More than 300 people attended the third “Innovation China” conference held in Shanghai on Oct 14th. China Materialia organizes annual “Innovation China” conference centered on “innovation and entrepreneurship”, each “Innovation China” conference invites thought leaders from academics, executives of Fortune 500 companies, start-ups, venture capitalists and government departments to discuss, debate and generate new ideas on latest trends on one industry sector. It is a platform for connecting MNCs and start-ups, Chinese and foreign enterprises, capital and technology.
Sponsored by GE, Innovation China 2016’s theme was “Advanced Manufacturing”, speakers included Ms. Ziying XU, Vice director of Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economic and Information, Christine Furstoss, Vice president of GE Global Research, Rajiv Singh, President of SABIC Ventures, Jiandang GU, CEO, Phoenix Contact China, Leo Wong, head of Bosch China Incubator, Karen Kerr, Senior Managing Director of GE Ventures. Six start-up companies in 3D printing, connected devices, and advanced materials also presented at the conference. The speakers collectively probed and shared insights on:
• What opportunities do start-ups have in core technology of advanced manufacturing (materials, technology, equipment), and in information fields (data, analytics, networking)?
• How should start-ups work with MNCs and realize open innovation for MNCs and open entrepreneurship for start-ups?
• What kind of opportunities and challenges are there for venture capital investing in this sector?
• What can Chinese start-ups and SMEs learn from abroad?
• In which areas can China become a leader worldwide? In technology or business model?
China Materialia Fund II also had a launch ceremony at the conference. The 400 million RMB China Materialia Fund II will invest in innovative start-ups in China in advanced materials, advanced manufacturing, energy and environment sectors. Min Zhou, CEO of China Materialia spoke at the conference and shared her perspectives on venture capital opportunities in advanced manufacturing sector.
