The 5th Shanghai Talent+ Summit opened at the Shanghai West Bund International Convention and Exhibition Center on Nov 25, gathering innovators and entrepreneurs from around the world.

01 Spotlighting global cutting-edge tech projects

As Shanghai's flagship talent initiative and a symbol of the city's innovative appeal, Shanghai Talent+ provides a platform for global innovators to showcase their talent.

The 5th Shanghai Global Talents Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition saw 14,723 project submissions worldwide, setting new records as the most extensively organized, widely participated, and internationally diverse edition to date.

The opening ceremony revealed the winners of the competition, with 60 outstanding projects  receiving awards, including six gold, 18 silver, and 36 bronze awards.

02 Building an inclusive innovation ecosystem

Shanghai is transitioning from offering funding and policies to creating environments and ecosystems that better support global innovators. This year's summit featured comprehensive upgrades in entrepreneurial ecosystem development.

> Dedicated space launched

The "Shanghai Talent+" Entrepreneurship City, unveiled at last year's summit, is now fully operational at the Grand Neobay science and technology innovation hub.

The city integrates R&D, incubation, investment, and lifestyle amenities, aiming to accelerate the commercialization of scientific achievements and attract academic elites, research experts, and enterprise leaders to Shanghai. It further strengthens the city's position as a landmark and internationally influential hub for global talent.

> Elite mentors assembled

The Shanghai Talent+ entrepreneurial academy brings together global expertise and entrepreneurial resources to mentor and cultivate the next generation of innovators, with the inaugural batch of chief mentors receiving certificates at the ceremony.

> Community alliance inaugurated

The summit saw the launch of the Shanghai Talent+ entrepreneurship community alliance, with seven leading institutions, including the Shanghai Foundation Model Innovation Center and S-Tron China, joining as founding members. The alliance aims to build a highly connected, high-value, and dynamic ecosystem for innovators across diverse sectors.

> Financial support initiated

The Shanghai Talent+ venture capital fund, led by Shanghai State-owned Capital Investment, commenced operations and signed the first batch of investment intent agreements with several advanced technology projects. With a target scale of 2 billion yuan ($282.28 million) and an initial phase of 300 million yuan, the fund focuses on supporting outstanding entrepreneurs emerging from the competition, offering capital support to the real economy and technological innovation.

> Policy support enhanced

Shanghai released a dedicated action plan to optimize the young talent entrepreneurship ecosystem. It addresses key challenges in entrepreneurial ecosystem development and talent cultivation, introducing institutional support measures across the entire entrepreneurial chain from talent discovery and aggregation to multilayered support in incubation, resources, and services for young entrepreneurs in the city.

03 Spotlighting innovative drive

A keynote speech session invited outstanding young entrepreneurs to share their insights on academic research and industrial innovation, covering topics from breakthroughs in AI for Science to advancements in brain-computer interfaces.

Focusing on the integration of four key chains: the talent leadership chain, technological innovation chain, industrial development chain, and financial support chain, the summit will also feature themed events such as entrepreneurship carnivals, forums, exhibitions, and other curated activities in the following days.

Sources: Official WeChat account of the Shanghai Talent+ Development Promotion Association at "shgtda", Official WeChat account of Shanghai Foreign Affairs Office at "gh_a1fb10001853"