Global AI experts gather at the 2024 World Artificial Intelligence Conference to ignite inspiration through idea exchange.

At the forefront of the global race in artificial intelligence, Shanghai is advancing with the "Chinese approach": turning its branded event, the World Artificial Intelligence Conference, into a global hub for AI; creating industrial leaps with AI ecosystem clusters as the "epicenter"; and making the interplay of institutional support and practical scenarios a "testing ground" for innovative exploration.

Riding the technological revolution wave, WAIC is embracing its eighth edition and helping Shanghai become a source of AI innovation and a new highland for development. The annual event of ers idea exchanges, promotes industrial growth, helps youths broaden horizons, boosts the use of AI technology into daily urban life, and aids global cooperation.

Fruitful past

Over the past seven years, each WAIC session has created memorable moments.

The year 2018 not only witnessed the inaugural year of the WAIC, which attracted 72,000 guests from more than 40 countries, but also signalized the beginning of Shanghai's AI industry development.

In 2019, WAIC doubled in size with an international dialogue between Jack Ma, founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, sparking hot topics within the industry.

In 2020, the conference adopted a "cloud summit" format for the first time, attracting more than 250 million online views.

The 2021 edition of WAIC integrated forums, exhibitions, competitions, and application experiences for the first time, achieving notable increases in the quality of events, the prominence of guests, the number of achievements, audience traffic, and media coverage.

In 2022, the conference highlighted international achievements in AI over the past five years, and the WAIC 2023 focused on connecting the global AI ecosystem and accelerating industry cooperation, highlighting hot topics such as generative AI and embodied intelligence.

In 2024, the conference was renamed the World AI Conference and High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance. The opening ceremony saw the release of the Shanghai Declaration on Global AI Governance, elevating AI governance to an unprecedented level.

During the past seven WAICs, more than 6,550 leading global scientists and Turing Award winners as well as representatives from international organizations like UNESCO and UNIDO, tech giants like Jack Ma, Pony Ma and Elon Musk, venture capitalists and government officials have taken the stage to jointly explore the future of AI and its profound effect on humans.

WAIC 2025

The WAIC 2025, running from Saturday to Monday at the Shanghai Expo Center, Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Center, and West Bund, continues to serve as a pivotal player in the realms of technology leadership, application demonstration, industry acceleration, and governance council.

At the event, which focuses on innovation, development, collaboration, inclusiveness and openness this year, a series of achievements are expected to be made.

China's AI development emphasizes the rapid growth of the industry chain and technological self-reliance while promoting common rules for global governance, forming a "dual-track strategy" where development and governance progress together.

The event has established five core sections encompassing conferences and forums; displays and exhibitions; contests and awards; intelligent experience; and innovation incubation. It draws in top scientists, entrepreneurs, government officials, experts, scholars, international organizations, investors and startup teams.

Since its inception in 2018, the event has evolved into a world-class platform for cooperation and exchange, serving as a stage for China to exhibit its ingenuity and for Shanghai to present solutions in the realm of global AI development, organizers said.

The 2025 edition is deemed to be a technology feast, igniting inspiration, and fostering the advancement of the entire industry. It is to feature 100 forums covering topical issues such as AI safety governance, large model innovation applications, new infrastructure for computing power, embodied intelligence, smart terminals, AI for science, open source and open collaboration, international cooperation, investment and financing, young talent development, and new types of industrialization.

These forums aim to cement WAIC's role as a global epicenter of AI thought leadership. The fundamental question of AI, addressing the core issues of intelligence, is being posed from Shanghai and resonating around the world, organizers said.

Young talent

The WAIC 2025 serves as a platform for global young AI talent. According to the organizers, more than 40 percent of participants are under 35 years old, establishing a robust foundation for high-quality academic discourse and industry knowledge exchange.

Young scholars from abroad, such as Li Guohao, who has a doctorate in autonomous driving from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, are to lead overseas participation in the ongoing event. Meanwhile, the domestic contingent includes academic representatives like machine learning expert Zhu Jun and Professor Yang Hongxia from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University; as well as industry innovators such as Peng Zhihui, co-founder and chief technology of cer of AgiBot; Dai Guohao, co-founder of Infinigence AI; and Hu Yuhang, co-founder of AheadForm.

