In order to fully implement Shenzhen's policy directives for developing artificial intelligence, software, and information service industries, foster concentration and high-quality growth of AI and software information sectors in Guangming District, and support Shenzhen's establishment as a “National Pilot Zone for New-Generation AI Innovation and Development,” “National Pilot Zone for AI Innovation Application,” and “Internationally Renowned Software City,” these measures have been formulated based on the actual conditions of Guangming District.
I. Building a Robust Artificial Intelligence Ecosystem
1. Strengthening Intelligent Computing Platforms
- Encourage the development of intelligent computing centers. Each approved intelligent computing platform supported by the district government will receive a subsidy of up to RMB 10 million, calculated as 5% of total approved investment, with a maximum cumulative subsidy of RMB 20 million per platform.
- Reduce computing power costs for enterprises by providing computing power coupons, covering up to 30% of actual annual procurement costs with a maximum of RMB 6 million per enterprise annually, for three consecutive years.
2. Promoting Data Element Circulation
- Support high-quality enterprises and platforms to offer premium data products and services, encourage exploring and opening data assets, and fostering data market participation to build recognized enterprise data brands.
- Data service providers with significant scale in the previous year can receive up to RMB 5 million annually (30% of service contract value) for three years.
- AI firms purchasing corpus data from non-affiliated parties via trading platforms will receive an annual one-time subsidy of up to RMB 1 million (30% of purchase contract) for three consecutive years.
- Help local enterprises migrate to cloud platforms by subsidizing cloud service costs on a sliding scale: 80% in the first year, 60% in the second year, and 50% in the third year, capped at RMB 1 million annually for three years.
3. Creating AI Demonstration Scenarios
- Promote district-wide, all-day AI application demonstrations. Encourage scenario implementers to collaborate with top-tier AI and smart city solution providers to develop benchmark demonstration projects.
- Up to 20 leading demonstration projects will be selected annually to receive dual-track support. Demand-side organizations will get subsidies of up to RMB 2 million (10% of project investment excluding fiscal funds); providers will receive up to RMB 4 million (20% of project investment).
4. Supporting Coordinated AI Hardware and Software Development
- Accelerate integration and innovation of intelligent hardware and AI tech, developing comprehensive intelligent hardware with perception, recognition, and interaction capabilities.
- AI hardware products possessing independent AI intellectual property rights and reaching certain sales volumes will receive subsidies of up to RMB 5 million per enterprise (10% of annual product sales).
- Robot enterprises investing in AI R&D will be incentivized. For first sets of major robotic equipment recognized by national, provincial, or municipal authorities, subsidies of up to RMB 5 million per enterprise will be provided—equivalent to 20% of actual sales revenue within one year of certification.
- Support solving critical component bottlenecks (servo motors, reducers, controllers) via challenge-award schemes with subsidies of up to RMB 5 million (50% of actual R&D investment).
5. Promoting AI-Powered Scientific Research ("AI for Science")
- Encourage universities and research institutions in Guangming to leverage the district's AI for Science platform for research in life sciences, info science, and material science.
- Subsidize AI for Science supporting services on a sliding scale (80%, 60%, 50% over three years), capped at RMB 5 million per year.
II. Enhancing Industrial Innovation Capacity
6. Tackling Core Technologies
- Support enterprises and research institutions in focusing on large-scale general models, core algorithms, intelligent chips, robots, connected vehicles, smart cities, and software and info tech to develop core technologies.
- Provide matching subsidies of up to RMB 2 million per project (20% of received funding) for tech projects receiving State, provincial, or municipal funding, capped at RMB 5 million per enterprise.
- For technical transformation projects implemented by AI enterprises in the previous year, reward 20% of the actual annual fixed asset investment, with a maximum subsidy of RMB 50 million per year.
7. Supporting Innovative Model Applications
- Promote the clustered development of AI, software, and internet firms with capabilities in large-scale general models, specialized AI chips, intelligent agent development, and smart city solutions.
- Firms that reach a certain annual business scale will be eligible for phased rewards of up to RMB 50 million.
- Enterprises that develop at least 5 application cases of vertical AI models or data sets will receive a one-time RMB 1 million reward.
8. Promoting Early-Stage Software Applications
- Promote pilot applications of AI software that focus on technologies like computer vision, NLP, machine learning, VR modeling, and swarm intelligence in manufacturing, public services, social governance, and economic development.
- Qualified software developers will receive subsidies of up to RMB 5 million (20% of verified sales revenue) based on the Shenzhen First-Release Software Application Guidance Catalogue.
- Encourage HarmonyOS adaptation; for each product certified, a one-time RMB 50,000 reward applies, with a maximum of five rewarded products per enterprise annually.
9. Building Public Technical Service Platforms
- Support open innovation platforms, open-source communities, evaluation/adaptation centers, and innovation hubs in AI, embodied intelligence, robotics, intelligent terminals, smart cities.
- Eligible newly established platforms qualify for subsidies of up to RMB 20 million (30% of total investment); for eligible existing platforms, subsidies of up to RMB 5 million (30% of previous year's operating costs) will be provided.
- Platforms that have been recognized as national industrial innovation centers will receive matching support equal to 50% of the municipal subsidy.
III. Accelerating Industrial Cluster Growth
10. Cultivating Leading and High-Growth Enterprises
- Fast-track the growth of leading enterprises within the industrial cluster that possess strong core competitiveness.
- Enterprises selected among national top 100 software or internet companies, or recognized as "National Key Encouraged Software Enterprises," will receive tiered rewards of up to RMB 10 million based on specific conditions.
