At the just-concluded 8th Conference on the Growth of All Things, Xiaoshan became a hot spot again:
Of the three new "unicorn" enterprises in Hangzhou, two are from Xiaoshan.
This short message has formed a "deviation" from the outside world's consistent impression of Xiaoshan: in the general perception, there are many traditional enterprises in Xiaoshan and few new economy enterprises, and "unicorns" are the representatives of the new economy.
This "deviation" is the public's "inertial thinking" about the industrial transformation and upgrading of many of China's traditional industrial areas. But the difference is that Xiaoshan, as the main urban area of the country's first digital economy city, has the first-mover advantage of the traditional economy, and when it develops the new economy with a "rising star" attitude, this process becomes more urgent, more intense, and more concerned.
According to the list, Xiaoshan has 5 "unicorns" and 55 quasi-"unicorns", and has formed a preliminary agglomeration trend. Behind this is the singularity moment when Xiaoshan's new economy enters the "first mover and then come", and the turning point moment when the kinetic energy conversion from quantity to quality.
Therefore, when we talk about "unicorns", we are actually peeking into Xiaoshan's new economy.
Growth "super-fast"
When the list was first released at the 2018 All Things Growth Conference, Xiaoshan's presence could be described as "minimal": 1 "unicorn" and 1 quasi-"unicorn". Although the total number has now increased to 60, which is not the most in Hangzhou, it can be seen from the perspective of the development trajectory that Xiaoshan's new economy is undergoing a transformation from gathering momentum to gaining momentum.
In the past six years, the total number of "unicorns" in Xiaoshan has increased from 3.8% to 11.6%, with an average annual growth rate of 66.7%, which is 55.8 percentage points higher than the average, and the total proportion of quasi-"unicorns" has increased from less than 0.1% to 14.4%, with an average annual growth rate of 900%, higher than the average of 855.03 percentage points.
In other words, while Hangzhou maintained double-digit high growth, Xiaoshan achieved "ultra-high speed". Of course, there are factors such as a low starting point and a small base, but the reason behind the focus is the fundamental one.
"This is the natural result of Xiaoshan's accelerated cultivation of a new economy. The person in charge of the District Science and Technology Bureau believes that the expansion path of "unicorn" and quasi-"unicorn" can be summarized as a two-pronged and multi-point force, "one is local cultivation, and the other is 'investment promotion + local cultivation'." In particular, the second path is increasing, the person in charge said.
Among the five "unicorns", Wanxiang 123 and Xianlin 3D are native Xiaoshan enterprises, while Leke Network, WeDoctor Holdings, and Pinbei are new Xiaoshan enterprises with "investment promotion + local cultivation". This 2:3 ratio will be even higher among would-be "unicorns".
For example, of the 7 new quasi-"unicorns", 6 belong to "investment promotion + local cultivation". The only exception is the transformation of scientific and technological achievements of the Hangzhou Science and Technology Innovation Center of Zhejiang University, a start-up focusing on third-generation semiconductor materials.
It is not difficult to find that in recent years, external capital has become more and more favored by Xiaoshan, and Xiaoshan's innovation and entrepreneurship territory has been expanding. This is even more evident in parks that are known for attracting investment.
Located in the Economic Development Zone, there are 30 "unicorns" and quasi-"unicorns", accounting for 50% of the whole area. "Among them, there are 4 'unicorns' and 26 quasi-'unicorns'. According to the analysis of the relevant person in charge of the town, 83% of the companies on the list are concentrated in the fields of intelligent IoT, biomedicine, high-end equipment, new materials and green energy.
This analysis also shows the industry distribution characteristics of Xiaoshan's group. Taking quasi-"unicorns" as an example, the top three companies with the largest number are 19 in medical and health care, 13 in advanced manufacturing, and 5 in artificial intelligence, which is completely consistent with the direction of emerging industries that Xiaoshan has focused on developing in recent years.
In the eyes of the investment community, "unicorns" are very active in high-tech, Internet and other fields, and are regarded as an important vane of the development of the new economy and a "barometer" of the city's strategic emerging industries. Therefore, the "unicorns" and quasi-"unicorns" are infested in groups, which is essentially the "boom" of Xiaoshan's emerging industries.
According to statistics, from 2018 to 2023, the proportion of strategic emerging industries in the region's GDP will increase from 5.97% to 31.4%, and the added value of high-tech industries will increase from 45% to 71.13%.
Obviously, Xiaoshan is breaking the problem of emerging industries.
The venture capital demonstration zone may promote the volume of "unicorns".
A "unicorn" is an unlisted company with a valuation of more than $1 billion. This concept points to the attribute of this group: capital.
"'Unicorn' is a concept of 'entrepreneurship + venture capital'. The person in charge of the District Development and Reform Bureau believes that this concept is to look at enterprise value from the perspective of capital, and enterprises to transfer equity to obtain capital and achieve financing, "which is completely different from the common way of our traditional enterprises." ”
As we all know, Xiaoshan's traditional corporate financing mainly comes from banks, relying on visible assets such as fixed investment as collateral guarantees, and viewing enterprise development from the perspective of the past or present, while "unicorn" financing comes from the capital market, relying on intangible assets such as technology, brand, and model, and looking at enterprise value from the perspective of the future.
This change also determines the change in the way the government cultivates "unicorns" and strengthens the new economy.
