Local software startups urged to aim high

Shanghai software startups are encouraged to seek opportunities for the new Science Innovation Board, which will debut next year in Shanghai, a government official said in a software forum yesterday.

Shanghai has unique advantages in software development in talent resources, scale and ecosystem. It’s the “right time” for some software startups to seek an initial public offering on the new board, said Fu Xinhua, vice president of the Shanghai Commission of Economy and Information Technology.

In 2017, Shanghai's software industry revenue hit 460 billion yuan (US$66.7 billion), almost 95 times that of 2000. The software talent pool has reached over 500,000 compared with less than 10,000 in 2000, said the Shanghai Software Industry Association. 

The software industry accounts for about 7 percent of the city's GDP as Shanghai is the national software export base. The industry is growing 30 percent, a year, which means it is a “growth engine,” said Fu.

Totally 14 software firms in Shanghai have annual revenue over 1 billion yuan,playing key roles in the industrial applications and digital transformation of Shanghai.

Cyber security, the cloud, the Internet of Things and big data provide great opportunities to Shanghai's software industry, said industry officials.