Yicai Global) May 11 -- The size of the funds gathered by financial services institutions in NeoBay, a science and technology innovation park in Shanghai, is likely to reach CNY30 billion (USD4.3 billion) in the next three years, according to an industry insider.

The NeoBay Global Innovation and Entrepreneurship Community is now home to 3,000 tech firms, 22 of which are valued at over CNY1 billion (USD144.2 million) each, as well as over 60 financial service companies, Ye Long, deputy general manager of an investment firm under the Minhang district government, told Yicai Global.

And Ye expects the zone to raise around CNY15 billion in funding this year.

Located in the city’s Minhang district, Neobay has been under construction since 2015. With a core area of 17 square kilometers, it is surrounded by well-known universities including Shanghai Jiao Tong University and East China Normal University. 

Tech innovation zones close to leading universities tend to do well. Silicon Valley, for example, is near Stanford University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Idea-Interaction Technology, a company that makes brain-computer interface devices, moved to NeoBay in 2019 and since then its workforce has tripled to around 30, said founder and General Manager Shu Xiaokang. 

"I believe this is the case for many firms in NeoBay. They are all expanding," he added.

Editors: Shi Yi, Kim Taylor