2026 STARTUP IN SHANGHAI Competition

2026 Guangzhou Science and Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition Industry Contest

The deadline for registration is August 14, 2026

Event Details

Organizational Unit

Organizer: "Create - Shanghai" International Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition Organizing Committee

Sponsor: Shanghai Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Center

Joint organizing units: Each district's science and technology administrative department, and each professional service institution

Event composition

The competition is divided into two categories: strategic emerging industries and future industries, with the following specific tracks:

(1) Strategic Emerging Industries
Projects are solicited from enterprises registered in Guangzhou, covering 12 subcategories: software and internet, next-generation information devices and communication networks, semiconductors and integrated circuits, pharmaceutical research and development, medical devices, intelligent equipment and advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, intelligent connected and new energy vehicles, energy conservation and environmental protection, new energy and novel energy storage, new materials, and cultural creativity.

(2) Future Industries
Projects are open to enterprises and teams nationwide, with 8 subcategories: intelligent unmanned systems, embodied intelligence, cell and gene technologies, quantum technology, deep sea and space exploration, high-end scientific instruments, brain science and brain-computer interfaces, and organ medicine.

Zone Setting

Eligibility requirements

(I) Strategic Emerging Industries Category

1. Participating entities must be enterprises registered within Guangzhou, possessing independent legal status as corporate entities, with strong innovation capabilities and high growth potential.

2. Enterprises must operate in a standardized manner, with annual revenue not exceeding 200 million RMB in 2025, and must not be publicly listed companies.

3. Participating entities will be divided into two groups based on their business registration dates: the Growth Enterprise Group and the Startup Enterprise Group. Enterprises registered on or after January 1, 2024, shall participate in the Startup Enterprise Group competition; all other enterprises shall join the Growth Enterprise Group.

(II) Future Industries Category

Participants may register either as an enterprise or as a team, subject to the following requirements:

1. Enterprise Group: Independent legal entities registered within China, demonstrating outstanding innovation capacity, solid growth potential, and sound management practices. Non-Guangzhou-based enterprises must have clear intentions to establish operations in Guangzhou.

2. Team Group: Core team members must number between 2 and 5 (inclusive). No individual may serve as a core member of more than one team. Teams must possess scientific and technological innovations or a complete business plan, with no ownership disputes regarding related products, technologies, or patents. The team must also express clear intent to establish operations in Guangzhou.

(III) Participation Requirements

1. Guangzhou-based enterprises that won first, second, or third place (or first, second, or third prize) at the 2025 China Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition National Finals or National Round, or at the Guangdong Regional Competition, are ineligible to participate in this year’s event. Additionally, enterprises awarded first prize in the 2025 China Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition (Guangdong-Guangzhou Regional Competition) are also prohibited from participating.

2. The same participant or project may not register multiple times across different tracks or categories. When registering as a team, the team name and project title must not include the word "company."

3. All participants must maintain a good record of integrity, with no history of serious research misconduct under penalty or inclusion on any relevant social credit “blacklist.” The core technological achievements (including intellectual property), financial data, and other materials related to the competing project must belong to the participant or have been legally, fully, and effectively authorized by the participant, with no disputes over ownership. If false, incomplete, or non-compliant information is discovered during the competition, the organizing committee reserves the right to disqualify the participant or revoke their eligibility.

Schedule Arrangement

The competition consists of registration, preliminary round, final round, due diligence, etc. The specific time and details for each stage will be adjusted according to the actual progress of the event. The exact information will be provided by the competition organizing committee.

(1) Registration

Units that meet the eligibility criteria can voluntarily register for the competition at "Guangzhou Science and Technology GI" (https://gzsti.gzsi.gov.cn/czgz). After registration and identity verification, the participating units must submit complete registration materials and commit to being responsible for the accuracy and authenticity of the competition materials. Enterprises with high innovation scores on "Guangzhou Science and Technology GI" will be given priority to participate in the competition.

The registration deadline is August 14, 2026.

(2) Preliminary Round

The organizing units of each competition track will organize the participating units of this track to conduct at least one round of "offline presentation and online live broadcast" competitions. Non-Shenzhen participating projects in the Future Industry track can participate in the online presentation. The elimination ratio for each track and each group will not exceed 10%. The organizing units will recommend no more than 20 units (including) from each group to advance to the final round based on the presentation results and the requirements of the organizing committee. If the number of applications for some sub-track of the Future Industry track is insufficient, the competition organizing committee will coordinate and adjust the tracks or merge the reviews based on the actual situation.

To facilitate the participation of more municipal competitions in the market-oriented organization, other municipal innovation and entrepreneurship competitions organized or guided by the Guangzhou Science and Technology Bureau can recommend their 2025 first, second, and third prize (or first, second, and third place) winning enterprises to advance to the final round. The cumulative recommended number for each competition does not exceed 10, and it does not occupy the regular advancement quotas for each track.

The preliminary round will be held from late August to early September 2026.

(3) Final Round

The final round will be organized by the competition organizing committee. Generally, it will adopt the offline presentation format of "8 minutes of self-introduction and 5 minutes of answering questions". The winning units will be selected based on the presentation results and awarded corresponding rewards and support. The specific schedule for the final round will be provided by the competition organizing committee.

