New innovation hub launched in Shanghai to propel S&T advancements

Focusing on future industries, such as quantum computing, brain-inspired intelligence, and brain-computer interfaces, the Future Valley C8 Innovation Hub — jointly developed by Fudan University and Shanghai's Yangpu district — was officially launched on Wednesday.

Situated in the Bay Valley Science and Technology Park, this innovation hub aims to connect Fudan University's resources with regional industrial resources, focusing on creating an innovative ecosystem for the high-quality transformation and commercialization of scientific achievements.

Fudan University said that this new initiative will be dedicated to forming an innovation cluster that encompasses new innovation projects from universities, concept verification, patient capital, project incubation and nurturing, and industry aggregation.

A highlight of the initiative is the Shanghai Zuquan Innovation Institute, which was established by Fudan University to nurture an innovation ecosystem for future industries.

By adopting an open and collaborative approach, the institute seeks to bridge the "first mile" in scientific innovation with the "last mile" in industrial application and create an innovation ecosystem that spans from source research to industry, contributing to the country's high-level technological self-reliance and future industrial innovation.

Named after Cai Zuquan, known as the "father of China's electric light source", the institute will initially focus on five key areas: quantum computing, brain-inspired intelligence, controlled nuclear fusion, brain-computer interfaces, and scientific intelligence.

Sun Pengjun, director of the institute, emphasized the facility's efforts to centralize talent and project resources, achieving critical breakthroughs from innovation seeds to industry benchmarks. The goal is to establish a replicable and scalable transformation pathway to support the development of Shanghai's future industrial system.

"The mission of the institute is to ensure that Fudan University's top-tier research does not remain dormant in academic papers, but is rapidly transformed into products, industries, and new productive forces," he said. "We envision it as Fudan University's 'dock' for scientific and technological innovation — where outstanding scientists, entrepreneurs, investors, and enterprises converge, interact, and collaborate, forming a complete innovation ecosystem."