This gathering is to create a comprehensive network of young talent spanning from foundational algorithm research to scenario-based technology deployment. From technological development to industrial practice, the younger generation is driving the boundaries of AI innovation with their creativity, becoming the most dynamic engine of the conference for progress.

Heavyweight gathering

More than 1,572 guests from 73 countries and regions are taking part in the 2025 conference, assembling the most esteemed lineup in its history. This includes 12 Turing Award, Fields Medal and Nobel Prize winners, more than 80 academicians from both China and abroad, 215 industry leaders as well as more than 30 heads of AI departments from universities.

Interdisciplinary experts such as Yoshua Bengio, Stuart Russell, and Philippe Rambach are engaging in intensive dialogues on key topics like fundamental theories, system security, and industrial applications.

The event is to also draw in prominent AI enterprises from China and abroad to showcase the latest industry advancements. They include Amazon, Google, Siemens, Schneider, Baidu, Alibaba, Tencent, Huawei, Ant Group, SenseTime, JD, Lenovo, Unitree Robotics, AgiBot, MiniMax, StepFun, and Infinigence AI.

From Nobel laureates to young entrepreneurs, from multinational corporate executives to academic authorities in universities, the WAIC 2025 is poised to create a top-tier ecosystem where diverse stakeholders collaborate to explore enhanced strategies for promoting the integration of industry, academia, research and application in the field of AI.

AI assistant

This year, an AI assistant named Hi! WAIC has been introduced to of er efficient, personalized, and intelligent exhibition services to all participants.

This system integrates several cutting-edge domestically developed large language models, enabling instant responses, intelligent matching, swift services, and knowledge accumulation. Hi! WAIC aims to enhance connections between individuals and information, people and technology, as well as people and opportunities, fostering a synergy between humans and machines for a more interactive conference experience.

According to the WAIC organizers, Hi! WAIC has a better understanding of its users. With a holistic grasp of the conference's landscape, it can intelligently organize visitor routes, offer attendance suggestions, and swiftly match potential exhibitors.

Moreover, Hi! WAIC could provide information about certain booths of businesses, forums, and activities based on visitor interests. The system also allows visitors to scan quick-response codes to instantly access relevant content and schedules in their current area, offering a seamless "scan-and-receive" experience.

Hi! WAIC also has a strong learning capacity. It can record and categorize high-value conference content, including guest speeches and interactive Q&A sessions to form its own database.

Leading trends

With the aim of promoting communication and unlocking more potential, the WAIC 2025 has planned numerous exchange programs.

These include an opening ceremony; a main forum; a high-level meeting on global AI governance; two meetings focused on advancements and development security; more than 10 forums organized by governments; and various ecological forums.

The topics span across AI infrastructure; scientific intelligence; intelligent terminals; AI empowering new industrialization; AI-supported finance; AI-supported healthcare; and security governance.

Forums are also being organized by international organizations such as the World Meteorological Organization; the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization; and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization; as well as research institutions like the Fields Institute for Research in Mathematical Sciences; and the Smale Institute of Mathematics and Computation, all aimed at leading industrial development.

Making records

The 2025 edition of the conference witnesses a significant expansion in its exhibition area, reaching a record 70,000 square meters. More than 800 companies are showcasing more than 3,000 cutting-edge products and technologies, featuring more than 40 large language models, 50+ AI-powered devices and an additional 60 smart robots.

Moreover, more than 100 products are making their global or China debut at the event.

The exhibition area has been divided into four pavilions, highlighting the latest advancements in core technologies, industrial applications, smart terminals and business integration.

The pavilion for core technology focuses on large models, computing chips and data platforms, outlining the foundational developments in artificial intelligence.

The pavilion for industry application showcases progress in new industrialization, smart driving, smart cities, and financial technology, offering a holistic perspective on the deep integration of artificial intelligence with the real economy.

The pavilion for smart terminals features humanoid robots, hardware, and autonomous driving systems, addressing the practical question of "how AI transcends the screen".

