Author I Song Xi, Site Selection 960

Full text: 4295 words, approximately 5 minutes to read

In January of this year, seven departments including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences jointly issued the "Implementation Opinions on Promoting the Innovative Development of Future Industries." The document states that by 2025, a batch of future industry incubators and pilot zones will be established, breaking through 100 cutting-edge key core technologies and forming 100 iconic products, initially forming a future industry development model that suits China's actual conditions. Additionally, the "Opinions" further divide the future industry into six sub-sectors: Future Manufacturing, Future Information, Future Materials, Future Energy, Future Space, and Future Health.

In April of this year, the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee held a meeting emphasizing the need to develop new productive forces tailored to local conditions and proactively plan and construct future industries. In the same month, the Department of High-tech Industry of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the State Council established the "Future Industry Division," marking the birth of the first business regulatory agency for future industries. Recently, Beijing announced the first batch of "Future Industry Incubation Bases," with a total of 10 bases selected, valid for three years. Among them, there are four in the general artificial intelligence sub-sector, one in optoelectronics, two in synthetic biology, one in hydrogen energy, one in humanoid robots, and one in next-generation biomedical materials.

Source: Beijing Municipal Commission of Economy and Information Technology

They are: Jizhi Future General AI Incubation Base in Haidian District, General AI Incubation Base in Dongsheng Building, Zhongguancun Software Park Incubator General AI Incubation Base; Jingxi Wisdom Valley General AI Incubation Base in Mentougou District, Baiyang Cardiovascular Innovative Medicine and Device Incubation Base; Chaoyang District Electronic City Optoelectronics Incubation Base; Guoshihechuang Synthetic Biology Incubation Base in Pinggu District; Future Science City Synthetic Biology Manufacturing Incubation Base in Changping District; Shuimu Xingchuang Hydrogen Energy Incubation Base in Daxing District; and Yizhuang Robotics Technology Humanoid Robot Incubation Base in the Economic Development Zone. Why were these 10 bases selected? What is the technological maturity of the six major future industry sectors they represent?

01 General AI Sector

The 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Geoffrey Hinton and John J. Hopfield, known as the "godfathers of artificial intelligence (AI)," for their foundational discoveries and inventions in using artificial neural networks for machine learning. Using artificial neural networks to mimic the human brain has made general AI technology possible. According to related concepts, general AI (AGI) differs from currently mainstream narrow AI, possessing a high degree of autonomy and creativity, enabling it to learn, reason, make decisions, and adapt to various tasks like humans.

The goal of AGI is to create a machine intelligence capable of performing any intellectual task that a human can perform. This time, a total of four bases have been selected in the general AI sub-sector, with three located in Haidian District. Among them, Jizhi Future General AI Incubation Base is operated by Beijing Jizhi Future AI Industry Innovation Base Co., Ltd., located on Zhichun Road in Haidian District, at the heart of Zhongguancun Science City, with a total of 50,800 square meters of scientific and technological innovation space in Quantum Center and Quantum Plaza.

Jizhi Future Quantum Plaza Source: Beijing Haidian

Public information shows that the base currently hosts over a hundred AI enterprises, including nine national-level specialized and innovative "little giants" and 15 Beijing-level specialized and innovative enterprises, with an industrial agglomeration rate of 100%. In addition, according to official news, leading enterprises in the field of AI applications and general large models, such as Dark Side of the Moon, CapeCloud, UISEE, Stars Sparkle, UBTECH, Datavision, and Zhongke Ruijian, have been nurtured by the base, which also gathers AI chip unicorn enterprises like Suiyuan Technology, Phytium Information, and Moore Threads. Among them, Dark Side of the Moon, established last year, currently has a valuation exceeding $3 billion, making it the highest-valued domestic large model startup.

Dongsheng Building Source: Charming Dongsheng Official Account

The Dongsheng Building General AI Incubation Base is located in the Wudaokou area along Chengfu Road in Haidian District. In September 2023, Haidian District established an AI cluster, with Wudaokou as one of the core guiding areas, and Dongsheng Building as the iconic building of the Wudaokou AI Industrial Park. Data shows that the park has a ground construction scale of about 120,000 square meters, and has integrated a comprehensive and integrated innovative service ecosystem that includes R&D and production, incubators, shared laboratories, public spaces, and commercial facilities. Currently, over a hundred AI enterprises have settled in the park, initially forming a group of high-growth star startups. Examples include Qifan (Shenyan Technology) with an academic background in computer science and technology from Tsinghua University, and the founding team of Zhipu AI, also from the Department of Computer Science and Technology at Tsinghua University. Zhipu AI is currently also a domestic large model unicorn with a valuation exceeding 20 billion yuan.

