Jointly initiated and established by Shanghai's Fudan University, local governments, State-owned enterprises and market-oriented institutions, the first phase of the Fudan Science and Technology Innovation Fund was launched on Sunday.

The 1-billion-yuan ($140 million) fund will be used to build an ecosystem for the transformation of sci-tech achievements inside and outside the university.

Vice-mayor of Shanghai Liu Duo said at the launch ceremony that the fund will allow for more enterprises with core competitiveness and high-growth enterprise to be incubated, thus bolstering sci-tech innovations in Shanghai.

Liu said she hopes that the fund will serve as a bellwether for the development of cutting-edge science and technology that can promote social progress.

Jin Li, an academician with the Chinese Academy of Sciences and president of Fudan University, said that the establishment of the fund will channel more capital toward high-risk innovation and drive high-quality coupling between academia, entrepreneurship and investment.

Sun Pengjun, who is in charge of the fund, said that the fund will focus on the technology fields that Fudan is strong in. He said that the team will explore and invest in high-growth projects in areas like life and health, integrated circuits, new energy and new materials, artificial intelligence, and the new generation of information technology.