Shanghai Unveils Plans to Boost Future Industries with US$2.1b Fund

Shanghai announced today a blueprint to become a global leader in "future industries," including such fields as brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), controllable nuclear fusion and fourth-generation semiconductors.

The city's plan sets targets, aiming to nurture approximately 20 ecosystem-dominant enterprises in future industries by 2027 and establish several world-class industry clusters by 2030, solidifying Shanghai's position as a global innovation hub.

The six core directions for these future industries are: Future Manufacturing, Future Information, Future Materials, Future Energy, Future Space and Future Health. Key technologies identified include BCIs, quantum computing, silicon photonics, 6G networks, controllable nuclear fusion and gene editing.

To foster this new generation of industries, Shanghai is simultaneously setting up 12 high-quality incubators and creating the "Shanghai Future Start Community."

Qu Wei, deputy director of the Shanghai Science and Technology Commission, explained that future industries are "forward-looking emerging industries that are in the nascent or early industrialization stages, possessing significant disruptive and frontier characteristics".

He emphasized that nurturing them is a strategic move to lead scientific innovation, reshape the industrial landscape, and secure a competitive advantage on the global stage.

The plan outlines the optimization of five core elements to provide all-around support: products, scenarios, finance, talent and cooperation.

A cornerstone of this strategy is the establishment of the Shanghai Engine Fund, a dedicated future industry fund with a total scale of 15 billion (US$2.1 billion). The fund is designed to bridge the gap between scientific breakthroughs and commercial viability, focusing on high-potential areas like nuclear fusion, quantum technology, BCIs and artificial intelligence ecosystems.

To date, the fund has approved investments for 18 strategically sub-funds, with a planned investment of 2.21 billion yuan, targeting a total sub-fund scale exceeding 15 billion yuan.

In a major move for future manufacturing, Shanghai is establishing a semiconductor incubator in the Lingang Special Area specifically for fourth-generation semiconductors (ultra-wide bandgap semiconductors).

Experts said these advanced materials are slated for applications in critical technologies such as radar, radio frequency communications, electric vehicle charging piles and ultra-high voltage power transmission and transformation.