Recently, the awards ceremony of the preliminary round for the Shenshan Special Cooperation Zone of the 17th China Shenzhen Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, together with the Fourth Shenzhen Shenshan Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, concluded at the Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Incubation Base of the Shenshan Special Cooperation Zone.

With the theme “Innovate the City, Create the Future,” this year’s competition was held to attract talent, enterprises, and investment. Focusing on two key tracks—the automotive industry and its supply chain, as well as rural revitalization—the competition was open to innovative, high-potential startups and enterprises from across China and beyond.

Compared with previous editions, this year’s competition featured higher-quality project submissions, more substantial outcomes, stronger capital support, and more targeted empowerment services. These demonstrated the pragmatic approach and efficient execution of Shenshan in promoting innovation and entrepreneurship, earning Shenshan broad recognition and trust from participating teams.

The competition drew 239 high-quality project submissions from both domestic and international teams. After rounds of intense competition, 40 projects advanced to the finals, yielding three first prizes, four second prizes, four third prizes, and 20 excellence awards.

Among them, several projects, including the R&D and industrialization of lithium-sodium-ion battery materials and a high-end metal raw material platform for minimally invasive interventional devices, have secured tens of millions of yuan in financing or demonstrated the potential to generate hundreds of millions of yuan in output value. Furthermore, projects in cutting-edge fields such as silicon carbide power devices and satellite‑based internet of vehicles (IoV) have achieved key technological breakthroughs, highlighting their robust innovative capabilities and industrial value.

In addition, four projects advanced from the Shenshan round to the national finals. Another 15 entered the Shenzhen municipal competition, with 11 winning city-level awards—including two first prizes, two second prizes, two third prizes, and five excellence awards—across cutting-edge fields such as new-generation information technology, new energy, and biomedicine.

Furthermore, letters of intent have been signed for 16 high-quality projects to settle in Shenshan. These projects span multiple frontier sectors, including new energy vehicles, integrated circuits, unmanned aerial vehicles, new materials, biomedicine, and smart agriculture. Driven by the synergy between competition resources and capital support, some of this year’s first-prize winners have already signed agreements to establish operations in Shenshan, making a substantive first step toward implementation.

The competition attracted 15 leading investment and financing institutions, including Cowin Capital, ASB Ventures USD FOF, Fortune Capital, Zheshang Venture Capital, and the Financial Department of Shenzhen Investment Holdings Co., Ltd. Their involvement allowed targeted matchmaking during the competition and sustained follow-up support after the event.

Representatives from these institutions provided professional guidance to entrepreneurial projects on financing strategies and business model optimization through various formats such as project roadshows, investment consultation sessions, and closed-door negotiations. This fully demonstrated the notable effectiveness of the competition to attract investment through competition and drive industrial development.

The event also featured a dedicated VC Café and project promotion service zones, facilitating face-to-face, one-on-one precision matchmaking between project teams and investors.

Following the competition, the organizing committee arranged site visits for representatives of award-winning projects and projects with intended settlement to the Shenshan BYD Auto Industrial Park, Xiaomo International Logistics Port, and Samkoon Shenzhen Technology Company. These site visits were designed to facilitate precise project matching and accelerate their implementation in the region.

During the event, the “Shenzhen Automotive and Aviation Industry Integrated Development Service Station (Shenshan)” was inaugurated to provide key projects with full-cycle, one-stop services.