An employee trains a robot at a technology company in Xiong'an, Hebei province. XINHUA
For startups struggling to secure their first investor, Xiong'an New Area in North China's Hebei province is offering something extraordinarily rare: money before the market is convinced.
The fast-growing area is rolling out an aggressive package of funding, financing services and industrial support, helping attract a wave of technology companies eager to turn ideas into businesses.
One beneficiary is Stable AI, whose vice-president Yu Fei recalls receiving crucial backing when the company had little more than research results and an early-stage vision.
"At that time, we only had preliminary theories and some research findings, yet we secured a 20 million yuan ($2.94 million) investment at a valuation of 300 million yuan," Yu said.
