White paper details Shanghai's rise as AI manufacturing hub

Thanks to the explosive development in AI's industrial scale and holding one-third of the nation's AI talents, Shanghai has established itself as a highland for AI. The city's AI-powered manufacturing is set to play a greater role, according to the white paper on 2025 Shanghai's AI manufacturing development released on Thursday.

As of Dec 24, 2025, a total of 139 large AI models had been registered across the city. Shanghai is home to nearly 300,000 AI professionals, accounting for about one-third of the nation's total talent pool, the white paper stated, which was released at a conference focused on facilitating its manufacturing sector's digital transformation held in Shanghai.

According to the report, Shanghai's artificial intelligence industry staged explosive growth with total output of the city's 394 AI enterprises above designated size, or those with an annual revenue of 20 million yuan or above, reaching 435.49 billion yuan ($62.35 billion), up 39.6 percent year-on-year, in the first nine months of 2025. During the same period, these companies' combined profits amounted to 40.78 billion yuan, an increase of 11.4 percent from a year ago.

"The report is rooted in the construction of Shanghai's modern industrial system," said Wu Xiaodong, vice-president of Shanghai Industrial Internet Association.

According to him, the report focused on policy deployment, application scenarios with technological breakthroughs, and ecosystem development.

"Through systematically reviewing Shanghai's practical experiences and implementation models in AI manufacturing, the white paper analyzes opportunities and challenges, as well as offers policy recommendations," Wu said.

"The city is actively leveraging its strengths in AI manufacturing, accelerating application in key industries, and fostering a dynamic AI application ecosystem," said Zhang Ying, deputy secretary-general of the Shanghai Municipal government.

Looking ahead, Shanghai will promote the large-scale development of AI manufacturing during the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) period, Zhang said.

Enterprises are already seeing concrete benefits from AI integration. "AI applications have proven highly effective, whether in accelerating design processes, shortening product delivery times, reducing costs, or improving success rates," said Gu Guifeng, vice-president of Shanghai Kaiquan Pump (Group) Co Ltd.

Yu Fangqiang, chief information officer of Shanghai Construction Group, noted that although AI currently accounts for only 10 percent of the group's daily operations, its future potential is virtually unlimited.

"While the application of AI may take time to move from consumer sectors into construction, enterprises must proactively embrace it," said Yu.

During the event, 21 new enterprises were certified as industrial internet pioneers.

Since 2022, Shanghai has focused on key industries including automobiles, high-end equipment and aerospace, with 42 enterprises receiving certification as industrial internet pioneers to cultivate and lead digital and intelligent transformation in key industries. These efforts have connected more than 360,000 enterprises, empowered over 7,000 core companies, reduced operational costs by 20 percent and lowered equipment energy consumption by 10 percent.

Shanghai's latest AI manufacturing achievements come as the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and seven other central government departments issued the implementation guidelines for the special action on AI manufacturing on Wednesday. The document sets a target of achieving secure and reliable supply of key AI technologies, along with globally leading industry scale and empowerment capacity, by 2027.