Shanghai aims to cluster 1,000 AI firms

SHANGHAI, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- Shanghai's Pudong New Area, China's first artificial intelligence (AI) innovation pilot zone, inaugurated the Zhangjiang AI innovation town on Tuesday, aiming to cluster 1,000 new AI enterprises by 2030, targeting a 100 billion yuan (about 14.08 billion U.S. dollars) industry scale and establishing a globally influential AI innovation hub.

Located in Zhangjiang Science City's core, the 2-square-km town integrates R&D, ecology, application, and living spaces. It features 700,000 square meters of industrial areas and 1 million square meters of supporting facilities, such as conference halls and residential zones, all designed to promote a synergistic AI ecosystem.

Zhu Hui, general manager of Shanghai Zhangjiang Sciengate Towers Technology Development Co., Ltd., said that the Zhangjiang AI innovation town will integrate municipal and district-level policy efforts, enhance AI industry clustering advantages, establish a comprehensive support system, promote industrial upgrading, assist Pudong in building a world-class AI cluster, and contribute to Shanghai's high-quality development.

Ten high-quality development policies were also released to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship in Zhangjiang, offering subsidies such as computing power vouchers and support for public service platforms. A 2-billion-yuan seed fund set up by Pudong will partner with more than 20 institutions to provide full-lifecycle capital services.