The Hardcore Co-Creation Camp featuring Embodied Intelligence and Cutting-Edge Technology tracks was held in Shanghai, with executives from 50 companies including Huamao Technology, Goertek, Ecovacs, and Ninebot gathering together.

From March 20 to 21, the “Hardcore Co-Creation Camp: Focus Session on Embodied Intelligence and Cutting-Edge Technology” was held in the Changning District of Shanghai, guided by the Changning District Science and Technology Commission and the World Youth Science and Technology Innovation Alliance. It was co-hosted by the Youth Scientist Innovation Alliance of the China Science and Technology Development Foundation (referred to as “Qingke Chuanglian”) and the Hard Technology Venture Capital Alliance. This event closely aligned with the development trends of the embodied intelligence and cutting-edge technology industries, focusing on cultivating new productive forces and promoting the deep integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation. It aimed to build a co-creation platform for deep connections among science and technology innovation enterprises, listed companies, and leading investment institutions, facilitating the industrialization of hard technology achievements and the coordinated development of the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain.

Zhao Yongzun, Deputy Mayor of Changning District, stated in his opening speech that as one of the earliest areas in Shanghai to undergo reform and opening-up, Changning possesses both open and innovative genes, forming an economic structure where central enterprises, foreign enterprises, and private enterprises each account for one-third. It has three major trillion-level industrial ecosystems, including the life internet, and is accelerating its extension into new fields such as industrial internet and low-altitude economy. Relying on the construction of the “Shanghai Silicon Alley,” Changning has gathered top research institutions and university resources, forming a solid foundation for a science and technology innovation ecosystem. The district government insists on selective investment and precise policies, focusing on the full-cycle needs of science and technology innovation enterprises, providing comprehensive services such as industrial support, intellectual property protection, and application scenario matching, and sincerely invites high-quality science and technology innovation enterprises from home and abroad to settle in Changning, working together to build a new ecosystem for the embodied intelligence industry and cultivate new productive forces.

This Hardcore Co-Creation Camp brought together high-quality resources from both industry and capital. Nearly 50 senior executives from listed companies covering core areas of embodied intelligence, such as intelligent manufacturing, new materials, and high-end equipment, gathered, including Huamao Technology, GoerTek, Ecovacs, and Ninebot. Partners and core investment leaders from top domestic hard technology investment institutions, including Dongfang Fuhai, BlueRun Ventures, Innoangel, Xianfeng Changqing, Rongyi Capital, and Xiaomiao Langcheng, participated in deep connections. The event attracted over 70 project registrations, and after multiple rounds of communication and strict selection, 26 seed students stood out. At the opening ceremony, Ding Liang, founder of Harbin Institute of Technology Xuanyuan Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd., He Yuqing, project leader of the Shenyang Institute of Automation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Zhu Ying, chairman of Zhejiang Parco New Materials Co., Ltd., introduced their core research and development achievements and industrialization layouts in the fields of intelligent robot operating systems, drone technology, and high-end new materials as student representatives.

On the second day of the event, guests from investment institutions, listed companies, and unicorn enterprises provided deep insights into the science and technology innovation in the field of embodied intelligence. Liu Hongchun, partner of Rongyi Capital, analyzed the changes in the current financing environment from an investment perspective and how startup companies should build capital strategies. Yu Lei, CTO of Lingzhi Innovation Robotics Co., Ltd., introduced the layout ideas of listed companies in the field of embodied intelligence and how to empower startups through industrial resources. Wang Maolin, co-founder of Stand Robot, reviewed the team’s real journey from technology research and development to organizational management, from cash flow crises to strategic adjustments as an entrepreneur. The sharing by guest representatives included macro judgments on the development trends of embodied intelligence as well as practical experiences and pitfalls, providing students with multidimensional and referenceable growth paths.

During the project roadshow segment, students took turns to present, using concise language and clear logic to showcase their technological achievements and commercialization thoughts in cutting-edge fields such as core components of intelligent robots, AI perception materials, high-end new materials, semiconductors, and brain-computer interfaces. The roadshow was not only a showcase but also a test—representatives of listed companies and leading investment institutions listened attentively and raised questions, engaging in interactions around key issues such as technological barriers, market validation, and customer demands. This “practical” roadshow allowed students to re-evaluate their project’s strengths and weaknesses from the perspectives of real industry and capital.

The subsequent industrial seminar pushed the atmosphere of the event to a climax, as attendees engaged in a candid and incisive dialogue around three dimensions: technological breakthroughs, commercial closure, and capital competition. From “whether the technology route is converging” to “where customer demands truly come from, R&D or the boss,” from “how startups can find differentiated opportunities in fields already laid out by listed companies” to “how to build a real moat during the capital bubble period,” one critical question after another drove the discussion deeper. Representatives from listed companies participated in the exchange with real scene pain points and procurement logic, investment institutions analyzed the survival rules during the industry reshuffling period from a capital perspective, and students shared their confusions and breakthroughs in the technology commercialization process based on their entrepreneurial experiences. This cross-border deep dialogue allowed every party to gain insights beyond their own perspectives.

As the deep connection segment of this co-creation camp—Speed Dating Workshop—unfolded, the atmosphere was lively, and exchanges were efficient. Various parties precisely matched their needs through face-to-face communication. Several student projects reached preliminary cooperation intentions or agreed on further in-depth exchanges with listed companies and investors. Qingke Chuanglian will continue to follow up and provide support for student projects. This segment truly achieved a deep connection of “technology seeking scenarios, industry seeking technology, capital seeking projects,” building an excellent platform for the industrialization of technological achievements in the field of embodied intelligence and the collaborative development of the industrial chain.

Although the one-and-a-half-day co-creation camp has concluded, the connections continue. For students, this was not only an opportunity for display and exchange but also a catalyst for transitioning from “technical thinking” to “business thinking.” Through deep interactions with listed companies and investment institutions, they realized more clearly that hard technology entrepreneurship requires not only leading technology but also the ability to understand customer needs, build business models, and integrate industrial resources. For industry and capital parties, the co-creation camp provided an efficient filtering and precise matching window, allowing them to lock in future partners in the blooming diversity of technology routes.

In the future, the Hardcore Co-Creation Camp will focus on more cutting-edge technology tracks, combining source innovation from universities with regional industrial characteristics, and continue to build a pragmatic platform for deep connections. Whether it is artificial intelligence, new materials, biomanufacturing, low-altitude economy, quantum technology, or controllable nuclear fusion, the Hardcore Co-Creation Camp will continuously promote scientists and technology entrepreneurs to verify value in real demands, assist listed companies in seizing opportunities during technological transformations, and actively foster the deep integration of technological innovation and industrial innovation.