An array of 512 DF1000 chips, developed by Shanghai-based AI startup Dongfang Suanxin, is displayed at the 2026 World AI Conference in Shanghai on Sunday. GAO ERQIANG/CHINA DAILY
Walk into the newly opened Caohejing M+ commercial center in Shanghai’s Xuhui district, and the future is already standard operating procedure. Across its 50,000 square meters, autonomous cleaning and food-delivery robots navigate the floors, while visitors engage with virtual reality skiing simulators and 3D printing workshops.
But this is more than just a high-tech mall; it’s the physical manifestation of a world-class artificial intelligence ecosystem. Xuhui, which began its journey four decades ago as a microelectronics hub, has transformed into a hyperdense AI development zone. Today, the district is home to a quarter of Shanghai’s key AI enterprises, a quarter of its integrated circuit design enterprises, and more than a quarter of its registered large-model companies.
While Xuhui is just a snapshot of Shanghai’s early strategic moves in the AI sector, the World AI Conference, which has been held annually in the city since 2018, has attracted more than 3,000 leading AI companies from around the globe and facilitated insights from over 8,000 industry experts.
Ding Hong, deputy director of Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s Tsung-Dao Lee Institute, said the city has demonstrated strong foresight in its policies and institutional mechanisms for AI development from the early days.
In November 2017, Shanghai issued its first AI development guideline, designed to drive the deep integration of AI with the real economy and to foster innovation-driven entrepreneurship.
When the first edition of WAIC was held the following year, Shanghai rolled out an additional 22 targeted measures to accelerate the high-quality development of AI, focusing on bolstering talent pipelines, advancing core technologies and scaling up pilot applications.
In 2022, the Standing Committee of the Shanghai People’s Congress approved the city’s comprehensive AI regulations, pioneering provincial-level legislation for the sector and placing Shanghai’s AI industry on a solid legal footing.
During its 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), Shanghai designated AI as a pillar industry alongside integrated circuits and biomedicine. In July 2024, to better facilitate the development of the three industries, the city launched a fund of funds worth 100 billion yuan ($14.8 billion).
According to data from the city government, Shanghai’s AI industrial value surged from 134 billion yuan in 2018 to 637 billion yuan in 2025. In the first quarter of this year, AI manufacturing output jumped 19.2 percent year-on-year. To date, up to 169 large models have cleared regulatory registration in Shanghai.
Geographically, Shanghai’s AI ecosystem is anchored by two key clusters. On the west bank of the Huangpu River, the Shanghai Foundation Model Innovation Center is home to over 300 AI companies, making it one of the world’s most densely packed AI incubators. On the east bank, the Model Matrix Community is home to some 200 enterprises, prioritizing vertical models to advance embodied intelligence, life sciences and other real-world application scenarios.
In May, the city unveiled plans to fully implement the “AI plus” initiative during the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) period. Strengthened policy support will focus on leveraging AI to drive manufacturing transformation, empower producer services, reform scientific research paradigms and advance full-stack technological innovation.
According to Zhao Xuemei, a researcher at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences’ Information Research Institute, the next few years will see critical breakthroughs in deep industrial integration. The world should expect Shanghai to lead the charge in embodied intelligence, brain-computer interfaces and humanoid robotics.
Shanghai is also fostering a self-reliant ecosystem to provide a large-scale testing ground for domestically produced AI chips, aiming to mitigate high costs and access barriers in the computing market.
Tan Limin, chairman of AI solutions provider Shanghai Westwell Technology, said the city has built an end-to-end industrial chain spanning algorithms, computing and hardware applications. Shanghai’s next frontier is clear: expanding its footprint to help shape the international standard of AI, Tan said.
Tanks to chinadaily.com.cn
Please visit:
Our Sponsor