Text/Brand Voice
Innopolis Special Economic Zone, a city built on a "code".
Since the world entered the information age, the high-tech industry with information technology as the core has become a vanguard force in promoting national and regional development, and is also an important component of the overall development strategy of many countries.
With the development and growth of high-tech industries, a number of industrial parks or special zones like Silicon Valley have sprung up around the world, and they have incubated a large number of well-known high-tech enterprises through the efficiency advantages of clustering and the cost advantages of scale, as well as targeted support from taxes, policies and regulations.
A.S. Popov Technopark in Innocentis
After entering the 21st century, some high-tech industrial parks continue to explore deeper on the road of functional integration, and make further progress on the basis of forming the whole chain of "production, learning and research", and are forming the latest form of cities in human history.
The Innopolis SEZ in the Republic of Tatarstan is a good example of this. Emerging in less than 10 years, the Inopolis SEZ is a unique ecosystem of IT specialists, including a university, a special economic zone and social infrastructure. In the public eye, the SEZ is particularly well-known for Innopolis University, a world-renowned institution that focuses on teaching and research in the fields of IT and robotics.
University of Inopolis
Fantastic tech city
At a higher level, the Innocents SEZ is not just an ordinary SEZ, but a fully functional city built on "code", as its CEO Renat Khalimov said: "It is a young, highly innovative city built from scratch to realize the dreams of IT specialists." ”
The new city is based on three main components: scientific and educational infrastructure, economic zones and life services, which create all the conditions for the local population to live, study, develop and build a career comfortably. The integration of technology and small-town living is one of the biggest features of the Innopolis Special Economic Zone. According to a study, the happiness index of residents in the Innopolis Special Economic Zone in 2023 is 84%. The CEO said.
Cutting-edge technology permeates everyday life in the city: apartments can be accessed by fingerprints, ordered food is delivered by driverless rovers, residents move around the city in driverless taxis, drones monitor the city's environment, digital technology helps people manage and run the city in real time, and everything from medical care to entertainment is equipped.
Driverless taxis in the Innopolis Special Economic Zone
Driverless rover in the Innopolis Special Economic Zone
Scenes previously only found in fairy tales or science fiction novels are being brought to life in the Innopolis Special Economic Zone, and behind all this is the city's technological and economic prowess. According to the CEO, the SEZ has been recognized as one of the best technological and innovative SEZs in the country for four consecutive years and is currently home to more than 344 companies, including 134 resident enterprises, 151 start-ups and 59 partner companies, with a total investment of US$1.5 billion and 9,933 jobs created.
Focus on the development and application of cutting-edge technology
The city was founded with the goal of becoming the largest ICT hub in the country and the region by supporting high-tech investment projects by domestic and foreign companies.
Guided by this goal, the Innocentis SEZ has managed to bring together almost all the country's major IT companies, including Yandex, OZON, MTS, Alfabank, Tinkoff, Tatneft, Transmashholding, Magnit, X5 Group, etc., and the development of the SEZ is actively contributed by experts from Huawei, one of China's leading high-tech companies.
It is understood that the Innopolis Special Economic Zone is committed to training high-quality specialists, creating relevant employment opportunities, developing advanced projects and providing innovative solutions in the fields of big data, artificial intelligence, financial technology, medical technology, telecommunications, digital construction, robotics, drones, microelectronics, industry 4.0, safe urban environment, smart city, intelligent transportation systems, etc.
The CEO further explained that resident enterprises and start-ups in the SEZ have developed more than 50 solutions that can replace their counterparts abroad. These solutions have been included in the list of recommended alternatives to foreign products in the fields of finance, enterprise systems, cloud computing, intelligent transportation systems, etc., including the operating system «Astra Linux» (developed by Astra Linux LLC), «My Office» (an analogue of Microsoft Office developed by New Cloud Technologies LLC), the mobile operating system Aurora (developed by Open Mobile). Platform LLC development), as well as communication technology companies with «IVA» solutions, which completely replaced Zoom.
