(Yicai) April 24 -- Shanghai led China for tech company financing last year, recording 997 deals worth a combined CNY96.64 billion (USD13.2 billion), according to a new report. The surge was fueled by rapid growth in the artificial intelligence sector and strong backing from both state-owned and private investors.

Shanghai accounted for 15.4 percent of the national total by value, according to the report released yesterday by Jiamian Technology, a tech and innovation services platform. By number, it made up 13.2 percent, ahead of Beijing and Shenzhen.

The three leading industries were biopharmaceuticals, integrated circuits, and artificial intelligence, which had 560 financing deals, representing 56.2 percent of the total, up 2.8 percentage points from 2023. The AI sector saw major growth, with deals climbing to 184 from 157, surpassing the chip sector for the first time.

Chip sector deals stood at 155, or 19 fewer than in 2023. In the biopharma industry, there were 221 deals, nearly the same as the year before. There was notable growth in financing for cell therapy and healthcare information technology, but a drop for the smart medical sector.

Early-stage financing rounds, including angel and Series A, accounted for 66 percent of the total, a 14 percentage points increase. Specifically, there were 285 angel rounds and 370 Series A fundraisers.

State-owned entities stepped up their involvement, accounting for 34.2 percent of the deals, with their involvement in angel rounds jumping to 13.5 percent from 4.2 percent. Private institutions stayed ahead, participating in 70.6 percent of the deals and contributing over 60 percent of the funds for early-stage AI and biomedicine projects.

Of the 1,376 entities that took part in Shanghai's tech financing last year, 323 were state owned, 847 were private, and 206 were industrial capital institutions.

The Yangtze River Delta region's synergistic effect became more pronounced, with entities from Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces collectively participating in 30.5 percent of the Shanghai deals. Overall, entities in the region joined in 78.2 percent of the investment and financing deals, up 24.5 percentage points from 2023.

Editor: Tom Litting