Merck Launches Shanghai Innovation Center and Establishes RMB 100 Million Seed Fund to Empower Chinese Startups

Merck’s Innovation Center in Shanghai Officially Opens; Merck Guangdong Innovation Center to Unveil in November

A dedicated RMB 100 million seed fund has been established to invest in Merck KGaA’s three business sectors and other innovative ventures.

From left to right: Ms. Sun Zhengjie, Managing Director of Merck China Innovation Center and Vice President of China Strategy & Transformation; Mr. Yang Qing, Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer of WuXi AppTec; Ms. Ou Zhen, Consul General of the German Consulate General in Shanghai; Mr. Bo Youhan, Chairman of the Partner Board of Merck KGaA and Deputy Chairman of the Family Executive Board of Merck KGaA; Mr. Li Xiaoliang, Deputy Director of the Science and Technology and Economic Commission of Pudong New Area, Shanghai; Mr. Ousmoun, Chairman of the Executive Board and Chief Executive Officer of Merck KGaA; Ms. Li Yisha, Chief Strategy Officer of Merck KGaA; Mr. An Gaobo, President of Merck China and Managing Director of Performance Materials China Region

Today (October 18), Merck KGaA, a global leader in science and technology, grandly unveiled its Innovation Center in Shanghai and announced a RMB 100 million seed fund to support Chinese startups. In November 2019, Merck’s Guangdong Innovation Center will also officially open in Guangzhou.

Mr. Stefan Oschmann, CEO of Merck KGaA

At the opening ceremony, Mr. Stefan Oschmann, CEO of Merck KGaA, stated, “The Merck China Innovation Center will accelerate the company’s innovation-driven development across China. We will work with all our partners to foster innovation, root ourselves in China, and serve China.”

Merck Innovation Center

Unveiled today, the Innovation Center is located in the government-backed innovation ecosystem of the Shanghai Qiantan World Trade Center, spanning an area of 1,000 square meters. Merck will invite startups, academic institutions, and industry professionals to collaborate on joint projects at the Innovation Center, fostering greater creative ideation. In February 2018, Merck established an innovation team in China, partnering with entities including Peking University and industry partners to continuously explore Merck’s innovation domains, such as AI-enabled health solutions. To date, six startups from China and other Asian countries and regions have successfully entered the first cohort of the accelerator program at Merck China’s Innovation Center.

From left to right: Mr. Gobo An, President of Merck China and Managing Director of Performance Materials China; Mr. Roger Ren, Managing Director of Biopharma China at Merck China; Mr. Zhengxi Wei, Managing Director of Life Science China and Vice President of Research Solutions China at Merck China; Mr. Jasper Bos, Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Venture Capital at Merck; and Ms. Ye Li, Vice President of Merck China and Head of Corporate and Government Affairs.

From left to right in the picture: Mr. Xu Jieping, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Merck ChinaMr. Cai Jiangnan from the College, Ms. Xu Beidi, Chair of the Board of Directors of the German Chamber of Commerce Shanghai Branch and Representative of the Freudenberg Group in Asia, KewangPharmaceuticalsMr. Hongtao Lu, Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer; Mr. Joydeep Sarkar, Chief Analytics Officer at Holmusk; Mr. Fei Chen, Managing Partner at Lilly Asia Ventures; and Mr. Shi Mingde, Former Chinese Ambassador to Germany

In late 2018, Merck announced the establishment of the Merck Guangdong Innovation Center in Guangzhou, fully demonstrating its close partnerships with innovation ecosystem partners such as local government industrial parks, incubators, academic institutions, and investment firms. In the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area issued by the State Council, it was pointed out that the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area will promote new materials, biotechnology,Healthcareinnovations in these fields. The Merck Guangdong Innovation Center has already attracted startups and local innovators from the Greater Bay Area and the Asia-Pacific region, some of which have joined the first cohort of Merck China’s accelerator program. This 700-square-meter Guangdong Innovation Center will officially open in November 2019.

On the occasion of the opening of the Merck China Innovation Center, M Ventures, the strategic investment arm of Merck Group, announced the establishment of a RMB 100 million “Seed Fund” in China. This seed fund aims to support innovative projects aligned with Merck’s core business areas, with a focus on Merck’s three key business sectors and other emerging technology fields. The fund will invest in Chinese startups at the seed stage, with individual investments ranging from RMB 5 million to RMB 10 million, helping these startups reach their next valuation milestone within 18–24 months. The “Seed Fund” will be jointly managed and operated by M Ventures and the Merck China Innovation Center.

“The seed fund embodies our commitment to investing in the Chinese market; it is the first investment by Merck KGaA’s Corporate Venture Capital in China,” stated Mr. Stefan Oschmann at the opening ceremony. “We hope the seed fund will help establish Merck’s innovative stature in China and foster collaborations with innovative projects within China’s burgeoning innovation ecosystem.”

The launch of the Merck China Innovation Center and the establishment of a seed fund will enable the Merck China innovation team to cover all aspects of innovation, including incubation, acceleration, investment, and partnerships, further accelerating Merck’s business development in China.

Merck’s commitment to China’s development is reflected not only in the opening of its Innovation Center and the establishment of a seed fund, but also in the strategic cooperation agreement signed with Alibaba Health in June 2018 and the launch of e-commerce collaboration in the Life Science business in September of that year. Last year, Merck established an Organic Light-Emitting Diode (OLED) Technology Application Center in Shanghai and invested a total of €250 million in two production sites in Nantong. In China, Merck employs more than 3,700 people across its three business sectors: Healthcare, Life Science, and Performance Materials. In Beijing, Merck operates a global Healthcare R&D center, while in Shanghai it has an Application Center for Performance Materials and a Life Science laboratory.