With a growth rate of 12.8%, artificial intelligence has become an important driving force for Shanghai's economic development.

In the first three quarters of 2025, Shanghai achieved a 5.5% GDP growth, with the growth rate increasing by 0.4 percentage points compared to the first half of the year, indicating an accelerating economic operation.

In the first three quarters, the manufacturing output value of Shanghai's three leading industries (integrated circuits, biomedicine, and artificial intelligence) increased by 8.5% year - on - year, 2.8 percentage points faster than the total output value of industries above the designated size in the city. Among them, the artificial intelligence manufacturing industry increased by 12.8% year - on - year, further rising from 12.3% in the first half of this year and significantly higher than 3.2% in the same period last year. It has become an important engine driving the city's GDP growth.

Liu Zhikuo, a professor at the School of Economics of Fudan University and the director of the Intelligent Research Center for Economic Sciences at Fudan University, told Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily that the artificial intelligence industry is undoubtedly the most prominent highlight in the third quarter of this year and the fastest - growing sector among the three industries. On the one hand, this reflects that Shanghai's innovation ability in key aspects such as core artificial intelligence technologies, intelligent equipment, and intelligent manufacturing has been significantly enhanced; on the other hand, it also shows that the dual effects of policy promotion and industrial agglomeration are being released. Artificial intelligence not only drives the coordinated development of high - end manufacturing and information services but also is becoming an important engine to accelerate the formation of new productive forces in Shanghai, injecting new growth momentum into the urban economy.

With Modu Space, Zhangjiang Science City, etc. as Agglomeration Points, Shanghai Forms an AI Industrial Chain Ecosystem

Shanghai's layout of artificial intelligence is characterized by a distinct systematic thinking. Innovation carriers such as Modu Space and Zhangjiang Science City have gathered more than 200 large - model enterprises and more than 100 investment institutions, forming an artificial intelligence industrial ecosystem where "upstairs and downstairs are upstream and downstream".

Taking "Modu Space" as an example, it integrates computing power platforms, open - source communities, application scenarios, and investment institutions into the same physical space. What it constructs is not only a physical agglomeration of the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain but also a chemical reaction pool of innovation elements. It has become the "nuclear explosion point" for artificial intelligence innovation in Xuhui District.

Currently, Xuhui District has gathered more than 1,500 artificial intelligence enterprises, 755 large - model enterprises, and 62 registered large models (accounting for 61% of the city's total), with a total output reaching a scale of 100 billion.

Zhangjiang has become another major agglomeration area for Shanghai's artificial intelligence ecosystem. So far, it has gathered more than 600 artificial intelligence enterprises, covering fields such as models, computing power, data, and embodied intelligence, with more than 30,000 practitioners. In 2024, the scale of the artificial intelligence industry reached 114 billion yuan, constructing a full - stack industrial chain ecosystem covering the basic layer, technology layer, and application layer.

In September this year, the unveiling of Zhangjiang Artificial Intelligence Innovation Town marked that Shanghai's innovation and application of artificial intelligence have entered a new stage of "ecological agglomeration and large - scale implementation".

The town will take more than 700,000 square meters of industrial space such as Moduli Twin Towers, Moduli Community, and Moduli Island as the core. Relying on more than 1 million square meters of supporting commercial and exhibition facilities such as Zhangjiang Science Hall and 7,000 sets of talent housing within a 3 - kilometer radius, it will build an industrial ecosystem integrating "R & D, ecosystem, application, and life", implementing the concept of integrating "people, technology, and scenarios" in Pudong with AI.

According to the plan, by 2027, Zhangjiang Artificial Intelligence Innovation Town will newly gather more than 500 AI enterprises; complete the registration of 100 large models and cultivate 3 - 5 global leading enterprises. In the long term, by 2030, it will newly gather 1,000 artificial intelligence enterprises, achieving an industrial scale of 100 billion.

Accelerate the Creation of an Artificial Intelligence High - ground in Shanghai from Policies, Applications, and Talents

Liu Zhikuo believes that Shanghai's layout in the field of artificial intelligence is systematic and forward - looking, which is also an important force driving the high - quality growth of its manufacturing industry.

First of all, policy guidance is the core advantage of Shanghai's artificial intelligence development. Liu Zhikuo said that Shanghai's policy system is quite complete. From the Regulations of Shanghai Municipality on Promoting the Development of the Artificial Intelligence Industry to the Implementation Measures for Accelerating the High - quality Development of Artificial Intelligence and then to the newly introduced Several Measures for Further Expanding the Application of Artificial Intelligence, it accelerates the formation of a full - chain system of "computing power foundation, model leadership, and application empowerment".

In particular, the precise tools such as "computing power vouchers, model vouchers, and corpus vouchers" introduced in the new policies effectively reduce the innovation costs of enterprises, encourage the R & D of large models and the construction of computing power infrastructure, and promote the in - depth integration of artificial intelligence with the manufacturing and service industries. This systematic policy design not only enhances the innovation confidence of enterprises but also makes artificial intelligence a new driving force for industrial upgrading and economic growth.

Secondly, the richness and open pattern of application scenarios are the keys to the continuous development of artificial intelligence in Shanghai.

Shanghai has a highly diversified industrial structure. From manufacturing to finance, medical care, transportation, and urban governance, all fields provide real and complex implementation spaces for artificial intelligence. In Shanghai, artificial intelligence is no longer limited to technological breakthroughs in the laboratory but is integrated into all aspects of production, life, and governance.

It is worth mentioning that the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) held in Shanghai every year has become one of the most influential events in the global artificial intelligence field. The holding of the conference allows the latest technological achievements to be "first launched and first shown" in Shanghai, further highlighting the city's open attitude and global resource agglomeration ability.

In addition, Liu Zhikuo told Science and Technology Innovation Board Daily that the density of talents and innovation ability provide continuous intellectual support for Shanghai's artificial intelligence.

Artificial intelligence is a high - human - capital - intensive industry, and Shanghai has significant advantages in universities, research institutions, and innovative enterprises, forming a high - level talent ecosystem.

New - type training platforms represented by Shanghai Chuangzhi College are exploring a future - oriented training model for leading AI talents through the collaborative education mechanism of "universities - enterprises - research institutions", injecting continuous vitality into the artificial intelligence ecosystem. This pattern of supporting scientific and technological innovation with educational innovation enables Shanghai to maintain strong innovation potential in the national artificial intelligence field.

In Liu Zhikuo's view, the rapid development of Shanghai's artificial intelligence industry is not accidental but the result of the combined effects of "policy guidance - scenario drive - intellectual support".

"It not only supports the remarkable 12.8% growth rate of the artificial intelligence segment in the manufacturing industry but also injects lasting impetus into the upgrading of the urban economic structure and future growth."

Shanghai is accelerating the creation of an "Artificial Intelligence High - ground in Shanghai" with institutional innovation and a global perspective, providing highly demonstrative experience for the development of China's intelligent economy.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Science and Technology Innovation Daily". Authors: Huang Xinyi & Mao Mingjiang. Republished by 36Kr with permission.