Overview

The National Innovation Center par Excellence (NICE), the Seeker for this Innocentive Challenge, is seeking groundbreaking technical innovations and projects across 6 key fields:

• Artificial Intelligence & Communications
• Integrated Circuits & Micro-Nano Fabrication
• Advanced Materials & Processing Technologies
• Robotics & Intelligent Manufacturing
• Biomedical Sciences and Pharmaceuticals
• Energy and Environmental Protection

This Challenge is designed to identify and launch pioneering projects in these fields with the financial backing, expert guidance, and R&D support of the NICE ecosystem.

Funding Opp

NICE is offering a unique opportunity for innovators, start-ups, and research teams to accelerate commercialization for their breakthrough projects, products, and services, through support from one of the world’s leading research ecosystems. Selected projects will be offered up to $40,000 USD in initial funding, with the potential for up to $4,000,000 USD of further funding (primarily in the form of a grant).

Projects must have the ability and intention to set up a business entity or already have a legal and commercial presence in China (in the Yangtze Delta region, or in key partner provinces and cities such as Sichuan province and Zhengzhou). In order to be selected and receive funding, only those who have had less than 3 years’ business presence in China will be considered.

By taking part in this Innocentive Challenge, you are granting NICE the right to evaluate (but not own) your submitted information. The Challenge requires a written proposal to be submitted.

• The business proposals selected during the first evaluation stage will be invited to attend the roadshow competition in July 2026, where Solvers will pitch their projects to evaluators. The winning projects from the roadshow will receive up to $40,000 USD each as a working fund.
• The leader of the winning projects (assigned as the Project Manager by NICE) can use the working fund for international travel, organizing meetings, hiring people, carrying out investigations, conducting technical experiments, etc. The working fund is a budget pool, which can only be used for project-related activities.
• The second evaluation stage may take up to 3 months, during which the Project Manager for each project will use the working fund to invest, revise the business proposal, find (local) talent to make the team stronger, find landing sales opportunities etc.
• NICE staff will provide full support during this period. After 3 months, NICE will conduct a further evaluation with each Project Manager, and if passed, each Project will receive up to $4,000,000 USD in financial support, primarily in the form of a 90% grant. NICE will also invest in the new company, generally taking a share of up to 10%, under an appropriate agreement.
• With this grant comes supporting R&D resources, ‘green channel’ talent policy (including the green channel for moving to and setting up in the region), and comprehensive consultations from the NICE ecosystem.

Submissions to this Challenge must be received by 11:59 PM (US Eastern Time) on May 21, 2026.

Please review the later Participation Guidance section before submitting a proposal.

- Login or register your interest to start your submission! -

Seeker/Eligibility

The National Innovation Center par Excellence (NICE) is a comprehensive innovation center jointly built by the Shanghai municipality and Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces.

NICE, headquartered in Shanghai, is a global platform with a mission to drive applied industrial R&D collaboration in several strategic fields, including: AI & Communications, Integrated Circuits & Micro-Nano Fabrication, Advanced Materials & Processing Technologies, Robotics & Intelligent Manufacturing, Biomedical Sciences and Pharmaceuticals, Energy and Environmental Protection. NICE manages a network of 100+ specialized industrial technology research institutes, 200+ global academic institutions, and 700+ industrial partners, with a proven track record of over a decade in China, operating large-scale industrial R&D centers to transform proprietary science and technology into scalable applications and drive commercialization.

This Challenge is open to individuals, teams, startups, and research institutions worldwide. However, projects must have the ability and intention if selected, to establish a business in China's Yangtze Delta region, as well as in key partner provinces and cities such as Sichuan province and Zhengzhou. To benefit from the full financial support package projects must set up a new company to have a presence in the region.

Employees of NICE, its industry partners, or any member of an associated party are not eligible to participate.

Challenge

Background

Early-stage pioneering projects in developing areas and key fields often face two significant challenges:

• Technical Evaluation – Many disruptive ideas lack proper validation early in the process, making it difficult for innovators to prove their feasibility to investors and commercial buyers.
• Early-stage Financing – Many high-potential projects fail due to insufficient funding before reaching commercialization.

By running this Challenge, NICE is aiming to provide grant support to leading technical innovations and their teams, including accelerating their projects with expansion in China's Yangtze Delta region, as well as in key partner provinces and cities such as Sichuan province and Zhengzhou. NICE provides a market-driven funding mechanism that de-risks early-stage projects and accelerates their path to market, helping to bridge the ‘funding valley of death’ between research and commercialization.