1. Strategic Emerging Industries: The growth enterprise group will be evaluated separately according to each sub-track; the start-up enterprise group will be evaluated based on the merged track of "New Generation Information Technology, Biomedicine, High-end Equipment Manufacturing, New Materials, New Energy/New Energy Vehicles/Environmental Protection".

2. Future Industry: The evaluation will be conducted based on the combined enterprises and teams of each sub-track. If the number of finalists for some sub-track is insufficient, the competition organizing committee will coordinate and adjust the tracks or merge the reviews based on the actual situation. The award settings will also be adjusted accordingly.

The final round will be held from September to October 2026.

(4) Due Diligence

The competition organizing committee will organize experts to conduct due diligence on the participating units. The competition organizing committee will review the event materials provided by the units. Units that refuse to undergo due diligence will be regarded as withdrawing from the competition. Anyone found to have committed fraud or deception will be disqualified from the competition and its awards. If there are any violations of technology regulations or scientific research dishonesty, it will be handled in accordance with national, provincial, and municipal regulations.

The due diligence period is from October to November 2026.

Award Settings

Event Rewards

(I)The finals of the competition set First Prize, Second Prize, Third Prize and Excellence Award. The corresponding cash reward subsidies are as follows: First Prize ¥100,000, Second Prize ¥60,000, Third Prize ¥40,000, Excellence Award ¥20,000.

Field	Group	Sub‑track	Quota for 1st/2nd/3rd Prize (Entities)	Quota for Excellence Award (Entities)
Strategic Emerging Industries	Growth Enterprise Group	Each track	1/2/3	No more than 200 in total
	Start‑up Enterprise Group	New Energy / New Energy Vehicle / Energy‑Saving & Environmental Protection	2/4/6
		High‑end Equipment Manufacturing	1/2/3
		Biomedicine	1/3/4
		New Materials	1/2/3
		Next‑Generation Information Technology	4/6/8
Future Industries	Enterprise Group	Each track	1/2/3
	Team Group	Each track	1/2/3

1. No substitutes are allowed for any of the award slots. In case of a tie in the evaluation process, the corresponding number of award slots can be appropriately increased, while the total number of awards remains unchanged.

2. For participating units in the series of events of the 2026 Guangzhou Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition (industry competition, global competition), if the same project or the same entity wins multiple awards, only the highest-amount award will be issued. The remaining lower-amount awards will not be duplicatedly awarded and no differential compensation will be made.

3. Non-Guangzhou-based participating enterprises must complete the registration and establishment procedures in the city before the award distribution in this year. Among them, enterprises outside the city must establish a wholly-owned subsidiary in Guangzhou; participating teams must complete the enterprise registration with the core members as the legal representative. Those who fail to complete the registration as required will not be awarded the prize.

4. The organizing committee of the competition has the final interpretation right over the award distribution method and award settings.

(II) Investment Support

According to the relevant provisions of the "Trial Measures for the Pilot Program of 'Subsidy, Amendment, and Investment' for Science and Technology Transformation in Guangzhou": For the winning enterprises of the first, second, and third prizes in the Guangzhou Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, if the enterprises were established for less than 5 years at the time of registration (the biopharmaceutical and integrated circuit fields are relaxed to less than 8 years), and the application for this equity investment support has not introduced external venture capital investment before, after conducting standardized due diligence, expert review and other processes and being approved, no more than 50 qualified enterprises will be selected for preferential support each year, and each will receive a maximum equity investment of 2 million yuan; the corresponding shareholding ratio of each enterprise shall not exceed 7%, and the total investment will be arranged at a scale of no more than 100 million yuan each year.

(III) Provincial Competition Recommendation

The competition is closely integrated with the China Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition (Guangdong - Guangzhou Division). The organizing committee of the competition will, based on the progress of the competition and in accordance with the requirements of the China Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, recommend participating units to participate in the 2027 China Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition (Guangdong Division) competition.

Event Rights

(1) Relying on the service resources of the competition platform, we provide one-stop professional services and in-depth resource connections for the participating units, including entrepreneurial policies, project application, intellectual property rights, digital empowerment, presentation polishing, industry connection, etc.

(2) Collaborating with the technology incubation parks of the competition ecosystem partners, we offer one-stop on-site support services for the participating units, such as enter consultation, venue matching, policy application, and full-cycle incubation.

(3) Soliciting technological innovation demands from the participating units， we uniformly incorporate them into the competition technology demand database. Relying on the competition platform resources， we precisely match solutions and cooperation resources to efficiently promote technological collaborative innovation and achievement transformation

(4) Connecting with the financial service institutions of the competition ecosystem partners， we provide exclusive financial support for high-quality participating enterprises， including科创 loan， investment and loan linkage， credit loan， credit enhancement， and interest rate discounts， and open an efficient financing approval green channel.

(5) Precisely linking with the fund investment institutions of the competition ecosystem partners， we build a professional investment and financing connection platform for high-quality participating units， providing equity investment， industry capital connection， post-investment empowerment， and other full-chain capital services.

(6) Providing brand promotion and all-media communication services for high-quality participating units. Relying on the official channels of the competition and the media cooperation matrix， we enhance brand influence and industry exposure.

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