Six Cutting-edge Tracks See Breakthroughs: The 2026 5th ＂Sprint Forward in Golden Boots＂ Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition in Shangcheng District Stages Its Grand Final Showdown!

On October 22, the grand final of the 2026 5th "Sprint Forward in Golden Boots" Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition in Shangcheng District successfully concluded at the Roadshow Center of Yuhuangshan South Fund Town.

Since its launch in June this year, this competition has attracted 1,056 entries from across the globe, covering six cutting-edge industrial sectors: artificial intelligence, embodied intelligence, high-end software, brain-like intelligence, low-altitude economy, and future healthcare. After going through layers of selection in the preliminary and semi-final rounds, 12 top-tier projects stood out and took the stage of the final to compete in the peak showdown. In the end, the project "Bedside Rapid One-stop AI Coagulation Testing System" claimed the first prize, empowering the construction of the Central Innovation Zone with its hard-core innovation momentum.

Deep Integration of Artificial Intelligence, Precise Adaptation to Industrial Scenarios

At the competition site, a batch of hard-core projects with high technical content and strong innovation were showcased. Projects deeply integrated with artificial intelligence accounted for more than 70% of all entries, becoming the most distinct technical feature of this year's competition. These include the Bedside Rapid One-stop AI Coagulation Testing System, which integrates AI intelligent medical algorithms and can quickly assess coagulation risks at the bedside with only a tiny amount of blood; the Next-generation Data Infrastructure Defining the AI Era, which uses super compression algorithms and low-memory vector databases to break the transformation bottleneck of small and medium-sized enterprises in AI adoption; and the NodeSign AI-native Engineering R&D Platform, which promotes deep integration of AI into complex product R&D processes and creates a "digital engineer" that can collaborate with human engineers... These projects boast both outstanding technical value and strong transformation capabilities, with the integration of AI and real-world scenarios significantly improved.

In addition, projects such as the special electric operation robot for embodied intelligence, the integrated genotype and phenotype anti-microbial resistance diagnosis platform, the high-value RNA molecular design platform based on AI + nano-micro high-throughput technology, and the industrialization of wafer-level preparation for fluid MEMS devices also demonstrated solid technical foundations and broad market prospects. The 12 finalist projects achieved breakthroughs in cutting-edge tracks, which are highly aligned with the "133X" industrial tracks that Shangcheng District focuses on cultivating.

Strict Review by Authoritative Judges, Hard-core Strength Passes the Test

The final adopted the format of "on-site roadshow + instant Q&A", with each project going through a 1-minute short video introduction, a 7-minute roadshow, and a 7-minute Q&A session. The judging panel is authoritative and professional, consisting of 7 chief judges from well-known investment institutions, universities and leading local enterprises, as well as 25 public judges from investment institutions. The 7 chief judges scored the projects from five dimensions: technology and products, business model and implementation plan, industry and market, team, and financial analysis. The judges' scores and project rankings were presented in real time, ensuring that the review results are comprehensive, objective and fair.

"Many projects are led by scientist entrepreneurial teams with obvious technical advantages, and they can accurately identify real pain points and directly meet market demands," the representative of the chief judges said in the comment. Many finalist projects this year have completed the key steps from laboratory to production line, and from technical verification to market verification. After fierce competition, 1 first prize winner, 4 second prize winners and 7 third prize winners were finally determined. It is reported that 3 of the 12 finalist projects have already registered and settled in Shangcheng District, and many other projects have expressed their willingness to set up headquarters, R&D and production centers in the district.

Talent Attraction Through Competition, Full-chain Incubation to Nurture Innovation and Entrepreneurship Ecosystem

The "Sprint Forward in Golden Boots" Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition has been successfully held for five consecutive years in Shangcheng District, and it has become a key bridge connecting the talent chain, innovation chain, capital chain and industrial chain. To help outstanding projects "take root immediately after settlement and grow more steadily", award-winning projects that complete transformation as required can receive a maximum of 10 million yuan in R&D subsidies for entrepreneurial projects, and enjoy a series of supporting services including loan interest discount and equity incentives.

A single competition reflects the innovative temperament of a city. The innovative heritage and industrial strength of Shangcheng District provide solid support for the event. At present, Shangcheng District is fully promoting the overall transformation from a Central Business District (CBD) to a Central Innovation Zone (CID). With artificial intelligence as the core variable, it has formed a favorable situation of global headquarters gathering and all-round innovation. Up to now, the total number of human resources in the district is about 420,000, there are 167 "specialized, refined, differential and innovative" enterprises, the number of national high-tech enterprises has exceeded 800, and there are 478 R&D platforms at or above the municipal level. Unicorn enterprises are continuously accelerating their agglomeration. Shangcheng District continues to inject innovative momentum into high-quality development with a closed-loop system of "attracting talents through competitions, retaining talents with policies, and nurturing talents through a favorable ecosystem".

In the future, Shangcheng District will continue to activate talent momentum through an innovative ecosystem, enabling more "Golden Boots Projects" to stand out from the competition field, accelerate industrial transformation, and help the construction of the Central Innovation Zone run at an accelerated pace of innovation.

Correspondents: Sun Zhiming, Fang Yuting, Tan Xihan