Last year, the NICE Challenge for business proposals (“Win Grants for your Pioneering Projects and launch in the Yangtze Delta”) resulted in 105 project submissions, with 10 advancing to the roadshow competition and 1 project receiving the initial working fund. This project run by Christoph, a long-time Innocentive Solver, addressed long-standing challenges for shipping operators and Christoph was quoted as saying: “This sensor is my ‘innovation baby’, and the NICE Challenge has given me the means to bring it to life (…) It’s a hugely exciting opportunity for me to work on such a personal innovation, and to do so in such a dynamic part of the world.”

The NICE model combines these direct grants of funding with follow-up investment opportunities, including up to $4 million USD, ensuring that innovative and successful projects receive the support they need to scale. Alongside Christoph’s project, 21 other projects also received funding in 2025.

As of the end of 2025, NICE had supported nearly 200 projects under its project manager and hybrid grant and investment model, with total investments of over $642 million USD.

Following the 2025 Challenge’s success, NICE is launching the 2026 edition of the Challenge to renew the global bridge between international innovators and China’s leading research and R&D ecosystem.

The Challenge

NICE is interested in receiving proposals from individuals, teams, start-ups, and research organizations with leading projects/solutions/technologies in the following fields:

• Artificial Intelligence & Communications, including but not limited to: Artificial Intelligence Applications, Trusted Data Spaces for Pharmaceuticals
• Integrated Circuits & Micro-Nano Fabrication, including but not limited to: Integrated Circuits, Micro-Electromechanical Systems, Monolithic Integration
• Advanced Materials & Processing Technologies, including but not limited to: Structural Materials, Functional Materials, Scientific Instruments
• Robotics & Intelligent Manufacturing, including but not limited to: High-End Equipment, Intelligent Robotics, Core Components & Devices, Marine & Offshore Engineering Equipment
• Biomedical Sciences and Pharmaceuticals, including but not limited to: Biomedicine, Biomanufacturing, Medical Devices
• Energy and Environmental Protection, including but not limited to: Clean Energy & Next-Generation Energy Storage, Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage

Your proposal must detail the technical innovation of your proposal, a realistic business plan detailing the potential market and implementation opportunity in your selected field and core markets, and include any relevant Intellectual Property (IP) information.

NICE will evaluate submissions based on their fit to one or more of the 6 key fields, the strength of the business plan, and the desire and ability of the individual/team/organization to establish a business entity and presence in China's Yangtze Delta region as well as in key partner provinces and cities such as Sichuan province and Zhengzhou.

Projects and their business proposals will be evaluated theoretically by the NICE team before progressing through a structured format of technical review from experts within the field, due diligence, and a roadshow pitch competition event in July 2026.

Solution Requirements

Any successful solution to the Challenge must meet the following must have requirements:

1. Cutting-edge technical innovation in one or more of the key fields:
   1. 1. 1. 1. Artificial Intelligence & Communications
            2. Integrated Circuits & Micro-Nano Fabrication
            3. Advanced Materials & Processing Technologies
            4. Robotics & Intelligent Manufacturing
            5. Biomedical Sciences and Pharmaceuticals
            6. Energy and Environmental Protection
2. Independent intellectual property (IP) rights to your technical innovation – by participating and creating a proposal, you affirm that you own the right to transmit, detail, and enter into potential agreements based on this IP.
3. Intention to set up a business or existing business presence (< 3 years) in the Yangtze Delta region, Sichuan province, and Zhengzhou within China - NICE is looking to support innovators on their commercialization journey by giving widespread support from its ecosystem in China's Yangtze Delta region, as well as in key partner provinces and cities.
4. By participating, you are affirming your ability and intention to start a legal entity in one or more of the following areas: Shanghai, Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhengzhou and Sichuan. You’ll be asked to provide details in the submission form.
5. Detailed business plan and analysis for the commercialization of your technical innovation - including: introduction, background, project overview (history, technology, product, IP, funding), market analysis, project manager and core team introduction, financial and implementation plan, risk analysis, and any other relevant information.

Additionally, NICE is interested in solutions that display the following nice-to-have criteria:

1. Already identified potential customers/partners in China for the project, or projects that already have collaboration(s) with universities, institutes, and/or companies in China
2. If the project can evidence that it meets the urgent demands of (local) industry in the Yangtze Delta or partner provinces and cities, it will likely be well placed for selection.

