With the rapid adoption of next-generation information technologies, the escalating disorder in cyberspace and the surge in cybercrime have turned the digital “governance deficit” into a major constraint on the sustainable and healthy development of the digital economy. In response, China has pioneered a new model of judicial governance—the establishment of Internet Courts. This institutional innovation strengthens the governance framework of cyberspace and provides institutional support for building a Digital China and advancing the high-quality development of the digital economy.Taking the pilot implementation of Internet Courts as a quasi-natural experiment, this paper employs data from non-financial listed firms from 2010 to 2022 to empirically examine the impact, mechanisms, and heterogeneous effects of Internet Courts on corporate intelligent technological innovation. It also explores whether Internet Courts may lead to the emergence of superstar firms and potential market monopolization. The results show that Internet Courts significantly enhance corporate intelligent technological innovation. Heterogeneity analysis further reveals that this promoting effect is stronger in regions with higher technological absorption capacity, weaker initial digital ecosystems, and greater judicial transparency. Mechanism testing demonstrates that Internet Courts exert digital governance effects by alleviating corporate financing constraints and optimizing local intelligent development environments, thereby advancing corporate intelligent technological innovation. Furthermore, the innovation effect of Internet Courts does not trigger a superstar firm effect, indicating that digital judicial support for intelligent technology does not result in market monopolization. This paper deepens the understanding of how digital judicial reforms affect micro-level corporate behavior in China and offers a Chinese approach for other countries seeking to leverage new judicial models to strengthen digital governance and promote the high-quality development of the digital economy.