ICL Group is a manufacturer of electronic printed circuit board surface mount and computer equipment
One of the most important projects of the Innopolis Special Economic Zone in 2023 is the start-up of the ICL Group of Companies' production plants for the production of electronic printed circuit board surface mounts and computer equipment. The plant covers an area of more than 8,000 square meters and was built by the Innopolis Special Economic Zone according to all the standards required for the production of the enterprise. The facility will integrate a printed circuit board surface mount shop, conveyor belts, and a new test lab. The initial production capacity will reach 300,000 motherboards per year, which will be increased to 1 million later. The investment amount exceeded USD 20 million.
Entering the accelerated stage of development
In recent years, the Innopolis Special Economic Zone has been actively developing industrial land. In December 2022, the 12,596-square-meter High-tech Innovation Park with a total investment of US$13 million was officially put into operation. It has a telecommunications equipment company, a robotics research and production center, and other innovative enterprises. "Almost six months after [start-up], the technopark is fully filled, even though it is scheduled to officially open in early 2024," the CEO said. ”
The launch of the INNOPARK project also highlights the huge demand for industrial enterprises and state-of-the-art production facilities from innovative companies. "Recognizing this, we have made a strategic decision to strengthen the industrial and production infrastructure of the Innopolis Special Economic Zone and promote the creation of cutting-edge jobs. The CEO explains. To further this goal, the project also includes the creation of an additional industrial technology park.
InnoPark High-Tech Industrial Technology Park
Drone port production workshop in InnoPark
At the same time, the SEZ also plans to build production buildings to promote large-scale industrial projects. These new dedicated industrial zones will be located at the second production site near the airport in Kazan, the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan.
In addition, cloud infrastructure projects are also progressing. The data processing and storage center (Innopolis data center), launched under the auspices of Rosenergoatom Concern JSC (JSC), will be one of the largest data centers in Tatarstan and the region, meeting the high demands of technological equipment and innovation in the field of data center organization. The design solution offers up to 2,000 racks with a high degree of Tier III reliability. The first phase is scheduled to be commissioned in early 2024. USD 87 million will be invested in the project. "The project is important not only for the Innopolis SEZ itself, but also for the businesses that settle in because it provides the infrastructure needed to develop the project. The CEO said.
The ideal accelerator for high-tech companies
The Inopolis Special Economic Zone has been doing its best to provide services to the tenants to help them run their businesses more efficiently through tax incentives for profits, land, movable and immovable property, innovative infrastructure, human resources and academic support from universities, as well as assistance in the application of cutting-edge technologies and the transformation of results.
More and larger industrial platforms, as well as excellent service levels and geographical conditions, will attract more and more foreign companies, and the CEO is confident that "the Innopolis Special Economic Zone is located 40 kilometers from the city of Kazan, with a population of one million, and is only one hour from Moscow. He further says, "We offer a variety of services, such as a recruitment center, where you can quickly assemble a team of experienced experts or find ready-made technical support." Tenants have access to ready-made engineering infrastructure and the possibility to purchase land parcels at low prices. ”
An industrial park within the Innopolis Special Economic Zone
As an important part of the SEZ ecosystem, the University of Innopolis plays an important role – all graduates of the school can quickly build and scale their entrepreneurial projects. "We have a vivid and successful example of a startup project that received investment from Alibaba Group a year and a half after it was launched. Last year, Magnit, Russia's second-largest retailer, bought back shares, making the deal one of the largest in the domestic venture capital market. The CEO proudly introduced.
In addition, the Republic of Tatarstan, where the Nopolis Special Economic Zone is located, is known for its potential for the development of the engineering, aircraft and petrochemical industries, and many industrial companies are located in Tatarstan, which will also provide a relatively sound industrial service package for foreign companies and entrepreneurs.
"All resident companies in the Inopolis Special Economic Zone have the opportunity to interact and cooperate with market participants, including those Chinese partners who are already working on significant investment projects in the region," said the CEO. ”
Disclaimer: The above content is from the interviewee and is not edited by Forbes.
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