On July 11th, the Jiangsu Provincial Science and Technology Office issued a notice regarding the establishment of corporate-led provincial key laboratories. Six enterprises from our city, including Jiangsu Changjiang Electronics Technology Co., Ltd., Magic Atom, Wuxi Tianqi Automation Engineering Co., Ltd., Hikvision Wuxi Technology Co., Ltd., Chipown Micro-electronics Limited, and Wuxi DK Photonics Technology Co., Ltd., have successfully been selected to lead the preparation and establishment of key laboratories. This achievement places the city second in the province for the number of such initiatives, covering emerging and future industries such as integrated circuits, intelligent robotics, embodied intelligence, and 6G communications.
Understanding the Provincial Key Laboratory Program
Provincial key laboratories are a core component of Jiangsu's scientific and technological innovation infrastructure. They serve as vital platforms for acquiring independent intellectual property, gathering and nurturing top-tier innovative talent, and securing a leading position in future technologies. The laboratories included in this preparatory phase represent a reserve force for provincial-level science and innovation platforms. Their development follows a structured process of "preparation, formal establishment, operation, and evaluation." After a two-year preparatory period, those passing the formal establishment assessment will be incorporated into the official sequence of provincial key laboratories for ongoing construction and operation.
Currently, 40% of the reorganized provincial key laboratories across Jiangsu are led by enterprises. Building on this foundation, the province has innovatively launched a "corporate-led preparation" model this year, focusing on six emerging pillar industries and six future industry sectors. This initiative supports enterprises in taking the lead to prepare and establish a batch of high-standard provincial key laboratories. The aim is to further strengthen enterprise-led integration of industry, academia, research, and application, accelerating the cultivation and expansion of innovation platforms.
Highlights of Wuxi's Six Selected Laboratories
The Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory for Public Safety Embodied Intelligent Robots (in preparation) is led by Magic Atom. Headquartered in the Liangxi District, it leverages the company's fully self-developed technological expertise and over a decade of engineering implementation experience. The laboratory is committed to building a collaborative innovation consortium combining "leading enterprises and public security institutions," forming an innovation pattern of "one headquarters, two sub-centers, and cross-regional linkage." This aims to accelerate the transition of public safety innovation achievements from the lab to practical frontline applications.
The Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory for Micro-Special Embodied Intelligence (in preparation) is led by Hikvision Wuxi Technology Co., Ltd. from the Wuxi National Hi-tech District, in collaboration with Nanjing University and the Harbin Institute of Technology Suzhou Research Institute. It focuses on cutting-edge areas of micro-special embodied intelligence, tackling key core technologies and industrial application challenges. The goal is to establish a complete technological chain from intelligent base systems to heterogeneous entities to integration and application, deploying benchmark applications in areas like emergency rescue and national defense security.
The Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory for Industrial Applications of Embodied Intelligent Robots (in preparation) is led by Wuxi Tianqi Automation Engineering Co., Ltd. from the Huishan District, jointly established with Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Jiangnan University. It is the only corporate-led provincial key laboratory in the city involving collaboration between a local enterprise and local universities. Building on Tianqi's 40 years of industry experience in automotive manufacturing and its 8,000-square-meter real-world industrial scenario base, the lab integrates resources from industry, academia, and research to systematically address common technological bottlenecks in data, algorithms, adaptation, and transformation within China.
The Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory for 6G Communication Optical Bearer Technology (in preparation) is led by Wuxi DK Photonics Technology Co., Ltd. from the Wuxi National Hi-tech District, jointly constructed with Nanjing University and Nanjing University of Science and Technology. It concentrates on three core directions: ultra-high-speed optical bearer, core optical components for space-air-ground integration, and the integrated innovation of communication, sensing, and computing. By consolidating advantages from industry, academia, and research, it aims to break through key technological bottlenecks and propel the leapfrog development of 6G from theory to industrial application.
The Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory for High-Density Optical and Electrical Microsystem Integration (in preparation) is led by Jiangsu Changjiang Electronics Technology Co., Ltd. from Jiangyin City, jointly applied for with ChipMOS Technologies (Jiangyin) Inc. and Southeast University. This marks a significant achievement for Jiangyin in strengthening the role of enterprises as the main drivers of technological innovation. Moving forward, Jiangyin will seize this opportunity to focus on enhancing emerging industries and strategically planning for future industries, continuously improving regional independent innovation capability and industrial core competitiveness.
The Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory for Intelligent Power Integrated Circuits and Modules (in preparation) is co-prepared by Chipown Micro-electronics Limited from the Wuxi National Hi-tech District, in collaboration with Southeast University and Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics. It will focus on five research areas: ultra-high voltage driver chips, highly integrated and reliable power supply chips, high-density intelligent power modules, multi-phase digital controllers and DrGaN integration, and innovative power integration control architectures and systems.
Strategic Focus and Future Outlook
In recent years, Wuxi has established a gradient cultivation system for national, provincial, and municipal key laboratories, continuously nurturing the R&D capabilities of enterprises in emerging and future industries and empowering them to tackle cutting-edge core technologies. Going forward, the city will leverage this opportunity of corporate-led provincial key laboratory preparation to continue focusing on enhancing emerging industries and strategically planning for future industries. It will guide enterprises to aggregate high-level innovative talent, increase investment in frontier technology R&D, concentrate efforts on overcoming a batch of critical "bottleneck" technologies in the industry, and clear the pathway for transforming scientific and technological achievements. The ultimate goal is to convert corporate R&D advantages into industrial competitive advantages.