On April 29, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized during his visit to Shanghai that Shanghai bears the historical mission of building an international science and technology innovation center, and that it should seize the opportunity to serve the national strategy as the traction, continuously enhance the function of science and technology innovation curbing and high-end industry leading, and accelerate the construction of a scientific and technological innovation highland with global influence. He also pointed out that the accelerated iteration of artificial intelligence technology is ushering in explosive development, Shanghai should summarize the successful experience of incubating the artificial intelligence industry with a large model industrial ecosystem, and intensify its exploration efforts, so as to strive to be at the forefront of the development and governance of artificial intelligence and produce a demonstration effect.

The “mode speed space” is a vivid practice of Shanghai to promote the development of AI large model industry through policy innovation, ecological synergy and scene opening. Although the time is short, the movement is not small, and some of the more than 100 resident enterprises have already made their presence felt. Although the scope is only one kilometer, but its large model industry ecological creation, but for the construction of scientific and technological innovation highland can provide useful experience inspiration.

What kind of industrial ecology is needed for the development of artificial intelligence?

Nowadays, the competition among countries in the world in the field of artificial intelligence and other new technologies has long been not only limited to the technology itself, but also, to a large extent, embodied in the industrial ecological competition. Undoubtedly, the development of artificial intelligence needs a suitable industrial ecology. So, how to call “suitable”? Simply put, the “length, width, height and depth” should be appropriate.

The so-called “long” refers to the long AI industry chain, with many branches and links. Therefore, there should be sufficient allocation of elements and capacity reserves in all links of the industry chain, from basic models to underlying technology development, from arithmetic chips to computing architectures, and from corpus data to testing applications.

The so-called “wide” refers to the industrial system and application scenarios with sufficient spectrum width to accommodate various types of innovations. The “modal speed space” radiates and drives the surrounding related enterprises and investment institutions to gather the arithmetic power, big data, capital and other elements needed by the AI industry, reflecting the characteristics of the industrial ecology of the whole region’s innovation.

The so-called “high” refers to the high ecological potential. Driven by strategic scientists and outstanding entrepreneurs who have insights into cutting-edge scientific research dynamics and industrial development laws, and who are able to “raise their arms and make a response”, the company is able to plan and organize high-level scientific and technological innovation activities, and then control the key links in the relevant innovation chain and industrial chain.

The so-called “deep” refers to the depth of the material and technological foundation, basic research and the layout of the root technology research and development.

Looking around the world, be it San Francisco-San Jose, New York, Boston, London and Tokyo, or Beijing, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, or the recently popular Hangzhou, these cities or regions that stand at the forefront of science and technology always show some similarities in their industrial ecology.

In terms of innovation curation, a strong knowledge production and achievement transformation capacity is formed based on strong scientific and technological human resources, high-level research universities, high-powered scientific research institutions, and mature scientific research infrastructures. For example, New York continues to expand its advantage in knowledge creation, leading in the number of highly cited papers, and the total frequency index of papers cited by patents, policies, and clinical trials.

In terms of high-end industry leadership, the role of technological breakthroughs in empowering industrial development is obvious, with a large number of “unicorns”, “gazelles” and other high-growth science and technology enterprises emerging, the contribution of emerging industries to local economic growth is significant, and total factor productivity continues to improve. For example, San Francisco-San Jose has 324 unicorn enterprises covering artificial intelligence, software services, biomedicine, aerospace science and technology, etc., which have been highly sought after by the capital market while boosting California’s economic takeoff.

In terms of innovation ecology, internally, there is a strong cohesion among various types of innovation bodies, abundant and smooth flow of innovation factors, high level of modernization of the science and technology innovation governance system and governance capacity, and a social atmosphere that encourages innovation and tolerates failure. Externally, the city interacts closely with world-class universities, research institutions and leading enterprises in science and technology, and is deeply embedded in the global innovation network. For example, London, relying on its scientific tradition, innovation culture and good material and technological foundation, has continued to consolidate its position as an international city, with a growing hub function in knowledge production synergy, technological innovation and cooperation, and capital import and export.

What advantages does Shanghai have in accelerating the establishment of a science and technology innovation highland?

Since Shanghai assumed the historical mission of building an international science and innovation center, it has continuously accelerated the construction of conditions and capabilities for science and technology innovation, continued to improve the framework system of science and innovation centers, and has a unique advantage in incubating the AI industry.

–Foundational conditions are further consolidated. The carriers of exploration and practice oriented to major strategic needs have been operating steadily; 64 “double first-class” construction disciplines of 15 universities, central scientific research institutes in Shanghai and a number of new R&D institutes have been expanding their innovation networks in response to the needs of enterprises; and the cluster of photonics scientific devices represented by the Shanghai Light Source has become the world’s largest and most complete cluster of scientific facilities, contributing to the development of major scientific and technological innovations. The cluster of photonics scientific devices represented by the Shanghai Light Source has become the largest and most complete cluster of large scientific facilities in the world, providing strong support for major scientific discoveries and technological breakthroughs.

