Taizhou, Jiangsu, is taking a new approach to supporting science and technology innovation, using public funding to share risks with research teams and help promising technologies make the difficult leap from the laboratory to the market.

Under the city's "grant-to-investment" model, government funding is provided as a grant at the early stage of a project to support R&D and validation. Once the technology matures and attracts private investment, the initial grant is converted into an investment stake. Any returns generated by the government investment are then reinvested in new projects, creating a sustainable cycle of support.

The model marks a shift in the government's role from a funding provider to a partner that shares both risks and potential returns.

Over the past three years, the Taizhou Industrial Technology Research Institute has launched 20 projects under the model, with total investment reaching about 546 million yuan ($81.33 million). The projects cover biomedicine and pharmaceuticals, advanced materials and processing, robotics and intelligent manufacturing, energy and environmental protection, and artificial intelligence and communications.

The city's first major project using the model, an innovative product targeting drug-resistant bacteria, was launched in December 2022. Just two years later, the project achieved a breakthrough, securing a 92-million-yuan partnership with a leading pharmaceutical company in Jiangsu. Once the product reaches the market, the project team will also receive a 5 percent monthly sales commission.

"Without the early-stage grant, the project might have stopped at the publication of a paper," said the project's R&D lead.

For original technologies, the journey from academic research to commercial products often faces three major hurdles: investors may hesitate to provide funding, research teams may be reluctant to take risks, and potential users may be unwilling to adopt unproven technologies.

By stepping in early, government funding provides both initial capital and a vote of confidence. The grants come without performance-based repayment requirements or pressure for immediate returns, giving teams room to experiment and refine their technologies. Beyond funding, the institute also helps projects find real-world applications, giving innovations more time and space to grow into viable products.