The pavilion for universal connections provides matchmaking services to promote cooperation between startups and investors, and between AI tech businesses and tech application scenario providers, establishing a self-contained finance-industry matchmaking ecosystem. It fosters seamless connections between developers and investors, and between demand and supply, expediting the commercialization and implementation of technological breakthroughs.

WAIC Circle

The WAIC, which originated as a three-day conference in 2018, has evolved into a year-long event.

WAIC Future Tech, a year-long road map program introduced by WAIC, aims to assist global startups in the AI industry. Over the past two years, the program has provided support to over 500 startups.

WAIC CONNECT acts as the business matchmaking service provider of WAIC. This system is structured to aid more than 100 procurement groups, release over 200 procurement lists and assist new product launches at the 2025 edition.

WAIC UP!, the inaugural publication associated with the annual event, expands the reach and effect of WAIC by disseminating the latest market insights to its audience.

WAIC Young, a crucial component of WAIC's ecosystem, is tailored for the younger generation. Through exhibitions, competitions, summits, and science popularization, it serves as a platform for young individuals to realize their AI aspirations.

City walk

Shanghai is not only a source of global AI discourse but a showcase of real-world AI applications. In various scenarios such as government services, healthcare, green and low-carbon initiatives, and community governance, AI is transitioning from the "invisible" backstage to the "visible and usable" aspects of daily life.

Nowadays, AI is embedded in the fine details of urban renewal: from smart building management, energy-saving renovations, and digital governance practices to applications in transportation, healthcare, and public services, bringing perceptible and intelligent vitality to Shanghai's old streets and alleys.

Building on these real-life scenarios, this year's WAIC has introduced the concept of the WAIC City Walk Tour. The event organizers have crafted three routes for WAIC participants to delve into the latest AI advancements.

The first route takes place within the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition and Convention Center, featuring robots undertaking tasks such as shopping, carrying screws, and housework.

The second route, encircling the exhibition center, spotlights the low-altitude economy and autonomous driving. Visitors can observe applications like drones, logistics delivery, as well as police and fire services.

The third route connects with AI landmark projects in various districts of Shanghai, including Pudong New Area, Yangpu district, Xuhui district and Huangpu district.

Generation Z

During the conference period, dialogues and exchange programs are organized for industry leaders, the public, students and investors, who are all under 40 years old, to share new findings.

WAIC 2025 also create a diverse space for exchanges. The WAIC Youth Elite Forum will, for the first time, feature roundtable debates. Esteemed universities such as the National University of Singapore, University of Oxford, California Institute of Technology, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Tsinghua University, and Peking University are to participate, building a global youth AI community within the academia-industry space.

On the night of July 27, the WAIC UP! Night will inspire dialogue among young people in various contexts such as digital art, academic bars, and cross-disciplinary conversations, fostering a vibrant social venue. On the night of July 28, the Innovation Night will ignite interaction between top investors and potential startups.

In addition, the 2025 China.AI Gala, an innovative TV show launched by China Central Television, will gather the world's top AI technologies, allowing the public to experience the charm of AI.

Collaborative appeal

Over the past seven years, the WAIC has transformed into a significant AI industry gathering, attracting government of cials, heads of international organizations, business leaders, and researchers from across the globe.

In addition to showcasing substantial advancements in AI development, there have been appeals for in-depth discussions and consensus-building among nations regarding global AI governance. Calls have been made for collaborative endeavors to capitalize on opportunities and tackle challenges effectively.

In 2024, the Shanghai Declaration on Global Governance of Artificial Intelligence was released. A series of proposals on promoting AI development, safety, governance, public participation, increasing social well-being, and making contributions to building an international framework on AI global governance were made.

The declaration also calls for global cooperation to address critical challenges and harness the full potential of AI for the betterment of humanity.

In September 2024, the first workshop on AI Capacity Building, co-hosted by China and the United Nations, and organized by the Shanghai municipal government, took place in Shanghai. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres attended the opening ceremony and delivered a speech. This workshop is a follow-up action to the Shanghai Declaration. Officials and experts from nearly 40 countries shared experiences, seeking new insights and benefits.

