Welcome in Suzhou, the Venice of China! Here you will have the pleasure to take a boat along its many canals, or to walk in one of the beautiful traditional Chinese gardens. And if you want at the same time to launch your IOT startup, you will rent a desk at the IOT CITY CHINA. Created in March 2016, the IOT CITY is a private company owned by EOLANE group (the French EMS) at 65%, and 7 other shareholders, companies specialized in electronics.
The EOLANE group owns manufactures in China for 11 years. But until last year they did not provide EMS for small and medium companies. The IOT market is booming everywhere in the world, and has especially of huge potential in China. Following the success of the Cité de l’objet connectéin France, Suzhou IoT City was created to emphazise the development of this new market in China.
The aim of this incubator is to accompany makers in the development of IoT products. They provide space, mentorship, but more importantly a small assembly line allowing a small scale production.
18 startups have already joined the program, working on educational robots, smart lighting system for professional shows or robotic arms for production. The location of the space in the industrial park of Suzhou allows them to attend government competitions and win grants. Every year, demo days are organized in front of Venture Capitalists.
The IoT City has celebrated its first year and the model is likely to expand over many Chinese cities, as the demand for hardware incubator is rising.