Beijing's Economic and Technological Development Area (BDA), also known as Beijing E-Town, has rolled out its inaugural batch of "Yiqi Token Loans," marking the first token-backed computing credit products to land within the city's jurisdiction. Multiple financial institutions have extended a combined credit quota of nearly 2 billion yuan to numerous firms across the artificial intelligence supply chain, unlocking an unprecedented financing avenue for asset-light AI tech enterprises.
According to the BDA's Commerce and Finance Bureau, the rapid evolution of the AI sector has created abundant opportunities for a wave of hard-tech and digital economy startups in the zone, yet many grapple with the harsh realities of limited physical assets, thin financial statements, and scattered cash flows. Conventional credit models lean heavily on collateral and profitable earnings reports, leaving many tech-driven companies stuck in the R&D trenches. Despite their standout technical expertise and brisk computing power operations, they have long hit financing walls due to a lack of tangible security and yet-to-be-realized operating profits, hampering both their technological upgrades and commercial scaling.
To surgically address these financing pain points across the AI industry chain and bolster the high-quality development of science-and-tech innovators, the BDA has pioneered the "Yiqi Token Loan" product. The Commerce and Finance Bureau noted that in the age of the AI economy, elevated token consumption is a clear marker of a company's automation level and human-machine collaboration intensity—acting as a key barometer of technical vitality and business prosperity. This offering boldly steps away from traditional credit evaluation frameworks, discarding the over-reliance on real estate and other conventional collateral. Instead, it anchors credit decisions on corporate token output and consumption alongside the value of computing service contracts, while integrating assessments of technological barriers, team caliber, self-reliance of core technologies, and growth prospects. This carve-out charts a novel path for tech-driven finance where computing power data steers credit vetting, precisely empowering players along the AI supply chain.
Currently, the "Yiqi Token Loan" has taken root across several companies in the BDA, helping ease funding squeezes, with the first wave of credit approvals nearing 20 billion yuan. As one of the initial beneficiaries, Guozhi Zhikong, which focuses on core computing platforms for intelligent connected vehicles and autonomous driving R&D, exemplifies a hard-tech venture marked by hefty R&D outlays and formidable technical barriers, sitting on the cusp of mass production after intense technical breakthroughs. Historically, the firm faced persistent funding constraints tied to scarce collateral and unfulfilled earnings. Through the "Yiqi Token Loan," the BDA branch of China CITIC Bank leveraged an evaluation of the company's token usage and its domain expertise in intelligent driving technology to unlock a 30 million yuan credit line, swiftly resolving the firm's R&D cash flow dilemmas.
Another recipient is Shenzhou Guangda. As a front-runner in AI computing infrastructure and enterprise-grade intelligent agent solutions, the company has seen its computing power usage climb steadily alongside its large model ventures, turning token consumption into a vital gauge of its technological momentum and operational dynamism. The BDA branch of Industrial Bank weighed token usage alongside team strength, core technology independence, and growth prospects to expand the firm's credit facility, granting an additional 30 million yuan in credit to alleviate the cash flow strains tied to R&D investments and day-to-day operations.
The successful debut of the "Yiqi Token Loan" signifies another major broadening of the BDA's tech-finance arsenal. Building on an existing lineup of innovative financial instruments, this product enriches the zone's multi-layered, matrix-style service framework and fills a specialized niche for AI-focused credit tools. Over recent years, the BDA has doubled down on science-and-technology finance innovation, leveraging its tech finance service center to launch initiatives like "R&D Loans," "Tech Talent Loans," and "Equity-Linked Loans," while also piloting distinctive products such as "Yiqi Park Loans," "Jingzhi Loans," and "Yiqi Score Loans." These differentiated offerings precisely channel support to tech enterprises at varying maturity stages, delivering a wider array of financing options, smoother service access, and superior financial backing.
Looking ahead, the BDA's Commerce and Finance Bureau stated that it intends to keep mining the financing demands of tech firms across their development trajectories, continuously iterating and broadening the suite of innovative financial products that cover the entire corporate lifecycle. By persistently refining the tech-finance ecosystem, the district aims to inject a steady stream of financial momentum into the high-caliber growth of its resident tech enterprises.