National Brain and Health Technology Industry Conference Concludes Successfully in Guangming Science City with Over One Million Online Viewers

2021October 26–27,The First National Conference on Brain and Health Technology Industry (hereinafter referred to as“B30” Conference)In Guangming District, Shenzhen, the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (provisional name, abbreviated as“Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology”) Mingzhu Campus concluded successfully. The conference gathered“Technology + Capital + Industry”industry leaders conducted comprehensive discussions on the current status of frontier technologies and industrial development, future trends, and ecosystem construction in the fields of brain science, brain technology, brain health, brain intelligence, as well as brain disease and rehabilitation technology.

This conference is hosted by the Shenzhen Municipal Development and Reform Commission, the Shenzhen Municipal Science and Technology Innovation Commission, the People’s Government of Guangming District, Shenzhen University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (in preparation), and the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. It is co-organized by the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Innovation, Shenzhen Deep Brain Health Technology Co., Ltd., and the Neuroscientific Research Techniques Branch of the Chinese Neuroscience Society. The Synapse and Plasticity Professional Committee of the Chinese Neuroscience Society and the Autonomic Nervous System Professional Committee of the Chinese Physiological Society serve as supporting organizations.

Member of the Standing Committee of the Guangming District Committee of the Communist Party of China, and Candidate for Deputy District MayorYao Gaoke, Director of the Preparatory Office of Shenzhen University of Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Dean of the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (hereinafter referred to as "Shenzhen Advanced Institute")Fan JianpingAttended the conference and delivered a speech. Leaders from the Guangdong Provincial Department of Science and Technology, Shenzhen Municipal Development and Reform Commission, Shenzhen Municipal Science and Technology Innovation Commission, and Guangming District of Shenzhen attended the event.

The B30 Conference attracted nearly 300 in-person attendees, while the cumulative online live-stream viewership over the two days exceeded 1.4 million.(Shenzhen Business Daily live streaming platform information), has received widespread attention from all sectors of society.

As a source of innovation and an innovative service platform for the brain and health industry, established based on the Institute of Brain Cognition and Brain Diseases of the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology (hereinafter referred to as the “Brain Institute”)Guangming Brain Science and Technology Industry Innovation Center(hereinafter referred to as the “Brain Innovation Center”) was officially unveiled at the meeting. The “Brain Innovation Center” is jointly established by the Guangming District Government and the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology,The total investment in the project exceeds 100 million yuan, providing over 10,000 square meters of incubation space.Brain Innovation Center“Demand-side poses the questions; the tech community provides the answers.”As a starting point, focusing on the key pain points in the industrial translation of brain science and brain-like intelligence, build the first national common technology service platform for the brain science industry, based in the Greater Bay Area and radiating throughout China, to create“Laying Eggs Along the Way + Aggregation Effect”industrial development ecosystem.

Unveiling Ceremony of the Guangming Brain Science and Technology Industry Innovation Center

To fully support the development of brain and health industry technologies, this conference has conducted“Guangming Science City Brain and Brain-like Intelligence Industrial Park”Signing Ceremony: In accordance with work arrangements, a partnership will be established with China Merchants Group to construct the Guangming Brain and Brain-Inspired Intelligence Industrial Park (China Merchants Group Base) in Guangming. This facility is designed to support the mid-to-late stage development of early-stage technology teams at the Brain Innovation Center. Furthermore, the Institute of Brain Science, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, and Yitou Capital plan to collaborate to attract top-tier domestic and international technical teams in the field of mental health to settle in Guangming, Shenzhen. This initiative aims to cultivate a cohort of unicorn companies with industry-benchmarking influence in the mental health sector in the future.“Yi Tou Mental Health Technology Laboratory”It was also unveiled at the B30 Conference.

To clarify the logic of industrial development and explore a new incubation system, the conference invitedRenowned tech entrepreneurs, investors from investment firms, and academicians and experts from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Royal Society of Canada. They maintain a deep focus on the frontiers of brain science, delivering core value propositions centered on six key areas aligned with public needs and future trends in technology and industrial development: “the sleep economy, mental health and psychological well-being, brain-computer integration and intelligence, novel drug R&D for brain disorders, early diagnosis and optimized treatment of brain diseases, and gene therapy technologies.” Their insights provide valuable guidance for the rapid development of the brain and health industry.

