Shanghai launched its 2026 WeStart international innovation and entrepreneurship competition on March 24, aiming to create an integrated platform for enterprise showcasing, government-enterprise dialogue, resource matching, and fostering innovation.

"This year, we are placing greater emphasis on technology entrepreneurship projects across future industrial sectors," Huang Lihong, director of the Shanghai technology innovation center, said.

"Through partnerships with professional research institutes, large enterprises, new R&D institutions, and high-quality incubators, we've expanded our coverage of early-stage projects in health, energy, materials, manufacturing, and new communication fields."

The three-day event, which began on Monday, unveiled the competition's ecological service system and established an incubation academy. It has also integrated various brand matrices, including the WeStart venture capital conference and the Gateway cross-border community.

During the launch event, award-winning teams from previous competitions signed agreements to establish operations in Shanghai across diverse sectors, including chip design and intermodal transshipment.

Ru Binxin, cofounder of Sailyond Technology, which claimed first prize in 2025, said, "Our company is using AI technology to revolutionize automation equipment in high-end manufacturing. We've developed industry inspection machines that have solved major pain points."

As a returning overseas Chinese, Ru acknowledged the competition's value beyond funding.

"The training sessions and expert sharing have given me new insights into many aspects, which are very helpful for our company's development," he said.

Wu Nan, vice-president of Laser Link Technology, which won third prize last year, introduced their innovation, "We presented our ground-based laser communication terminal, which provides affordable internet access to remote mountainous areas and islands."

"Financial institutions have proactively approached us after witnessing our performance in the competition," he added.

"They now offer preferential policies to support high-tech enterprises like ours."

The Shanghai technology innovation center also signed a cooperation agreement with Bank of Shanghai during the event to establish a special support program for high-growth early-stage projects. This initiative provides financial continuity through donated funds before government innovation funds are disbursed.

The 2026 competition will optimize its system, aiming to engage innovation entities across industry, academia, research, and finance sectors through a full-chain development model.

"We plan to connect with more overseas entrepreneur platforms in North America and Europe, providing additional competition opportunities," Huang emphasized.

"Our goal is to transform this competition into a platform that genuinely empowers entrepreneurs, serving as a vital connector for resources."