“Technology in Changning, scenarios across the globe.” This phrase vividly captures the reality that Changning’s sci-tech innovation is deepening and putting into practice. At the Digital Silicon Lane Incubator, tech teams are exploring application scenarios for superconducting materials. At the East Hongqiao International Youth Sci‑Tech Innovation Center, several post‑90s founders are pursuing their innovation goals through the lightweight structure of “one-person companies” (OPC). At Tongchuang 717 and Suhehui’s former factory buildings, hard technologies are gradually growing out of urban renewal. Hongqiao Zhiyu is emerging as an industrial hub for AI agents and embodied intelligence. Together, these spaces form Changning’s innovation “spatial matrix.” The next stop in our “Changning’s Incubator Development” series takes us to MAKE021, a “cultural creativity + tech innovation” dual‑driven “AI OPC super‑eco community.”

When the Yellow Crane Tower cultural creative ice cream went viral across the internet, when Xixiang Smart Kitchen robots entered community canteens nationwide, and when the Asian Illustration Annual Awards lit up global creative vision for 11 consecutive years – behind all these phenomenal cases stands the same “hidden driver”: MAKE021. As a national‑level maker space driven by both “cultural creativity and tech innovation,” it has built, in the role of an industrial enabler, a domestic AI OPC (one‑person company) super‑eco community, allowing countless individual creatives to complete the full loop from “a spark of inspiration” to “commercial monetization.”

 From space operator to industrial enabler 

 Full‑chain integration of “cultural creativity + tech innovation” resources 

“MAKE021” derives its name from “MAKE” (referring to maker, making) and “021” (Shanghai’s area code), implying the journey from zero to one. “We are not just a startup incubator; we are also a commercial institution deeply engaged in the ‘cultural creativity + tech innovation’ market, developing supply chains and expanding markets.” These words by Zhou Feng, head of MAKE021, reveal its essential difference from traditional incubators – over the past ten years, the platform has opened up every link from space provision to commercial monetization, achieving a fundamental leap from platform operator to industrial enabler.

It is reported that MAKE021 was founded in 2016. The founding team, which came from Donghua University and Tongji University, has built a complete chain covering everything from IP design and sampling, supplier selection, to exhibition display, agency operation, and online‑offline distribution. This is supported by one‑stop back‑end services including business registration, finance and taxation, legal consultation, and policy application. The platform has created an integrated model of “AI skills empowerment + industrial ecosystem services + business scenario services + growth incubation services.” “With the systematic support accumulated over many years, even an individual starting a business for the first time can focus with peace of mind on what they do best,” said Zhou.

This model of deep integration into the industry makes MAKE021 understand the market better, and also understand what entrepreneurs truly need. Currently, the platform has accumulated far more cultural creative industry resources than its peers, bringing together more than 50 AI OPC teams in fields such as illustration, design, and fashion consumption, along with over 3,000 illustrators and more than 300 brand resources. “These accumulated supply chain, order, and ecosystem resources, in turn, have become the core competitiveness that allows the platform to continuously iterate,” Zhou said.

 Creating an AI OPC cultural creative community 

 Making “one person as a company” a commercial reality 

The arrival of the AI era has brought both opportunities and challenges to the cultural creative industry. “Technology has improved the efficiency of creativity and business connections, achieving ‘technological democratization,’ but it also places higher demands on the depth of creators’ ideas,” Zhou admitted. “AI can make individual entrepreneurs become ‘super nodes’ – the shorter the monetization path, the more prominent the advantage. But even a versatile ‘hexagonal’ OPC warrior has limited personal time, energy, and business scope.” The “cultural creativity + tech innovation” super‑eco platform built by MAKE021 offers OPC entrepreneurs a full‑stack growth path of “AI tools + commercial monetization + industrial resources + fellow‑creator community.”

For example, for illustrators, designers and others who are easily impacted by AI, MAKE021 launched the “Illustrator OPC Omni‑Incubation Program,” turning AI from a “competitor” into a creator’s “strongest business partner.” On the technology empowerment side, the platform has customized three major AI‑assisted courses in fashion design, illustration creation, and creative planning, and provides standardized prompt templates, allowing creators to greatly improve efficiency while retaining their individuality. On the commercial monetization front, MAKE021 has created a 200‑square‑meter illustrator cultural creative collection exhibition and trade center at the Shanghai Mart, where an illustrator can start a mini‑shop with only 2,000 yuan, supported by the tens of millions of fans and traffic accumulated through the “Asian Illustration Annual Awards.” On the industrial resource support side, MAKE021’s AI sampling center provides full‑process services from design to small‑batch production.

“In the past, the sample verification cycle took seven days. Now we can complete 300 product samples in 48 hours. On top of that, with the platform’s brand resources and a nationwide online‑offline distribution network, illustrators only need to focus on creating – the rest, including production, sales, and after‑sales, can be left entirely to us,” said Zhou.

Another distinctive feature of MAKE021 is its two‑way supply chain system. “For example, the platform jointly established the ‘Chinese Natural Aesthetics Innovation Center’ with Me Hunting Organic Tea. On one hand, it provides tea companies with an ‘illustration + AI’ brand empowerment solution; on the other hand, it turns the tea company into a supplier of cultural creative products, providing a stable source of goods for OPC entrepreneurs. This ‘scenario innovation – resource matching – two‑way empowerment’ model creates a win‑win for both supply and demand,” Zhou said. To protect the interests of OPC members, MAKE021 has also established a “capability matching” priority mechanism for subcontracting orders: “Whoever is best at a task undertakes the project. The platform and the entrepreneurs are in a relationship of integrated co‑creation.”