Source: Zhongguancun Software Park

The Zhongguancun Software Park Incubator General AI Incubation Base is located in Dongbeiwang, Haidian District, and is operated by Beijing Zhongguancun Software Park Incubation Service Co., Ltd. Established in 2001 with a registered capital of 53 million yuan, the company is jointly funded by Beijing Zhongguancun Software Park Development Co., Ltd., Zhongguancun High-tech Industry Promotion Center, Beijing Software and Information Service Industry Promotion Center, and Beijing CEC Electronic Technology Company. The Zhongguancun Software Park Incubator is located in the core area of Zhongguancun Software Park, Haidian Park, Zhongguancun National Independent Innovation Zone, with two incubator buildings covering a total area of 22,000 square meters and a total construction area of 28,000 square meters. According to the official introduction of Zhongguancun Software Park, the current incubation base has self-raised funds of 20 million yuan and participated in the establishment of the Beike Qihang Fund, which has invested in eight startup companies in 2023.

Jingxi Wisdom Valley Source: Beijing Daily

The last base selected in the general AI sector is located in Mentougou District, Beijing - Jingxi Wisdom Valley General AI Incubation Base. The Jingxi Wisdom Valley General AI Incubation Base is operated by Beijing Ascend Innovation AI Co., Ltd. Behind Ascend is Huawei. According to Mentougou news, in January 2023, Huawei announced the official establishment of the Beijing Ascend AI Computing Center, jointly built with the Mentougou District Government of Beijing and the Zhongguancun Development Group. In June 2023, the Jingxi Wisdom Valley AI Computing Center was officially launched. In July, the Ministry of Science and Technology officially approved the Jingxi Wisdom Valley AI Computing Center as the "National New Generation AI Public Computing Power Open Innovation Platform," becoming the first AI public computing power open platform in the North China region to obtain the "National Intelligence License." According to data, Jingxi Wisdom Valley has a construction area of about 800,000 square meters, with a planned total construction area of 309,000 square meters in the first phase, a total investment of 3.9 billion yuan, and is expected to be put into use by the end of 2025.

02 Optoelectronics Sector

With the popularization of 5G networks and the research and development of 6G technology, the demand for optical communications continues to grow. The technology that integrates optics and information technology is known as optical information technology, photonic information technology, or optoelectronic information technology. Optical information technology leverages the physical characteristics of light to play an important role in multiple information technology links such as sensing, communication, storage, computation, and display. The potential of integrating optics and information technology, as well as the parallel evolution and continuous integration of optical information technology and traditional electronic information technology, are widely recognized as the critical foundation of current and future information and communication technologies. This time, there is one base selected in the optoelectronics sector - Chaoyang District Electronic City Optoelectronics Incubation Base.

Electronic City IC/PIC Innovation Center Source: Internet

The Electronic City Optoelectronics Incubation Base operates based on the Zhongguancun Electronic City Integrated Circuit Design Innovation Center (Electronic City IC/PIC Innovation Center). This innovation center is located in the Jiuxianqiao area of Chaoyang District, occupying an area of 50,300 square meters and converted from old factories. It was put into use in 2020, aiming to provide space for growth and takeoff for research teams and enterprises focusing on the development needs of the integrated circuit/photonic integration industry. The industrial space layout of the Electronic City IC/PIC Innovation Center Park is "one incubator and three centers," namely, the Zhongguancun Hard Technology Incubator, the IC Industry Ecology Innovation Center, the Photonic Integration Technology Innovation Center, and the Integrated Circuit and Photonic Application Experience Center. Currently, the park hosts several high-quality optoelectronics enterprises such as Photon Arithmetic, Boson Quantum, and Digital Photonics.

03 Synthetic Biology Sector

Recently, an announcement released by He Eye Hospital revealed that the company will jointly launch a health technology industry fund with Maotai Zhaohua, with a fund size of 797 million yuan. It is reported that one of the directions for the fund's efforts is synthetic biology. As the fifth generation of biotechnology, synthetic biology is regarded as a potential area for the fifth industrial revolution in the future and a key technological engine for the country's layout of future industries, especially future manufacturing. According to the "China Synthetic Biology Industry White Paper 2024," the global synthetic biology industry has grown rapidly over the past five years, with the market size increasing from 5.3 billion US dollars in 2018 to over 17 billion US dollars in 2023, representing an average annual growth rate of 27%. It is estimated that by 2028, it will grow into a global market with a volume of nearly 50 billion US dollars. This time, two bases have been listed in the synthetic biology sector - Guoshihechuang Synthetic Biology Incubation Base in Pinggu District and Future Science City Synthetic Biology Manufacturing Incubation Base in Changping District. The Guoshihechuang Synthetic Biology Incubation Base in Pinggu District is operated by China Traditional Food Co., Ltd., combining the development requirements of the Agricultural Zhongguancun, the National Agricultural High-tech Zone, and the Food Nutrition Valley, striving to create a future industry synthetic biology incubation base.

