Within the context of the new development pattern, it is examined whether innovation-driven policies, represented by National Independent Innovation Demonstration Zones (NIIDZs), can effectively function as "testing grounds" for innovation-driven development and thereby facilitate the cultivation and enhancement of corporate new quality productive forces. Based on panel data from Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listed companies in China between 2011 and 2022, the internal causal relationship between NIIDZ policies and corporate new quality productive forces was explored. It is found that the establishment of NIIDZs significantly promotes the development of corporate new quality productive forces, a conclusion that remains robust after a series of tests. Further mechanism analysis indicates that the establishment of NIIDZs empowers the cultivation of corporate new quality productive forces by advancing corporate digital transformation and enhancing the level of substantive innovation. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the positive effect of NIIDZ establishment varies significantly across enterprises with different ownership structures, technological attributes, scales, factor intensities, and regional strategies. The findings are helpful for deepening the understanding of innovation-driven policies and corporate new quality productive forces, and provide effective empirical evidence for fostering new quality productive forces in Chinese enterprises.