovation Park has settled in more than 90 enterprises, institutions and projects of various types. Two potential enterprises, including Mantis Huishi and Tianhe Nursing, completed round A and A+ rounds of financing respectively, with a total amount of more than 400 million yuan, and nearly 300 intellectual property rights of various types have been implemented, with an output value of more than 100 million yuan.
In the future, Taopu Zhichuang City will actively implement the new development concept of , adhere to innovation-led transformation and upgrading, take the China-(Shanghai) Innovation Park as the core, comprehensively build an international innovation city, further polish the "golden signboard", and create a new situation for high-quality development of .
Reporter: Ding Wanxing
Editor: Ye Jiacheng
