According to information released on the 13th by the Zhejiang Provincial Market Supervision Administration, 24 enterprises from Zhejiang applied for the WIPO Global Awards this year, resulting in one being selected and one being shortlisted. This achievement is underpinned by the robust development of high-quality intellectual property services in Zhejiang, as well as comprehensive, end-to-end support provided by a group of local professional intellectual property agencies, spanning from technology research and development and patent strategy to global competition.
The WIPO Global Awards is a worldwide recognition program established by the United Nations' World Intellectual Property Organization in 2022, with only around ten small and medium-sized enterprises or startups selected globally each year.
This year, after careful cultivation and recommendation through the Zhejiang Provincial Intellectual Property Office's "Golden Seed" plan for patent industrialization to promote the growth of SMEs, Hangzhou Mainflow Technology Co., Ltd. stood out, becoming one of the 11 global award-winning enterprises this session. Hangzhou Lingban Technology simultaneously received a shortlist award.
Following Unitree Robotics' victory in 2025, this marks another achievement by a Zhejiang enterprise in securing this top-tier international intellectual property honor. Consequently, Zhejiang has become the only province in China to produce WIPO Global Award winners for two consecutive years.
It is reported that this year's awards received 1,300 applications from 126 countries, with a shortlisting rate of less than 2.5%. Winners in the medical field are particularly rare. How did the Zhejiang enterprises break through? The answer lies in a multi-level cultivation network and a full-chain service framework woven together by intellectual property and other government departments.
In 2024, Mainflow Technology was among the first batch of enterprises selected for the "Golden Seed" incubation-level enterprise pool and subsequently completed certification for the national standard on intellectual property management. The intellectual property department tailored a patent navigation project for its "AI Diagnosis and Treatment System for Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Diseases." This project conducted in-depth patent analysis around technology hotspots and gaps in areas like hemodynamics and AI algorithms, providing precise guidance for R&D direction. It enhanced innovation efficiency in key technologies such as fluid dynamics calculation, 3D model construction, and vascular reconstruction, while also facilitating talent collaboration to assist the company in conducting clinical validation.
"The navigation not only provided a technology roadmap but also helped us optimize our global strategy and build a full-process, high-value patent portfolio," revealed Yu Shulu, the company's intellectual property director. During the project implementation period, three new high-value invention patent applications were filed and all were granted. Combined with previous accumulations, the company now holds 123 invention patents, including 2 US patents, with dozens of overseas patents currently under application, constructing a solid moat around its core technologies.
Moving technology from the laboratory to the market inevitably involves financial hurdles. As a national pilot province for comprehensive financial ecosystems, Zhejiang has published the "Zhejiang Province Intellectual Property Financial Products and Services Catalog," aggregating 168 products across four major categories: "ZheZhi Loan," insurance, securitization, and equity investment funds. This has opened a "fast track" for bank-enterprise connections. Mainflow Technology successfully secured a loan of 5 million yuan through patent pledge financing, with an interest rate as low as 1.72%. The registration process achieved "local handling, online processing, paperless processing," compressing the cycle to just one business day. Coupled with the "government-bank-guarantee" risk-sharing mechanism, the financial pressure on AI medical device R&D and clinical promotion was effectively alleviated.
"We have continuously upgraded the 'Golden Seed' plan service catalog to version 2.0, covering 41 types of projects. The goal is to ensure innovative entities receive precise companionship at every stage," stated a relevant official from the Zhejiang Provincial Intellectual Property Office. During the 2025 Zhijiang Business Environment Forum, representatives from government, enterprises, academia, and research institutions, both domestic and international, gathered in Zhejiang for in-depth discussions on AI intellectual property protection.
To date, Zhejiang's "Golden Seed" plan has established a multi-level cultivation matrix encompassing 500 model-level enterprises, 3,600 growth-level enterprises, and 14,000 incubation-level enterprises. Focusing on eight emerging industries, including artificial intelligence, embodied AI, and new energy, as well as nine future industries, the plan has cumulatively provided over 150,000 instances of targeted services, helping enterprises overcome development challenges related to technology, financing, and talent.
"From robotics to high-end AI healthcare, Zhejiang has forged an international reputation in hard-tech sectors. Moving forward, we will continue to leverage intellectual property to empower new quality productive forces, promote the mutual empowerment of advanced manufacturing and modern services, and help more 'Golden Seeds' grow into towering trees," said a relevant official from the Zhejiang Provincial Intellectual Property Office.