Location Diagram of Future Science City Synthetic Biology Manufacturing Incubation Base

Real Scene of Future Century Source: Future Science City Group

According to news from Future Science City, the Future Science City Synthetic Biology Manufacturing Incubation Base is located in Future Century, Future Science City, Changping District, Beijing, and partially utilizes the high-quality industrial space of the China Aluminum Science and Technology Research Institute, with a total area of approximately 125,400 square meters. It aims to create an innovative incubation space integrating "headquarters office + R&D platform + incubation acceleration + pilot test and medium-scale test," satisfying the needs of various bio-manufacturing industries and promoting the quality and efficiency of the synthetic biology manufacturing industry.

04 Hydrogen Energy Sector

Unlike wind and solar energy, hydrogen energy, like electricity and energy storage, is a secondary energy source that needs to be produced from other energy sources. Under the global trend of decarbonization and emission reduction, the adjustment of the energy structure has the greatest impact on reducing carbon emissions, and the energy supply dominated by fossil fuels will gradually shift to zero-carbon energy supply. Green hydrogen produced from renewable energy can truly help reduce carbon emissions. This time, one base has been listed in the hydrogen energy sector - Shuimu Xingchuang Hydrogen Energy Incubation Base.

The Shuimu Xingchuang Hydrogen Energy Incubation Base is primarily operated by Shuimu Xingchuang (Beijing) Technology Development Co., Ltd. and located in Daxing International Hydrogen Energy Demonstration Zone. Daxing District, as an important cluster of hydrogen energy industries in Beijing, has formed a relatively complete hydrogen energy industry ecosystem, including collaborative development among hydrogen energy enterprises, research institutions, testing institutions, and more. The Daxing International Hydrogen Energy Demonstration Zone started construction in August 2020, with a core area consisting of the southern and northern zones covering an area of 20.8 hectares and nearly 360,000 square meters of industrial space.

The northern zone includes projects such as the first hydrogen energy exchange center in North China, the world's largest daily hydrogen refueling station - Hyperion Hydrogen Refueling Station, a research building, and the "Fountain of Hydrogen" themed science and technology park. Daxing District will use the southern zone of the Hydrogen Energy Demonstration Zone as a pilot, utilizing technologies such as photovoltaic power generation, photothermal coupling, methanol reforming, and hydrogen fuel combined cooling, heating, and power supply, to explore the establishment of a multi-energy access and complementary energy service system based on distributed new energy, creating the first hydrogen-electricity coupled zero-carbon park in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, and forming a systematic solution for zero-carbon parks that can be promoted and referenced.

05 Humanoid Robot Sector

Thanks to the leap in AI, advancements in materials science, and the deep integration of interdisciplinary technologies, humanoid robots are gradually unveiling their mystery, undergoing a transformation from "conceptual budding" to "substantial landing." Tesla founder Elon Musk stated, "If the ratio of humans to robots is 2:1, the demand for humanoid robots may far exceed the demand for cars." NVIDIA CEO Jen-Hsun Huang said, "Humanoid robots will definitely be the mainstream in the future. In the near future, all of us will create a new category of devices - humanoid robots." This time, one base has been listed in the humanoid robot sector - Yizhuang Robotics Technology Humanoid Robot Incubation Base.

Yizhuang Robot Industrial Park, Image Source: China Electronics News

The Yizhuang Robot Technology Humanoid Robot Incubation Base is part of the Yizhuang Robot Industrial Park declared by Beijing Yizhuang Robot Technology Industry Development Co., Ltd. This industrial park is part of Beijing's plan to construct the "one south and one north" robot industrial parks, covering an area of 250,000 square meters. It integrates research and development, production, exhibition, and exchange, and is committed to building a system from algorithm breakthroughs, model development to scenario creation. Currently, industry leaders such as Xiaomi and UBTECH have settled in the park.

06 Next-generation Biomedical Materials Track

In Liu Cixin's novel "The Three-Body Problem," high-dimensional sophons lock human physics' continued development potential by interfering with high-energy particle accelerator experiments. Today, the secrets to breaking the stagnation in human civilization's understanding of physics may lie in the booming new materials industry. For the future, the invention and application of any new material are sufficient to reshape our world. Not only will all electronic products become more portable and agile, but transportation and energy will be disrupted. Even quantum supercomputers and controlled nuclear fusion may become realities, revealing deeper mysteries of the world to mankind. This time, there is one base listed in the sub-sector of next-generation biomedical materials - the Baiyang Cardiovascular Innovative Drug and Device Incubation Base in Mentougou District.

The Baiyang Cardiovascular Innovative Drug and Device Incubation Base is operated by Beijing Baiyang Chengchuang Pharmaceutical Investment Co., Ltd., which is wholly owned by the Baiyang Group. The Baiyang Pharmaceutical Group settled in Mentougou District in April 2022 and cooperated with the Mentougou District Government to create the "Baiyang Pharmaceutical Scientific Research Achievement Transformation Base," which is dedicated to the incubation and transformation of innovative drugs and devices in the field of cardiovascular disease. It is reported that the base includes 27,000 square meters of buildings and factories, which are currently in use.