The finals and the wrap-up session of the 11th "Maker in China" Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition for SMEs in Beijing (the "'Maker in Beijing' competition" for short) were held on October 20, with 100 projects receiving awards.
Now in its 11th consecutive year, the "Maker in Beijing" competition has attracted more than 35,000 outstanding projects to date. This year's competition was launched in April and concluded in September. It featured three tracks: regional competitions, special competitions organized by leading enterprises, and a distinct competition for one-person companies (OPCs). A total of 5,518 projects were submitted, from which 100 high-quality enterprises and projects were selected. Among them, 70 projects were included in the top 500 in the enterprise category and the top 300 in the startup category at the national finals of the "Maker in China" competition, maintaining Beijing's leading position among China's provincial-level regions for several consecutive years.
More than half of this year's entries focused on key fields, including artificial intelligence, high-end manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and healthcare, energy and materials, and environmental protection. A range of cutting-edge technologies emerged, including those of quantum computing, iron-based superconductivity, and the application of perovskite materials in the aerospace sector, demonstrating the innovation capabilities of Beijing's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Thirteen leading enterprises, including BAIC Group, X-Humanoid, and HyperStrong, released technical requirements and invited all possible SMEs to tackle key technical challenges. During the competition, more than 10 projects realized preliminary cooperation agreements with leading enterprises in their respective industrial fields. Beijing's ever-improving ecosystem for entrepreneurship also fostered a growing number of young entrepreneurial teams.
The commercialization of the winning projects has also been accelerating. Since 2025, 16 projects that won awards in the regional competitions have secured financing in a total of 36 rounds, raising more than 1.5 billion yuan. Several projects have already achieved mass production or been included in the catalogue of major "first-of-its-kind" technical equipment.
(Source: The Beijing News)