Things to Avoid/Out of Scope:

• Direct repetition of applications to last year’s Win Grants and Launch your Pioneering Projects in the Yangtze Delta Challenge is not allowed. While these may form the basis for a new submission, NICE is not interested in repeated submissions from the 2025 edition of this Challenge. Solvers will need to update their proposals, particularly with regards to market strategy and implementation roadmap.
• Businesses with a long-term, established presence in China (> 3 years) will not be considered. This Challenge is focused on discovering and supporting pioneering projects that struggle with early-stage financing and technical evaluation.
• Applications from Solvers who are unable or do not want to establish a presence in China.

Solutions with Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) 3-7 are invited.

This Prize Challenge has the following features:

1. By taking part in and submitting you are granting NICE a right to evaluate (but not use or own) your submitted information. There is no assignment of IP Rights with this Challenge, but awarded projects will enter into an agreement with NICE for further funding and commercialization support.
2. The business proposals selected during the first evaluation stage will be invited to attend the roadshow pitch event in July 2026.
3. The best proposals selected following the event will have the opportunity to win an award of $40,000 USD each as a working fund, for meeting all must have solution requirements and passing evaluation after the July 2026 pitch day, as solely determined by NICE and partners. This working fund will be used by the Project Manager of each solution to invest, revise the business plan, find local talent to make the team stronger, find landing sales opportunities, etc.
4. These solutions then have the opportunity to receive up to $4,000,000 USD in further funding and support by NICE, subject to further evaluation after around 3 months, primarily in the form of a 90% grant. NICE and a relevant local industry partner will also invest in the new company, generally taking a joint and equal share of up to 10%, under an appropriate agreement.
5. Awards will be contingent upon the theoretical evaluation of the proposal by NICE against the Solution Requirements, due diligence conducted against the proposal and your team, and the Solver/team/organization’s ability to and interest in establishing a business presence in China.

Your Submission

Please login and register your interest, to complete the submission form.

Please ensure you attach any supporting technical documents or materials that demonstrate the feasibility and intent of your project; attachments can be .ppt and .pdf file types, with a maximum size of 5MB.

The submitted proposals must be written in English or Chinese and can include:

1. Participation type – you will first be asked to inform us how you are participating in this challenge, as a Solver (Individual) or Solver (Organization).
2. Solution Level – the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of your solution.
3. Establish Entity in China – Please confirm your intention and ability to subsequently establish an entity in the Yangtze Delta, Sichuan, or Zhengzhou regions of China if selected for a Grant.
4. Project Field – please select the primary aligned field of your solution: AI and Communications; Integrated Circuits & Micro-Nano Fabrication; Advanced Materials & Processing Technologies; Robotics & Intelligent Manufacturing; Biomedical Sciences and Pharmaceuticals; or Energy and Environmental Protection.
5. Solution Overview - detail the features of your solution and how they address the SOLUTION REQUIREMENTS (500 words, there is space to add more in the summary field, and attach supporting data, diagrams, etc.).
6. Business Plan – including introduction, project overview (history, technology, product, IP, funding), market analysis, project manager and core team introduction, financial and implementation plan, SWOT and risk analysis, etc. (up to 500 words, there is space in the attachments to add more)

Participation Guidance

1. Submission Close Date: Submissions to this Challenge must be received by 11:59 PM (US Eastern Time) on May 21, 2026.
2. Late submissions: Late submissions will not be considered.
3. This Challenge is open to individuals, teams, startups, and research institutions worldwide. Projects must have the ability and intention to establish a business entity in China's Yangtze Delta region, or in key partner provinces and cities such as Sichuan province and Zhengzhou. Or, if they already have a legal and commercial presence in China this must have been established within the last 3 years.
4. Multiple submissions, 3 Maximum: In case of multiple submissions by the same Solver, only 3 submissions – the final 3 submitted – will be considered. Any other submissions will be deleted prior to evaluation.
5. Submission form and attachments: Your submission will be evaluated by the evaluation team first reviewing the information and content you have submitted at the submission form, with attachments used as additional context to your form submission. Submissions relying solely on attachments will receive less attention from the evaluation team.
6. Evaluation notification steps: After the Challenge submission close date, NICE will review and select the winning ideas/solutions according to the timeline in the Challenge header. Everyone who submits a proposal will be notified about the status of their submissions.
7. Use of AI: Please note that any submissions produced solely with generative AI are not of interest.
8. Learn more: Find out more about participation in Innocentive Challenges.