Renowned Tech Entrepreneur and Prominent Investor Gong Hongjia

China is gradually entering a phase of deep aging society. Frontier breakthroughs in fields such as brain science, brain health, brain intelligence, neurorehabilitation, and brain disorders are poised to trigger significant industrial transformation; they will also play a crucial role in advancing early diagnosis and optimized treatment of brain diseases, new rehabilitation technologies, and the future application of novel brain-computer integration intelligence technologies. The Guangming B30 Brain and Health Technology Industry Conference has gathered numerous domestic investment institutions, neuroscientists, and clinicians. Witnessing this enthusiasm, one can sense that the investment opportunity in this field is rapidly emerging. We look forward to growing alongside this sector.

Feng Guoping, Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Brain disorders are among the most burdensome diseases affecting humanity. The emergence of technologies such as genomic sequencing, gene editing, single-cell sequencing, and optogenetics has significantly advanced research on brain disorders and drug development. Now is the optimal time to invest in this field; although it is still in its early stages, many mechanistic insights into brain disorders can be translated into therapeutic targets and approaches for drug development.

Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, Wang Yutian

Delivered a keynote address titled “Bench to Bed – Can We Cross the Valley of Death?” and offered insights on bridging the gap between basic research and clinical application in brain science: “First, establish research teams comprising both scientists and clinicians; second, identify accurate and reliable targets; third, select optimal drug candidates; and fourth, conduct well-designed clinical trials.”

Zhu Xun, Honorary Chairman of the Tongxieyi New Drug Talent Club

“The field of brain disease treatment holds broad prospects, yet success rates remain very low. This is primarily due to the highly complex and not yet fully understood pathogenesis, which makes the design of clinical protocols challenging. With emerging research advances and technological innovations, this field is poised for accelerated development in the future.”

Fosun Capital, a deep-rooted player in the broader health sector, will serve as the strategic partner for this conference, integrating industrial development with investment alongside the Institute of Neuroscience to accelerate the translation and commercialization of scientific research achievements.

Chen Xin, Co-President of Fosun Chuangfu and President of the Equity Investment and Financing Division for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area at Fosun

Leveraging Fosun’s robust global industrial ecosystem and its strategic layout in the healthcare and wellness sectors, Fosun Chuangfu regularly tracks the progress of a large number of startups and identifies promising sub-sectors both currently and for the future.

From another perspective, Fosun’s industrial strategy is centered on three core aspirations—health, happiness, and prosperity—by building an industrial ecosystem that spans the entire family life cycle. To achieve this goal, neuroscience, rehabilitation for brain disorders, and brain health (including mental health) are indispensable. Fosun will increase its focus on this field in the future!

The Fosun Venture Capital team, with its strong industrial background, is better positioned to understand corporate needs, facilitate business synergy and upstream-downstream collaboration between portfolio companies and the Fosun ecosystem, and leverage its practical experience in international investments to actively commercialize scientific achievements, cutting-edge technologies, and high-growth projects. We will maintain close communication with the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology (SIAT), including the Institute of Brain Science and the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science–Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, with the aim of fostering robust future cooperation across industry, academia, research, and capital.

Huang Li, Founding Partner of Cowin Capital, a long-term observer of the development of the brain and health industry

From the perspective of current societal conditions, there is an urgent need to advance brain science into a robust brain industry, thereby reducing healthcare burdens and enhancing human well-being. Along this core pathway, we are focusing our investment on three key areas: understanding the brain, protecting the brain, and simulating the brain. We look forward to connecting promptly with more innovative scientists, physicians, and entrepreneurs to accelerate the development of the brain and health industry.

Partner at Sharing Investment, Huang Fanzhi

In his keynote address, “New Trends in Healthcare Investment Driven by Dual Engines,” he pointed out that healthcare investment can generally be summarized into four core logics: precision medicine, import substitution, technological advancement, and consumption upgrading. He noted that precision medicine and consumption upgrading will present greater opportunities in the future.

The core of precision medicine lies in the co-development of various omics disciplines, with a greater emphasis on innovative technologies and products; meanwhile, consumption upgrading has given rise to various emerging medical services, driven by three “new” factors: new populations, new demands, and new scenarios.

