Hefei合肥
Tier 2 - Major CityChina's most celebrated example of government-as-venture-capitalist. Hefei made strategic bets on display panels (BOE), EVs (NIO), and quantum computing that transformed it from a backwater into a tech powerhouse.
GDP
$165B
2023
Population
9.47M
residents
Industry Output
¥315B
all sectors combined
Sectors Active
3
frontier tech sectors
Key Facts
- Government invested early in NIO, saving the EV company from bankruptcy
- BOE's largest display panel production base
- Hosts the National Lab for Quantum Information Sciences (USTC)
- GDP growth rate has been among the fastest of any major Chinese city
Manufacturing Sectors
Quantum Computing
量子计算
Quantum computing hardware, quantum communication systems
EVs & NEVs
新能源汽车
EV assembly (NIO, Volkswagen), battery materials
Semiconductors
半导体
Display driver ICs, DRAM (ChangXin Memory), panel manufacturing
Major Companies
Premium EV brand known for battery swap technology, HQ relocated to Hefei after government rescue investment.
Founded 2014
China's only DRAM manufacturer, producing DDR4 and developing DDR5 memory chips.
Founded 2016
Origin Quantum
本源量子
China's first quantum computing startup, spun out of USTC, developing superconducting quantum processors and quantum cloud services.
Founded 2017
World's largest display panel manufacturer, with its most advanced Gen-10.5 LCD and OLED production lines in Hefei.
Founded 1993
History & Context
Hefei was a relatively unremarkable provincial capital until the 2000s, when its government adopted an aggressive investment strategy. The city bet big on the display panel industry, luring BOE and other flat-panel manufacturers with generous incentives. When NIO, the EV startup, was running out of cash in 2020, Hefei's government invested ¥7 billion, landing NIO's headquarters and manufacturing base. The University of Science and Technology of China (USTC), located in Hefei, has made the city a global center for quantum computing research.