On November 14, 2024, Forbes China officially released the list of China's Top 50 Innovative Enterprises in 2024. This list not only showcases the outstanding achievements of Chinese enterprises in the field of scientific and technological innovation, but also reveals the new trends in the current development of the technology industry. Companies such as Huawei HiSilicon and Xiaomi Auto are on the list, and the rise of artificial intelligence (AI)-related innovators is even more eye-catching. Through an in-depth analysis of the list, we can better understand the fierce changes in China's innovation track and the future development direction of emerging technology fields.
1. The update rate of the list has increased, and the change of innovation track has accelerated
In the past three years, the update rate of the Forbes China Top 50 Innovative Enterprises list has increased year by year, and this year it has reached an astonishing 80%. This data directly reflects the fierce competition and rapid change of China's innovation track. The number of companies represented in traditional industries, such as biomedicine, new energy and electric vehicles, has rapidly declined on the list, while emerging technology sectors, especially AI-related innovators, have quickly filled these gaps.
Behind this change is a profound change in the internal structure of the technology industry. With the rapid development of artificial intelligence technology, AI has penetrated into various industries and has become an important force to promote scientific and technological innovation. At the same time, although the new energy field still has a broad space for development, the competition pattern of enterprises in the industry is also changing. Photovoltaics and electric vehicles used to be the focus of innovation, but now frontiers such as hydrogen, nuclear fusion, and quantum computing are starting to receive more attention.
2. Start-ups are on the rise, raising new highs
Another notable feature of this year's list is the rise of start-ups. Last year, about 90% of the Forbes China's Top 50 Innovative Enterprises were mature enterprises, with an average establishment time of more than 10 years. However, this year, a group of startups that have been established for less than three years have begun to gain more voice, and the proportion of startups in the list has returned to the level of 2018. But the difference is that these startups have raised a much larger amount of money despite being established for a shorter period of time.
For example, the star startup "Dark Side of the Moon" in the large-scale model track completed its latest round of financing of $300 million in August this year, and the company's valuation climbed to $3.3 billion. A month earlier, Baichuan Intelligent also successfully completed the A2 round of financing of 5 billion yuan, with a post-investment valuation of up to 20 billion yuan. The rapid rise of these startups not only reflects the vitality of China's innovation ecosystem, but also indicates that the competition in the technology industry will become more fierce in the future.
3. AI technology leads innovation, and large models, autonomous driving and other fields have become the focus
From the perspective of industry track classification, the number of companies on the list in the field of large models and autonomous driving, which are most closely related to AI technology, has increased significantly. This year, a total of 8 large model companies have received special attention, an increase from 6 last year. These companies have made important breakthroughs in natural language processing, image recognition, intelligent recommendation and other fields, promoting the widespread application of AI technology.
The field of autonomous driving is also prominent. Reed Technology, WeRide, Pony.ai and other companies were successfully selected for the list with their innovations in autonomous driving technology. These companies have made significant progress in autonomous driving algorithms, sensor technology, vehicle control, etc., providing strong support for future intelligent transportation.
4. Emerging fields are emerging, and hydrogen energy and quantum computing have attracted much attention
In addition to AI technology, emerging fields such as hydrogen energy and quantum computing are also attracting attention. In the field of hydrogen energy application, Baofeng Group, Sungrow Power Supply and other enterprises have been successfully selected for the list with their innovations in hydrogen energy preparation, storage and application. These companies have played an important role in promoting the development of the hydrogen energy industry and realizing the transformation of the energy structure.
The field of quantum computing also shows strong innovation vitality. Origin Quantum, Turing Quantum and other companies have been successfully selected for the list with breakthroughs in quantum computing hardware, algorithms and applications. As an important direction for the development of science and technology in the future, quantum computing has broad application prospects and huge market potential.
5. The transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, new materials, financial technology, etc. show new vitality
In terms of the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, new materials and financial technology have also shown new vitality. Anta Group, Satellite Chemical and other companies were successfully selected for their innovations in the R&D and application of new materials. These companies play an important role in advancing materials science and improving product performance and quality.
The fintech sector is also showing strong momentum for innovation. Du Xiaoman, Ant Group, WeBank and other companies were successfully selected for the list with their innovations in financial technology services, big data risk control, robo-advisory, etc. These companies have played an important role in driving the development of fintech and improving the efficiency and quality of financial services.
6. Conclusion: Technological innovation leads the future, and China's innovation ecology is infinitely vibrant
To sum up, the 2024 Forbes China Top 50 Innovative Enterprises list reveals the new trends in the current development of the technology industry. The wide application of AI technology, the rapid rise of emerging fields, and the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries have jointly promoted the vigorous development of China's scientific and technological innovation. In the future, with the continuous progress of science and technology and the continuous improvement of the innovation ecology, Chinese enterprises will make more brilliant achievements in the field of scientific and technological innovation.
At the same time, we should also realize that scientific and technological innovation is a long-term and complex process, which requires the joint efforts of the government, enterprises and all sectors of society. Only by strengthening collaborative innovation, optimizing the innovation environment, and enhancing innovation capabilities can we promote the continuous development of China's scientific and technological innovation and provide strong support for the sustainable development of the economy and society.
Figure: Forbes 2024 China's Top 50 Innovative Enterprises