A critical component of investment strategy is the selection of niche sectors. Given the broad scope of the healthcare industry—with medical devices alone numbering in the thousands—a scattergun approach may superficially appear to be healthcare-focused but often lacks a coherent strategic thread, resulting in form without substance. The convergence of brain science and the health industry represents an emerging blue-ocean opportunity worthy of close investor attention.

FreesFund Partner Ma Rui

It Is the Right Time to Invest in Brain Science and Technology: First, population aging is severe; second, advances in frontier biotechnology have provided new tools; third, brain and cognitive neuroscience has reached a turning point. Over the next 5–10 years, new tools for brain science research will yield novel therapeutic targets and approaches for brain disorders, as well as more precise analytical and diagnostic methods—representing the greatest opportunities ahead.

During the conference, academic experts in brain science, investors from leading domestic investment institutions, and specialists in neurology, neurosurgery, psychiatry, and psychology from renowned Chinese medical institutions held three roundtable forums. The sessions were themed “Brain Science and Brain Industry: Scientists and Entrepreneurs Discuss the Future of the Brain,” “Deepening Industry-Academia-Research Collaboration to Build a World-Leading Brain Science Research Hub,” and “Clinical Practice, Research, and Translation: Addressing Clinical Challenges in Brain Science and Exploring New Trends in Global Industry Development.” The discussions provided an accessible yet thorough analysis of the current landscape of brain science, focusing intensively on industry pain points. From the perspective of integrating “industry, academia, research, application, and capital,” participants explored how to translate source technologies into marketable solutions, thereby addressing the needs of the clinical market and the general public, and jointly envisioning a new future for the brain and health industries.

Fu Wenbo, General Manager of IDG Innovation Investment Research Institute

IDG Capital can be described as a very early and long-term supporter and companion in the field of brain science in China. As early as ten years ago, we began to support the frontier basic research on brain science at Tsinghua University, Peking University, and Beijing Normal University through charitable donations. Brain science has always been regarded as the “ultimate frontier” for humans to understand natural phenomena and themselves. The advancement of its “basic research” often requires great patience and the ability to endure loneliness during long-term investments, yet it serves as the fundamental basis for the integration of industry, academia, and research. This aligns perfectly with IDG Capital’s principle of persistently creating long-term social value. In the future, we will continue to support the development of basic research in brain science through charitable initiatives and other means. We are also honored to have witnessed the emerging dawn of its translation from basic research to engineering applications, and we will provide further support and exploration in the realms of industry-academia-research collaboration.

Wang Ning, Vice President of the First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University

Among the more than 7,000 known rare genetic diseases, over 4,000 are related to the nervous system. As clinicians specializing in rare genetic disorders, we have numerous examples demonstrating that novel gene loci identified by comparing rare disease populations with cohort populations are significant targets for drug development. Gene therapies developed based on these loci often yield favorable outcomes in the treatment of major diseases. Collaborative efforts among physicians, scientists, and investors represent an excellent strategy for securing a competitive advantage, and Shenzhen offers the most favorable investment environment in China.

Zhuo Min, Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada

The two-day conference fully showcased the “bright” future of brain and health technologies, with compelling pitch presentations on industrialization projects spanning EEG signal analysis, digital diagnosis and treatment of brain disorders, brain-computer integration technologies, and novel drug development. We hope to foster greater convergence between original neuroscience research achievements and visionary investors, sparking meaningful collaboration and innovation.

According to statistics, this conference has a total of15 invited reports were released, and 3 roundtable forums were held., providing a comprehensive analysis of the entire brain health industry chain from multiple perspectives.

“The B30 Conference” is China’s first large-scale, comprehensive conference in the field of brain science and health, featuring broad coverage, high participation, and deep integration among the scientific, industrial, and capital communities. It aims to leverage the “Guangming Brain Science and Technology Industry Innovation Center,” jointly supported by the Shenzhen Municipal Development and Reform Commission and the Guangming District Government, as a focal point to deeply explore the creation of a holistic “Science-Hub-Ventures” incubation ecosystem in Guangming Science City, namely“Science + Resource Sharing + Capital”A new model of integrated development in technological innovation, featuring deep integration and the unification of “three innovations”: innovation, entrepreneurship, and venture capital.

