Shanghai saw over 320 new tech firms created daily in 2025

Shanghai vigorously promoted scientific and technological innovation last year, with an average of more than 320 new tech firms established daily across this city in east China, according to the ongoing annual session of its municipal people's congress.

According to the municipal government work report, Shanghai's expenditure on R&D as a share of the city's GDP reached approximately 4.5 percent in 2025.

The total output value of its strategic emerging industries in the industrial sector increased by 6.5 percent last year, with the combined scale of the three leading industries, namely integrated circuits, biomedicine and artificial intelligence, exceeding 2 trillion yuan (about $287.63 billion).

Shanghai has been continuously refining its support policies for leading technology enterprises and high-growth companies. By the end of 2025, the city was home to over 23,000 innovative small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), 13,000 specialized and sophisticated SMEs and 1,000 "little giant" enterprises excelling in niche sectors.

Meanwhile, the metropolis has launched 18 high-quality incubators, covering emerging industries and cutting-edge fields such as optoelectronic quantum technology, intelligent sensing, synthetic biology and cell and gene therapy.

Shanghai's government work report, notably, outlines plans to strengthen technological innovation, refine the innovative enterprise cultivation system and establish more than 50 advanced smart factories in 2026.