On December 18, NEXT Park and New Zealand-based artificial intelligence company Orato AI Limited officially signed a Seed Investment and Incubation Support Agreement, marking the first project implementation of NEXT Park’s innovative “1% Equity for Resources” incubation model.
The agreement represents the first practical application of this model under the China–New Zealand Business and Innovation Corridor, providing a real-world example of how early-stage technology companies can pursue a more resource-driven and light-capital approach to incubation.
Under the agreement, Orato AI will grant NEXT Park a 1% equity stake. In return, NEXT Park will not make a cash investment, but will provide the company with systematic growth support through resource coordination and incubation services.
This arrangement reflects the concept that “resources can serve as capital”, with the aim of helping technology-driven start-ups gain access to critical development resources during their early stages.
Throughout the cooperation period, NEXT Park will, on a best-efforts basis, provide Orato AI with a range of support services, including industry and ecosystem connections, introductions to potential clients and business partners, market and fundraising advisory support, opportunities to participate in exhibitions and industry events, as well as necessary office and meeting facilities.
At the same time, Orato AI will maintain compliant operations, basic corporate governance and effective communication with NEXT Park. Both parties will work together on the basis of good faith, transparency and long-term cooperation.
Founded and led by its Founder and CEO Lin Tao Yu, Orato AI is an innovative company focused on the application of artificial intelligence and language technologies, with a clear technological direction and defined application scenarios.
Through this partnership, Orato AI will have the opportunity to leverage NEXT Park’s industry networks across New Zealand, China and Southeast Asia, gaining access to real-world application scenarios and cross-regional market expansion opportunities, thereby accelerating the transition of its technology products from development to commercial deployment.
At the 2nd High 5 New Zealand International Health & Wellness Industry Investment Summit, held on November 21, Orato AI’s New Zealand-developed AI simultaneous interpretation system, Orato Flow, provided real-time Chinese-English interpretation throughout the event for more than 130 participants from different countries and industries.
Participants could simply use their mobile phones to access or listen to the translated content at any time. Chinese contains a large number of homophones, making accurate interpretation particularly challenging for conventional AI simultaneous interpretation tools. The conference also featured a high concentration of highly specialized industry terminology. Despite these challenges, Orato Flow maintained a high level of translation accuracy and fluency, generating strong interest and widespread positive feedback from participants.
The newly signed project is also regarded as a key practical example of NEXT Park’s “Three 1s” support policy:
- 1 RMB for workspace
- 1% equity for resources
- 1 fund for asset growth
These three initiatives are designed to address the different support requirements of companies at different stages of development.
Among them, the “1% Equity for Resources” model is primarily designed for early-stage technology projects. By institutionalizing resource collaboration, the model aims to reduce start-ups’ dependence on purely financial capital and provide them with the strategic, commercial and ecosystem resources needed for growth.
Dr. Chen Qianjun, Secretary-General of NEXT Federation and CEO of NEXT Park, said that the Orato AI project is not an isolated case, but an important component of NEXT Park’s future incubation system. It also represents a concrete implementation of the China–New Zealand Business and Innovation Corridor, supporting two-way innovation and industrial collaboration between the two countries.
According to Dr. Chen, the model is particularly suitable for early-stage projects that are technology-driven and highly dependent on external resources, while demonstrating strong growth potential. It challenges the traditional perception that financial capital is the only means of incubating a company and seeks to enable more efficient allocation of innovation resources.
By integrating resources, platforms and the real needs of enterprises, NEXT Park aims to develop a replicable and sustainable incubation mechanism that can support a broader range of promising technology companies.
As a co-development partner of NEXT Park, Qi Zhang, Investment Manager at Zhongkai Silk Road Capital Management Co., Ltd., believes that against the backdrop of a changing global innovation environment and increasingly rational capital markets, the “1% Equity for Resources” model represented by the Orato AI partnership provides a more practical framework for cooperation between technology parks and start-ups.
He noted that the model also offers a new avenue for exploring technology and industrial collaboration between China and New Zealand, demonstrating how ecosystem resources, rather than financial capital alone, can become an important driver of early-stage innovation and enterprise growth.
Mr. Lin Tao Yu, Founder of Orato AI and creator of the Orato Flow AI simultaneous interpretation system