Standing at this pivotal juncture, the conference invited and attracted 63 renowned domestic investment institutions, including (listed in alphabetical order): Bairong Capital, Bohe Angel Fund, Poly Capital, Beigaofeng Capital, Country Garden Ventures, Danlu Capital, Desong Investment, Oriental Fortune Capital, Fenxiang Investment, FreesFund, Furong Investment, Fosun RZ Capital, Gaoke Xinjun, Hillhouse Capital, Gongjian Ventures, Grandland Group, Guangzhou Fuxin Venture Capital Co., Ltd., SDIC Merchants Investment Management Co., Ltd., Herong Capital, Honghui Capital, Sequoia Capital, Hongtai Fund, Huachuang Capital, BGI-Miracle Light Venture Capital Fund, Huagai Southern Investment Management (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd., China Renaissance, IDG Innovation Investment Research Institute, Jiayin Fund (Pharmaceutical Sector), Kefa Capital, Quark Capital, Lanxi Capital, BlueRun Ventures, Lanhai Capital, Rongtao Capital, Shangyi Investment, Shanghai Hanggui Investment Management Co., Ltd., Shenzhen Capital Group Co., Ltd., Shenzhen High-Tech Investment Zhengxuan Equity Investment Fund Management Co., Ltd., Shenzhen Guangming District Guidance Fund Investment Management Co., Ltd., Shenzhen HFT Venture Capital Co., Ltd., Shenzhen Lihex Venture Capital Co., Ltd., Shenzhen Angel FOF, Shenzhen Angel Investment Guidance Fund Management Co., Ltd., Shengqu Capital, Teda Investment, By-Health, Taomen Ventures, Tibei Capital, Tianchao Capital, Cowin Capital, Wanwu Capital, Weishi Capital, 5Y Capital, Xiantong Capital, Xingze Capital, Yucheng Investment, Yuansheng Ventures, Zhilin Capital, CAS Technology Transfer Equity Investment Fund, CICC-Cai Fund, CITIC Securities, CITIC Capital, and Ziniu Fund. The event facilitated “face-to-face exchanges” with 30 pre-selected high-tech enterprises or innovative technology teams in the fields of brain science, brain technology, brain health, brain intelligence, brain diseases, and brain rehabilitation, jointly exploring the future of industrialization.

Director of the Institute of Neuroscience, Dean of the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science, Wang Liping

Director of the Institute of Brain Science, Dean of the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science and Technology, and Head of the Organizing Committee for the B30 ConferenceWang LipingIt was stated that “the national healthcare burden caused by various brain disorders is increasingly heavy. The rise and widespread application of artificial intelligence and big data technologies are driving the expectation for breakthroughs at the source in the fields of brain science, brain technology, brain intelligence, brain health, brain diseases, and brain rehabilitation. The complexity of the human brain dictates that industrial teams possessing core technologies in this field require continuous support from professional brain science and technology teams and platforms. This support is essential to minimize the risk of falling into the ‘Valley of Death,’ accelerate the iteration cycle of technologies and products, and maximize innovation-driven development. The layout of future industrial development will increasingly rely on teams with source innovation capabilities and carriers that share technologies and equipment. The Guangming Brain Science and Technology Industry Innovation Center is positioned to establish the system and mechanisms of Science Hub Ventures, strengthening the innovative momentum of ‘integrated development through the fusion of innovation, entrepreneurship, and venture capital.’ The Shenzhen Guangming B30 Brain and Health Technology Industry Conference gathered more than 60 leading domestic capital firms and industrial technology teams from the brain industry sector across multiple cities in China. In the future, the B30 Conference will strive to build a new model of integrated symbiosis combining ‘technology + innovation resource sharing + capital’ in the fields of brain technology, life and health, and intelligent technology, thereby serving the nation’s independent scientific and technological innovation development and contributing to the new era of China’s new economic development!”

The conclusion of this conference is not an end, but rather the beginning of a new chapter. The “B30” conference will soon reunite with stakeholders across the industry chain once again. This path is filled with imagination and boundless challenges. Guangming has positioned itself at the forefront of this emerging sector and sincerely invites more “fellow travelers” to join forces in exploring the vast frontiers of brain science, an innovative field brimming with promise.