11. Supporting Enterprise Expansion
- Implement tiered cultivation to promote expansion and efficiency among AI and software firms.
- Support qualified large enterprises in spinning off software units into independent legal entities.
- Enterprises newly included in Guangming's official statistical survey system that achieve positive output or income growth in the following year will receive an RMB 100,000 reward.
12. Encouraging Specialization and Excellence
- Promote specialized, refined development targeting core fields, key industrial links, and niche markets.
- Enterprises newly recognized as specialized and innovative “Little Giant” enterprises or specialized and sophisticated SMEs that produce novel and unique products will receive up to RMB 3 million and RMB 200,000 respectively.
- Enterprises newly admitted to Shenzhen's Gazelle or Unicorn Enterprise Cultivation Pool will receive tiered rewards of up to RMB 2 million.
IV. Expanding Industrial Development Space
13. Creating Characteristic Industrial Parks
- Encourage operators to improve infrastructure and services, fostering specialized, branded AI and software industry parks.
- Eligible district-level characteristic parks will receive a one-time RMB 300,000 reward.
- Support these parks in applying for national, provincial and municipal honors, with additional rewards ranging from RMB 300,000 to RMB 1.2 million for those that receive official recognition.
14. Supporting Industrial Buildings for Enterprises
- AI, software, and internet firms settling in parks recognized by the district industry authority as AI and software characteristic parks are eligible for rent subsidies of up to RMB 2 million annually (50% of actual rent) for three years.
- AI, software, and internet firms settling in other parks recognized by the district industry authority and cooperating with other enterprises within the same parks qualify for the same subsidy; Firms settling in parks not recognized by the district industry authority are eligible for subsidies of up to RMB 1 million annually (50% of actual rent) for three years.
15. Creating Zero-Rent Incubators
- Promote incubation centers that integrate enterprise support, technology transfer, financing, and operations, offering rent-free periods from 6 months to 3 years for qualified startups and industry associations.
- Recognized “zero-rent” incubators will be granted subsidies of up to RMB 5 million annually for three years, capped at 50% of verified investment.
V. Optimizing Industrial Development Environment
16. Supporting Enterprise Financing
- Establish an AI industry fund focusing on early, small-scale, long-term investments in hard technologies, providing investment-subsidy and investment-loan linkage mechanisms.
- Enterprises that secure investment from venture capital or startup investment firms registered with the district are eligible for subsidies of up to RMB 1 million (10% of actual investment).
- Those obtaining operating loans from banks will receive interest subsidies of up to RMB 2 million annually (up to 30% of interest) for a maximum of 3 years.
- Loans backed by guarantor institutions are eligible for subsidies of up to RMB 1 million annually (up to 50% of guarantee fee) for a maximum of 3 years.
17. Supporting Talent Development
- Core R&D teams undertaking major AI and software breakthrough projects can receive rewards of up to RMB 30 million (30% of municipal funding obtained).
- Strategic AI scientists will be recruited globally on a case-by-case basis.
- Subsidies for graduates in AI and other fields hired from prestigious universities: RMB 30,000 (bachelor's), RMB 50,000 (master's), RMB 130,000 (doctoral).
- High-level AI professionals are eligible for housing subsidies of up to RMB 500,000.
- Support engineers pursuing advanced education with subsidies of RMB 20,000 for master's programs, and RMB 30,000 for doctoral programs.
- Management teams of qualified fast-growing enterprises will receive rewards of up to RMB 5 million.
- HR service organizations successfully recommending in-demand AI/software talent will receive rewards of up to RMB 100,000 per hire, capped at RMB 300,000 annually.
18. Enhancing Talent Support Services
- Establish a high-level talent evaluation system led by the industry department.
- Provide housing, education, and healthcare guarantees based on classified talent services.
- Allow AI enterprises included in the district's housing rental pool to exceed housing quotas by up to 200%, with lowered access thresholds upon official recognition.
- Allocate housing quotas in a 1:1 ratio to enterprises hiring fresh AI graduates from Sun Yat-sen University (Shenzhen) and Shenzhen University of Advanced Technology.
19. Supporting Major Industry Events
- Encourage high-profile AI and software exhibitions, innovation competitions, and academic conferences to be held in Guangming.
- Approved events will receive subsidies of up to RMB 2 million per event (covering 50% of the audited expenditure.)
VI. Supplementary Provisions
20. Scope of Support
The artificial intelligence and software information industries covered by these measures include the AI industry as defined in Shenzhen's AI industry statistical system, as well as the software and information technology service industry, and the Internet and related service industries under the "National Economic Industry Classification." Priority support is focused on high-quality development and advanced applications in areas such as artificial intelligence, software development, integrated circuit design, information system integration, data processing and storage, digital content services, internet information services, internet platforms, cybersecurity, internet data services, intelligent chips, intelligent robots, smart devices, connected vehicles, and smart cities.
21. Support Principles
These measures can generally be combined with policies at or above the municipal level. For other similar preferential policies within Guangming District, enterprises should select whichever benefits them most, as duplicate subsidies are not allowed. The total subsidies granted shall not exceed the actual investment made in the project. Funding will come from Guangming District's special economic development funds and will be managed according to the district's regulations for these funds. Both quantity and amount caps apply, and funding is subject to controls on the annual total allocation of special economic development funds. Detailed rules will be provided in the current year’s application guidelines.
22. Effective Date and Duration
These measures will take effect on March 31, 2025, and will remain valid for three years. If relevant national, provincial, or municipal policies change during this period, the measures may be adjusted accordingly.