 Entrepreneurs speak: 

 Where creativity truly turns into business 

Zhuimang Technology and ReZ-TI, two resident teams in different fields, have both completed their critical leap from 0 to 1 with the support of MAKE021. The value of the platform is most vividly reflected in their growth.

Zhuimang Technology focuses on mood‑enhancing fragrances for relaxation, stress relief, focus, and other functions. “Cultural creativity takes care of emotion, aesthetics, and story; tech innovation takes care of formulas, data, and efficacy. Our team’s products contain up to 20% natural essential oils, which requires extensive formula stability testing and research on the fragrance release curve,” said a co‑founder of Zhuimang. “After joining MAKE021, the cloud computing power resources provided by the platform helped us handle repetitive calculations, saving about 20% of R&D time overall. This service has given us the confidence to try more technological innovations.”

Looking back on their entrepreneurial journey, Zhuimang believes that MAKE021’s most critical help was: turning emotional ideas into actionable plans, finding real paying users, and continuously connecting supply chain and media resources. “Once we participated in a special roadshow for cultural creative consumer goods hosted by MAKE021, which gathered buyers from concept stores and corporate procurement teams. As soon as we made our first batch of samples, many people on site inquired about purchasing. Without these events, we might still be sending private messages to look for channels one by one online,” the co‑founder recalled. “When we wanted to do cross‑brand collaborations, we found friends in the creator community who do digital art and independent design – we could start talking about cooperation directly. MAKE021 makes us run faster and in the right direction.”

ReZ-TI, which focuses on intelligent control modules, has also benefited greatly. Founder Chen Feng said that after joining, the AI computing power and development tool support provided by MAKE021 shortened the cycle from solution design to prototype verification by 30%. “The platform also helped us connect with the Mi industrial ecosystem chain, allowing us to understand the supply chain standards and productization requirements of a leading smart hardware platform, opening up channels for subsequent technology adaptation and market expansion.” In Chen’s view, MAKE021 is not just an office space, but a connector for entrepreneurs. “Through industry salons, we met upstream and downstream teams in sensors, industrial design, etc. We share resources with each other, no longer fighting alone.”

 Rooted in Changning, empowering the nation 

 A new decade, a new journey 

As a local incubator rooted in Changning, MAKE021 has been deeply involved in the district’s industrial upgrading and urban renewal. From the renovation of the old Meitian non-staple food market, the Changning Cross‑Strait Youth Innovation Action, the Honghe Prefecture “Embroidery Lady + AI” paired assistance cultural creative project, to the “Chinese Chic • 2026 Chinese Aesthetic Fashion Development Conference” launched this year showcasing the latest AI‑empowered achievements, and collaborating with brands such as Songyuan, Shanghai Garment Group, and Spring Airlines to explore new business models. MAKE021 has injected new vitality into Changning’s fashion consumer industry using the “cultural creativity + tech innovation” model.

MAKE021’s empowerment footprint spans the country. In 2022, it was awarded the “Sci‑Tech China Agro‑cultural Tourism Integration Innovation Base” by the China Association for Science and Technology. It has served Yaojiaqiao Village in Changshu, Hequ County in Shanxi, Lushi Village in Changshu, Pingding County in Shanxi, Xicun Village in Dongshangang, Zhangzhou, and other places, using technology to empower agricultural product cultivation and rural tourism ecosystem development, promoting innovative development of the national cultural tourism industry. Notably, the “AI Photo Booth” self‑service photo machine that the platform has deployed at the Tongli National Wetland Park in Wujiang, Jiangsu Province, upgrades the traditional science‑popularization wetland park into an immersive experience base for creating AI‑driven nature fairy tales for children, deeply assisting AI scenario‑based business innovation.

In 2025, MAKE021 launched the DSOP Cross‑Strait Designer Small‑batch Order Trading Platform. This platform focuses on integrating the “design‑production‑marketing” ecosystem resources across the strait, helping Taiwanese youth rapidly expand their business footprint on the mainland while promoting excellent cultural creative products from the mainland to the Taiwan market. The platform has set up a dedicated display and order service center at the MAKE021 space, providing services such as design licensing, product agency, and supply chain matching, and through integrated online‑offline marketing, it promotes deep integration of the cross‑strait cultural creative industrial ecosystem chain.

Looking ahead, MAKE021 is accelerating its expansion. The Xiaomi Industry‑Education Integration Shanghai Center, currently in the pre‑approval stage, is expected to be completed and put into operation within the MAKE021 space this year. “The center will provide shared R&D workstations, an AI computing power pool, and Xiaomi ecosystem project matching services for the OPC Joint Lab, industry‑education integration training, and smart home startups, while also opening up real‑world training scenarios from Xiaomi ecosystem companies,” said Zhou.

“We will work with more OPC entrepreneurs to ‘create the future with AI’ and build a super‑eco incubation platform serving entrepreneurs in the new era,” Zhou said. He added that MAKE021 will continue to deepen AI+ scenario‑based business innovation and build a more open, efficient, and diversified ecosystem incubation empowerment system.