According to statistics, among the 60 "unicorns" and quasi-"unicorns", more than 10 specialized funds cooperated by district-level government funds have been invested, including Forestron, Altron Photonics, etc., and these enterprises have been able to grow rapidly under the empowerment of industrial funds.
The government's "end" to venture capital can't help but remind people of Hefei, the "city of venture capital". Through the investment and financing system of "guiding equity investment + social investment + angel investment + investment fund + fund management", the city has successively promoted a number of major strategic emerging industry projects such as BOE, NIO and OFILM to settle down and put into operation, and driven the rapid agglomeration of upstream and downstream industrial chains.
In fact, Xiaoshan has been walking this road for many years.
According to reports, the overall operation of Xiaoshan government funds has been nearly 10 years, mainly including industrial development guidance funds, venture capital funds and angel guidance funds under formation, as well as industrial guidance funds of various platforms in the region, with a total scale of more than 10 billion yuan.
Data from the district finance show that as a district-level state-owned enterprise, Xiaoshan Capital Group is currently managing two government industry guidance funds, with a total scale of 5 billion yuan. By the end of 2023, it had invested in more than 270 projects through direct investment and sub-funds, and leveraged a total of 38 billion yuan of social capital.
On the other hand, social capital is also very active in Xiaoshan. According to the prediction of the financial department of the district government, there are currently more than 180 fund managers registered in Xiao, with a venture capital scale of nearly 50 billion, which accounts for about 1/10 of Hangzhou.
"There are many enterprises in Xiaoshan, the people are rich, and the private capital is abundant, how to introduce these capital into the industry, so as to better meet the needs of innovation and entrepreneurship, this is a proposition that we urgently need to crack. According to the relevant person in charge of the district government office, Xiaoshan has done a "big thing" this year, and the reason why it is "big" is because only Shenzhen and Ningbo have set a precedent in the country, and Xiaoshan is the first in Hangzhou.
This "big event" is the construction of a demonstration zone for the development of venture capital.
At the end of March, the construction plan of Xiaoshan District Venture Capital Development Demonstration Zone was released. The construction area of the demonstration zone is located in the Qiantang River Financial City, the core area of the Qiantang River Financial Harbor, and will focus on gathering various venture capital institutions and service institutions. According to the plan, by the end of 2026, the institutional support system to promote the sustainable and healthy development of venture capital will be basically formed, and the annual venture (equity) investment in the construction area will reach 10 billion yuan, and 500 venture (equity) investment enterprises will be gathered, with a management scale of more than 100 billion yuan, making it an important venture capital agglomeration area in the country.
Undoubtedly, the construction of the venture capital demonstration zone is expected to promote the continuous "large-scale" of "unicorns" in Xiaoshan.
"Unicorn" changes what Xiaoshan is
NetEase Cloud Music is one of the earliest "unicorns" in Xiaoshan. Three years after landing in Qianjiang Century City, the digital music giant successfully "graduated" and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, becoming the "first stock in the global music community".
It's not just the company itself that's growing, it's also a whole new industry.
As the core industrial park of Xiaoshan Park, Zhejiang National Music Industry Base, China Digital Music Base is the fifth music industry base in China and the first "national brand" music brand golden business card in the province. After more than four years of operation, the cumulative revenue of China's digital music base has exceeded 50 billion yuan, and the cumulative tax revenue has reached 850 million yuan. At present, with NetEase Cloud Music as the leader, more than 20 music companies have settled here, such as Besnoyin, Modern Sky, and Huayin Yueting.
This is the new vitality that "unicorns" have injected into Xiaoshan's economy.
"In the context of globalization, the rise of 'unicorn' enterprises means the improvement of national innovation capabilities and the strengthening of global market competitiveness, which plays an important role in the scientific and technological progress or industrial upgrading of a country or region. Wang Hong, dean and professor of management at China Europe International Business School, said in an interview with the National Business Daily that for the new quality productivity with innovation as the core, "unicorn" enterprises are very important to accelerate the formation of new quality productivity.
The same logic applies to Xiaoshan.
Xiaoshan observers always have an expectation, when will Xiaoshan be able to appear in the field of the new economy? This background is that Xiaoshan industry started early and developed rapidly, forming four major private enterprises represented by Rongsheng, Hengyi, Wanxiang and Chuanhua, which have become landmark enterprises in Xiaoshan and a symbol of Xiaoshan's glory. So, in the field of innovative economy, will there be such a group of iconic enterprises in Xiaoshan? such as Ali to Yuhang and Haikang to Binjiang. "Unicorn", quasi-"unicorn" or an entry point.
Judging from the list, many Xiaoshan enterprises have been in the head position and have occupied a certain dominant advantage in the subdivided field. For example, the first batch of domestic science and technology enterprises to independently develop high-precision 3D vision technology, continue to overcome the difficulties of 3D technology, broaden the boundaries of product application, especially in the field of optical 3D measurement, deeply cultivate the core technology, and promote the digital upgrading of the manufacturing industry. According to the annual report, Xianlin 3D's revenue in 2023 will exceed 1 billion, a year-on-year increase of 32.56%. At present, Xianlin 3D has become one of the representative enterprises of "China Vision Valley".
On the other hand, advanced innovation and strong subversiveness are the biggest characteristics of "unicorns", which means that "specialization, refinement, special innovation" is one of the main directions of this group, that is, firmly grasp the key nodes of the industrial chain