Shanghai emerges as international research and development hub

As the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) outline calls for seizing the commanding heights of industrial artificial intelligence applications and delivering comprehensive empowerment to all sectors of the economy, the nationwide AI-driven industrial transformation is well underway.

Shanghai, the host city of the World Artificial Intelligence Conference, has consistently stood at the forefront of this evolution. For example, AI injects vitality into traditional manufacturing alongside 100-meter blast furnaces; robots work alongside scientists as their partners in laboratories; and large AI models shorten the research cycle for new medicines on research platforms.

The city's industrial transformation road map has become increasingly tangible, outlining its transition from "made in Shanghai" to "intelligently made in Shanghai".

Benefiting from the integrated development initiative of the Yangtze River Delta, a top-tier regional development strategy in the country, Shanghai's AI industry has been experiencing rapid growth. It is shaping a collaborative division of labor characterized by "R&D in Shanghai, manufacturing in nearby areas, and application across the Yangtze River Delta".

The Yangtze River Delta region is increasingly presenting to the world a comprehensive AI industry blueprint — a full industry chain matrix extending from chips and optical modules to algorithm models, and from end devices to application scenarios.

Influential center

Over the past year, Shanghai has strived to build a globally influential AI hub by rolling out a complete industry chain and refining its industrial ecosystem, with the AI sector emerging as a key driver of the city's GDP growth.

In 2025, Shanghai was home to 394 AI enterprises above designated size, whose total industrial output exceeded 637 billion yuan ($93.6 billion), representing a year-on-year increase of 39.5 percent.

In the first quarter of this year, the output value of Shanghai's AI manufacturing sector rose by 19.2 percent, outpacing the average growth rate of manufacturing segments within the three pioneering industries of integrated circuits, biopharmaceuticals and AI.

On April 28, Shanghai Xizhi Technology, an enterprise focused on optoelectronic hybrid computing infrastructure, was officially listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Beyond Xizhi, Shanghai has accelerated its development as a "global computing hub" in recent years, backed by forward-looking industrial cluster planning and all-round support policies.

The concentration of computing power enterprises is underpinned by the city's integrated circuit industry nurtured over decades. In the latest Top 100 Cities in Global Integrated Circuit Industry Comprehensive Competitiveness ranking released by the World Integrated Circuit Association, Shanghai ranks fourth worldwide and first in China.

Data from the Shanghai Commission of Economy and Informatization showed that the city's IC industry output reached approximately 580 billion yuan in 2025, up 15.5 percent year-on-year. The industry's scale has more than doubled over the past five years, exceeding development targets set for the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25).

Moreover, Shanghai has built a coordinated and mutually supportive full-stack IC industry chain, fostering a host of leading specialized enterprises covering chip design, wafer fabrication, packaging and testing, semiconductor equipment and materials.

WAIC provides an ideal platform for such AI businesses to showcase their tech expertise and industrial solutions and reach potential partners.

Overseas expansion

Against this robust domestic industrial backdrop, Shanghai's AI enterprises are also stepping up global expansion.

AgiBot, a company specializing in humanoid and embodied-intelligence systems, for example, has expanded its footprint to Italy and Germany, a crucial step in its global market expansion.

Instead of merely launching demonstration robots, the company plans to integrate its mature industrial robot solutions into existing standard automated production lines to achieve large-scale deployment across Europe.

Meanwhile, Unitree Robotics has opened an embodied intelligence experience store on Shanghai's West Nanjing Road. The store transforms people's stereotype that high-end intelligent robots can only be viewed from afar, of ering a one-stop space for visitors to observe, touch, interact with and purchase robotic products.

WAIC City Walk

While Shanghai's AI industries achieve remarkable breakthroughs that fuel high-end manufacturing and global market expansion, the city also strives to bring cutting-edge technology closer to ordinary residents.

WAIC City Walk, a brand of the World Artificial Intelligence Conference, serves as a people-oriented flagship initiative that dismantles the boundary between industrial tech achievements and everyday urban life, making AI accessible and enjoyable for all citizens.

The initiative debuted last year, connecting more than 100 classic AI experience spots across Shanghai via five themed routes and forming an interactive citywide digital map that attracted 58,000 check-in visits.

This year, the conference's application and experience module further breaks the physical limitations of traditional exhibitions, transporting AI technologies out of exhibition halls and into the heart of urban communities.

It establishes a three-tier immersive AI experience system covering exhibition venues, urban blocks and the whole city, pooling AI resources from all 16 districts of Shanghai to demonstrate how AI empowers technological implementation, livelihood-focused applications and industrial upgrading.

The exhibition zone houses five major AI interactive areas, featuring robot interactions, impromptu AI creation, cutting-edge technologies, AI art and other diverse experiences.

Six citywide themed routes have been planned around six key directions: AI innovation ecosystem, popular science exploration, urban renewal, consumer entertainment, industrial innovation and Yangtze River Delta sci-tech development.

These routes link more than 25 distinctive sites, including an AI matrix store in Zhangjiang Science City, SenseTime Experience Center, Fuxing Island Embodied Intelligence Real-Scenario Space, META500 Sci-Tech Art Space and the Yangtze River Delta Hi-Tech Park.

Each route comes with a themed storyline such as"24 hours of AI entrepreneurship" and "future city life challenges", paired with entertaining and rewarding missions. Every stop acts as a scene, weaving a complete narrative thread of "encounter — partnership — exploration — coexistence".

The immersive interactive experience makes AI accessible to the general public, tears down professional barriers and realizes universal popularization of AI knowledge.

More inclusive than previous editions, this year's activity is open to citizens free of charge. Built upon Alipay's ecosystem, the dedicated mini-program "WAIC City scenic map" integrates route recommendations, location check-ins, favorites collection, social sharing and real-time popularity rankings, enabling digital, engaging and citywide event operation.

After the conference concludes, participants can keep their AI companions, check-in records and experience outcomes permanently. This breaks the time limit of short-term exhibitions and extends WAIC's technological influence into residents' daily lives, sustaining momentum for sci-tech cultural tourism across Shanghai.

From an industrial perspective, WAIC City Walk also serves as an open testing ground for city-level AI applications. It showcases AI achievements in transportation, healthcare, commerce and manufacturing, verifies the commercial viability of technologies, and delivers practical references for industrial players across all sectors.

CHINA DAILY

Visitors try their hand at novel devices at the SMC Shanghai Foundation Model Innovation Center during a WAIC City Walk.

CHINA DAILY

WAIC, the logo for the World Artificial Intelligence Conference, is set in glowing blue characters against the iconic skyline of the Lujiazui financial district with high-rise buildings and skyscrapers in Shanghai's Bund area.