On February 1, it was learned from the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Science and Technology that the provincial government has just introduced 22 measures focusing on cultivating six types of enterprises and building a "six-type ecosystem," aiming to vigorously create a rainforest-like environment that incentivizes innovation. On January 31, the General Office of the Provincial Government issued the "Several Measures on Accelerating the Construction of an Innovation Ecosystem and Supporting the Growth of Sci-Tech Innovative Enterprises," which introduces 22 measures across three aspects: improving the gradient cultivation system for sci-tech innovative enterprises, deepening "dual-high synergy" to create a favorable environment for incentivizing innovation, and advancing reform and innovation to enhance development momentum. These measures are targeted at cultivating six types of sci-tech innovative enterprises: first-class leading technology enterprises, listed companies, unicorn companies, specialized and sophisticated SMEs, high-tech enterprises, and start-ups. Jiangsu will carry out industry-specific guidance, category-based support, and tiered cultivation tailored to the entire life cycle of various enterprises. For example, it will provide "one enterprise, one policy" support for leading technology enterprises, emphasizing the cultivation of platform-based, ecosystem-based, and chain-leader enterprises, and offering support for project R&D funding and R&D loan interest subsidies. For start-ups, the "Jing Miao" initiative will be implemented, including support for high-end returnee talents and personnel from universities and research institutes to establish businesses, as well as encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship among current students and graduates, promoting the targeted "drip irrigation" of talent, technology, and capital to enterprises, encouraging local areas to actively build clusters for small and medium-sized sci-tech enterprises, and providing startup grants and "investment-loan-insurance-guarantee" support. Specific enterprise cultivation targets have been set: by 2027, the goal is to cultivate approximately 50 leading technology enterprises, around 300 unicorn and potential unicorn companies, about 67,000 high-tech enterprises, and roughly 100,000 nationally registered small and medium-sized sci-tech enterprises. The "six-type ecosystem" includes R&D ecology, entrepreneurship ecology, venture capital ecology, talent environment, open environment, and government affairs environment. Among the measures for building the "six-type ecosystem," several new concepts are evident. For instance, implementing the "Laboratory+" initiative, which encourages enterprises to take the lead in establishing national (provincial) key laboratories, national technology innovation centers, and manufacturing innovation centers, thereby building a collaborative system of "laboratory + leading (chain-leader) enterprise + sci-tech company." By 2027, high-tech enterprises with annual revenues exceeding 100 million yuan are expected to achieve basic full coverage of R&D institutions. Another example is establishing a policy-based sci-tech insurance clause list, exploring diversified financing models such as "computing power as capital contribution," and promoting the expansion of pilot equity investment projects by financial asset investment companies (AICs). "Young people" is a common key theme across many measures. Jiangsu aims to build a comprehensive support system encompassing startup funding, living subsidies, venue subsidies, and guaranteed loans, actively cultivating a new generation of young entrepreneurs and business founders; it will support local areas in building youth-friendly communities and industrial parks, promote the AI OPC entrepreneurship model, and foster new intelligent-native business formats; it will leverage the guiding role of the Provincial Natural Science Foundation to ensure that young researchers account for no less than 60% of its beneficiaries, and aim to have an additional 1 million college graduates and various talents employed or starting businesses in Jiangsu annually. The measures focus both on vigorously attracting, serving, and supporting young talent, and on carefully cultivating new, emerging forces and future stars. The "Several Measures" explicitly propose improving the dynamic adjustment mechanism for university disciplines and majors, promoting AI education and entrepreneurship education, and facilitating the alignment of universities' strengths in specific disciplines with the advantageous industries in high-tech zones. Pioneering reforms integrating education, science and technology, and talent will be piloted, guided by advancements in artificial intelligence, biotechnology, brain-computer interfaces, and quantum technology. An ecosystem that incentivizes innovation must inherently be an open one. On one hand, Jiangsu will create an open innovation ecosystem with global competitiveness by supporting local areas in building international talent communities and assisting enterprises in establishing overseas R&D centers and offshore incubators. On the other hand, it will build an open and shared scenario system for new technologies and products by publishing lists of application scenario demands for frontier sectors and future industries, supporting leading enterprises in opening their Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), and backing the construction of open-source AI communities. "A tropical rainforest, filled with sunlight and rain, is an ecosystem where towering trees, dense shrubs, and herbaceous plants complement and enhance each other, full of vitality and competing for development," said Xu Guanghui, Director of the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Science and Technology. "At the beginning of the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the provincial government introduced these 22 measures primarily to顺应 the technological innovation wave represented by artificial intelligence and the trend of innovation and entrepreneurship, accelerate the construction of an innovation-incentivizing 'tropical rainforest,' and strive to form a situation where myriad forces advance vigorously in innovation and entrepreneurship."
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