Industry growth

As an example of new quality productive forces, Shanghai is advancing the entire AI industry chain through an integrated mechanism, ranging from fundamental research to end-product applications, thereby constructing a pathway for technological progress and industrial transformation.

Shanghai has initially formed a new AI industrial landscape, featuring the Shanghai Foundation Model Innovation Center in Xuhui district in western Shanghai and the Mobility Community in Pudong New Area in the east of the city.

As China's first innovation hub focused on the large model ecosystem, the Shanghai Foundation Model Innovation Center has attracted more than 400 large model businesses in just over a year, creating a comprehensive ecosystem that advances algorithms, chip computing power, data resources, and vertical industries simultaneously.

The Mobility Community puts emphasis on the incubation of vertical models and collaboration between upstream and downstream enterprises, gathering nearly 200 companies in emerging fields such as intelligent cockpits, optical computing, neuromorphic intelligence, and autonomous driving.

The community has also introduced the nation's first heterogeneous humanoid robot training ground, the world's first full-size humanoid robot open-source community OpenLoong, and the large model MaaS platform for consumer-end model implementation, unleashing application vitality and development momentum.

From policy provision to institutional innovation, Shanghai is showcasing an intelligent industry development system at WAIC, which is replicable and expandable. Since 2018, the event has attracted millions of participants worldwide, assisted nearly 300 major industrial collaborations, and driven growth worth hundreds of billions of yuan in output value.

International collaborations

The development of AI is not just about technological progress and industrial transformation; it also calls for global consensus and collaboration. As one of China's most dynamic platforms for international exchanges in the AI realm, WAIC is building a bridge that connects global intelligence with its expanding network of friends.

Over the past seven years, WAIC has gathered government officials, representatives of international organizations, business leaders, and scientists from more than 80 countries and regions. It has established stable cooperation mechanisms with over 30 international institutions, including the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the World Meteorological Organization, and UNESCO, forming a global intellectual network that spans time zones and languages.

During WAIC 2024, it welcomed delegations from G20 member states, BRICS countries, and multiple foreign embassies and consulates in China, signaling a more open and confident approach to international cooperation.

By the banks of the Huangpu River, the WAIC 2025 is providing answers to the questions of the times, technology, and the future of cities. It is a convergence of thought leadership and a surge of youth energy, of ers exemplary cases of industry transformation, and helps with governance coordination. On top of that, it is the real story of a city blending national strategies, technological waves, and people's lives. This is WAIC 2025. This is Shanghai.

Peng Zhihui, co-founder and chief technology officer of AgiBot

With long-standing expertise in AI and robotics, Peng has led the company to establish a "robotics hardware + AI" full-stack technological architecture, achieving end-to-end in-house R&D capabilities spanning core components, system integration, and AI algorithms. Under his leadership, AgiBot has developed three revolutionary robot series: Yuanzheng, Jingling, and Lingxi, while setting multiple industry records.

Cyrus Hodes, a member of the OECD AI Policy Observatory and the Global Partnership on AI

He is also a member of the IEEE Global Initiative for Ethical Considerations in Artificial Intelligence and Autonomous Systems and the OECD AI Network of Experts, and a co-founder of 1infinity Ventures and Duckweed Bio. From 2020 to 2022, he served as co-founder and partner of Stability AI.

Philippe Rambach, senior vice-president, chief artificial intelligence officer of Schneider Electric

Rambach has more than 20 years of experience in strategy, innovation, and business responsibility in many industries. He once held various leadership roles in energy management and industrial automation. At Schneider Electric, his mission is to drive AI innovation at scale, both internally and for customers, to provide greater overall efficiency and sustainability through data-based insights.

Zheng Nanning, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and director of the National Key Laboratory of Human-Machine Hybrid Augmented Intelligence

Zheng is also director of the Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics at Xi'an Jiaotong University, a life member of the IEEE, honorary president of the Chinese Association of Automation, and honorary president of the Chinese Society for Cognitive Science. He currently serves as deputy head of the expert group of the Strategic Advisory Committee for the New Generation Artificial Intelligence under the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Andrew C. Yao, winner of the 2000 Turing Award and dean of Shanghai Qi Zhi Institute

Yao is a world-renowned computer scientist and pioneer in cryptography and quantum computing. He was a recipient of the Turing Award in 2000 and the Kyoto Prize in Advanced Technology in 2021. He served on the faculty of MIT, Stanford, UC Berkeley and Princeton University before joining Tsinghua University in 2004.

