Zhangjiang Quantum Bay, a quantum industry cluster in Shanghai’s Pudong New Area, was unveiled on June 27, 2026, the state-run Science and Technology Daily reported. Three days later, the Quantum Computing Future Industry Incubation Zone was launched in the city’s Xuhui district with 26 companies, the newspaper reported on July 2.
Both districts’ dedicated quantum support policies were still in preparation when state media reported the launches. Science and Technology Daily reported that Xuhui will issue support measures covering technology research, talent, and applications, and that Pudong is drafting a dedicated quantum industry policy.
About 60 quantum-related companies are based in Shanghai, according to Science and Technology Daily. The newspaper wrote that quantum technology is part of the core layout of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan, the national development plan for 2026–2030.
Zhangjiang Quantum Bay
More than 400 people attended the June 27 launch, Science and Technology Daily reported. Xinhua Finance, a financial news service of the state news agency Xinhua, reported that the event was held at the University of Hong Kong’s Zhangjiang campus.
The cluster opened with three platforms, according to the newspaper: Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s School of Quantum Science and Technology, a company called Tiema Quantum Laboratory, and the Zhangjiang Quantum Incubator for start-up companies.
Shanghai Jiao Tong University formally launched the school at the June 27 event, Xinhua Finance reported. Ding Hong, the school’s founding dean, said it would enroll its first doctoral students in September and its first undergraduates from 2027, according to Science and Technology Daily.
Tiema Quantum Laboratory plans to build a pilot-testing platform open to the whole industry, the newspaper reported. According to the newspaper, Pan Jianwei, a physicist and member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said the company is pursuing topological quantum computing, an approach he described as a long-term effort.
Topological qubits would store information in states of matter designed to resist noise. In June, Henry Legg, a physicist at the University of St Andrews, disputed in Nature the data behind Microsoft’s 2025 paper on devices for such qubits.
Xinhua Finance reported that four companies, Buchou Quantum, Zhengyuan Quantum, Fuxi Quantum, and Tongyuan Liangzhi, received service packages as the cluster’s first tenants. The packages cover research space, financing and investment, and market development, according to Science and Technology Daily.
The cluster’s building meets the VC-C vibration criterion and can be reinforced to the stricter VC-E level, the newspaper reported. Vibration criteria are industry ratings for how much a floor may move under sensitive laboratory instruments.
Pudong’s planned quantum policy will cover five areas, from attracting companies and supporting research to computing applications and talent funding, the newspaper reported without giving any amounts.
Xuhui incubation zone
The Xuhui zone was launched at a quantum computing industry conference held in the district on June 30, Science and Technology Daily reported. Citing the state-backed Jiefang Daily, the South China Morning Post reported that the zone would provide up to 100 million yuan for foundational research, technology innovation, and platforms.
The Post put that sum at $14.73 million. Companies developing their first products could receive up to 20 million yuan, along with subsidies to lower their computing and validation costs, the Post reported. Science and Technology Daily reported that Xuhui will also work with the Shanghai Academy of Sciences to build a joint research platform for key common technologies in quantum computing.
Eight universities and research institutes, including Fudan University and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, formed a Quantum Computing Research and Innovation Alliance, the newspaper reported. It also reported that Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, the Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, the Shanghai Meteorological Service, and the electronics group INESA had released their first proposed uses for quantum computing, in quantum-AI integration, meteorology, and finance.
Science and Technology Daily reported that a company called Qingxing Heterogeneous had released an AI vision model, RiverONE, in Xuhui. The newspaper described the model as China’s first rebuilt on simulated quantum computing power.
What the reports did not include
In its two reports, Science and Technology Daily did not describe a quantum computer operating at either hub or list the 26 companies in the Xuhui zone. The only qubit technology the newspaper named for either hub was topological quantum computing, for both Tiema and the new Jiao Tong school.
The first dated milestone in the newspaper’s reports is the Jiao Tong school’s first doctoral intake, in September 2026.
Update, November 12, 2026: Shanghai Observer reported on August 2 that the Xuhui zone’s building was still under construction. Citing the Xuhui government website, the news site C114 reported on September 9 that Xuhui had issued its support measures. C114 reported caps of up to 20 million yuan for first products and use of quantum computing power and up to 100 million yuan for research, innovation, and platforms.