Harry Heung-Yeung Shum, former executive vice-president of Microsoft, a foreign member of the US National Academy of Engineering and a fellow of the UK Royal Academy of Engineering

During his tenure as executive vice-president at Microsoft, he led Microsoft Research, the world's most cutting-edge computer science research institution, and the Microsoft Global AI Business, overseeing Microsoft's AI strategy covering AI infrastructure, services, applications and intelligent assistants.

Yoshua Bengio, winner of the 2018 Turing Award, full professor of Computer Science at Universite de Montreal, and co-president and scientific director of LawZero

Bengio is also the founder and scientific advisor of Mila and a Canada CIFAR AI chair. Considered one of the world's leaders in AI and deep learning, he is a recipient of the 2018 Turing Award, often referred to as the "Nobel prize of computing".

Stuart Russell, a distinguished professor of computer science at University of California, Berkeley

Russell is a leading researcher in artificial intelligence, a member of the National Academy of Engineering in the United States, a fellow of the Royal Society in the United Kingdom, and president of the International Association for Safe and Ethical AI. He has been active in arms control for nuclear and autonomous weapons.

Geoffrey Hinton, Winner of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics and 2018 Turing Award, and Professor Emeritus of Computer Science, University of Toronto

Hinton was one of the researchers who introduced the backpropagation algorithm and the first to use backpropagation for learning word embeddings. His other contributions to neural network research include Boltzmann machines, distributed representations, time-delay neural nets, mixtures of experts, variational learning and deep learning.

Eric Schmidt, CEO and chairman of Relativity Space, and former CEO and chairman of Google

Schmidt currently serves as executive chairman and CEO of Relativity Space and he oversaw Google's transformation from a small startup into one of the world's most influential companies as its CEO and chairman from 2001 to 2011.

Craig J. Mundie, president of Mundie & Associates and former chief research and strategy officer of Microsoft

Mundie is a distinguished technology executive with a career defined by significant contributions to the technology industry and public policy. He is a leading advocate for responsible technology development, particularly in the fields of AI, advanced computing systems, and global technology policy. Mundie co-authored Genesis: Artificial Intelligence, Hope, and the Human Spirit with Eric Schmidt and Henry Kissinger.

Xue Lan, counsellor of the State Council of China and dean of Schwarzman College at Tsinghua University

Xue also serves as the director of the Institute for AI International Governance at Tsinghua University, the convener of the Discipline Evaluation Group (Public Administration) of the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council and the chair of the National Expert Committee on the Governance of Next Generation of AI.

Zhou Bowen, director and chief scientist of Shanghai AI Lab and Huiyan chair professor at Tsinghua University

Zhou is also a tenured professor of the Department of Electronic Engineering, IEEE/CAAI Fellow. Prior to that, he was the director of AI Foundations of IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, chief scientist of IBM Watson Group, a distinguished engineer of IBM, senior vice-president of JD, chairman of JD's technology committee, and president of JD Cloud & AI.

Xiao SonG, Siemens global executive vice-president, and chairman, president and CEO of Siemens China

Xiao graduated from Chongqing University and Dortmund University and holds a PhD in engineering from Germany. He has profound management expertise in multinationals across industries and successful experiences with investment in innovation businesses.

Yan Junjie, CEO and co-founder of MiniMax

Before founding MiniMax, Yan held various senior positions in SenseTime, including the company's vice-president, chief technology officer of Smart City Business Group, and vice-president of the company's research institute. He published more than 200 papers in top AI journals, and his research work has been cited over 30,000 times on Google Scholar.

Xu Li, board chairman and CEO of SenseTime

Xu serves as the rotating chairman of the AI Committee's Presidium under the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce. He is also the founding president of the Hong Kong New Quality Entrepreneur Union. Through these appointments, he actively fosters holistic collaborations across the AI ecosystem, driving the systematic development of AI and advancing the growth of next-generation productivity.