–Original scientific and technological achievements have emerged. in the first quarter of 2025, Shanghai scientists published a total of 45 papers in the three major international authoritative journals of Science, Nature, and Cell, accounting for 29.2% of the total number (154) in mainland China, which is a record high.

–Science and technology innovation plays a significant role in promoting the construction of industrial highlands. 2024, the scale of Shanghai’s three leading industries, namely integrated circuits, biomedicine and artificial intelligence, will reach 1.8 trillion yuan. Among them, the scale of AI industry has exceeded RMB 400 billion, with a year-on-year growth of more than 7%, completing the tasks and objectives of the 14th Five-Year Plan ahead of schedule.

–The innovation ecology has been improving. In the International Science and Technology Innovation Center Index 2024 compiled by the Research Center for Industrial Development and Environmental Governance at Tsinghua University and Nature, 120 cities (metropolitan areas) around the world have been evaluated, and Shanghai’s innovation ecology scores ranked fourth in the world after those of London, San Francisco and New York.

What can be done in the future?

At present, the international situation is treacherous, science and technology and industrial competition is becoming increasingly fierce, and normal scientific research cooperation is subject to all kinds of artificial interference. Shanghai should summarize the construction experience of the big model industrial ecosystem and promote the high-quality development of the artificial intelligence industry.

First, we should accelerate the basic research, core technology research and industrialization application demonstration in key areas of artificial intelligence. According to statistics, the technical points in the field of artificial intelligence cover a wide range, accounting for 44% of all technical fields. Shanghai should combine its own advantages and development needs, concentrate its efforts, focus on key areas, consolidate technical reserves, and focus on enhancing the innovation ability of AI enterprises.

Second, we should promote the innovation of talent training mode in the field of artificial intelligence. The development of AI industry needs not only leading talents to command and coordinate multiple forces to implement technological integration breakthroughs, but also needs a large number of highly skilled talents to play a role in the application of new technologies. Less than a year after its establishment, the Shanghai Institute of Creative Intelligence (SICI) has organized 31 colleges and universities within the United Nations to explore the industry-university-research linkage cultivation mechanism with zero time difference between the classroom and the industry by fostering industry-education consortiums. Shanghai should adhere to the integrated development of education, science and technology talents, and explore more professional talent training practice modes in each segment of the AI industry according to local conditions.

Thirdly, it is necessary to strengthen the material and technological infrastructure required for the development of the AI industry. Shanghai must combine the urgent need for the development of the AI industry, increase financial investment, and mobilize social forces through policy incentives to continuously strengthen the material and technological foundation conducive to arithmetic synergy, algorithmic refinement, data integration, and the construction of high-quality corpus resources.

Fourth, we should continue to expand the artificial intelligence industry development scene that resonates with market demand and governance needs. As a mega-city, Shanghai’s “five centers” construction provides a steady stream of scenarios for AI development. In the construction of the economic center, artificial intelligence is becoming a key force in enhancing the total factor productivity of hundreds of industries and thousands of lines, and generating new productivity; in the construction of the financial center, artificial intelligence can empower service intelligence, data governance, financial product and service innovation, and promote the overall efficiency of the financial market; in the construction of the trade center, artificial intelligence can be used in the market research and evaluation, demand forecasting, supply chain optimization, and cross-border e-commerce, In the construction of trade center, AI can be used in market research, demand forecasting, supply chain optimization, cross-border e-commerce, compliance supervision, etc.; in the construction of shipping center, AI can be used in the intelligent operation of ports, customs clearance and regulatory efficiency, security and risk management, green shipping, etc., to promote the transformation of the Shanghai Shipping Center from a “leading throughput” to an “intelligent benchmark”; in the transformation of science and technology center, AI will be used to promote the development of the financial market. “In the construction of science and innovation center, we should accelerate the deployment and promotion of AI for Science and AI for Technology to enhance the efficiency of scientific inquiry and technological breakthrough.

Fifth, the deployment and investment in innovation ecology should be increased. In the innovation ecology sub-indicators of the International Science and Technology Innovation Center Index 2024, Shanghai ranks high in “openness and cooperation” and “entrepreneurship support”, and there are also indicators that need to be further improved. In a sense, “public service” is a fast variable, as long as you find the side seam problem, you can find a way to crack; “innovation culture” belongs to the category of psychological awareness, is a slow variable, need to be guided through the community, long-term cultivation.

Sixth, strengthen capital empowerment. Research investment and industrial investment in the field of artificial intelligence is characterized by large scale, high intensity and long cycle, which requires a large amount of patient capital with high tolerance. In this regard, Shanghai’s state-owned capital should be utilized as a “ballast stone” to provide strong financial support for technological innovation and industrial innovation. At the same time, make full use of Shanghai’s all-factor financial market advantages, optimize policy tools, stimulate the investment willingness of market-oriented investment bodies, guide more social capital injection, and realize the two-way empowerment of the financial center and the construction of science and innovation center.

Seventh, we need to promote a higher level of international scientific and technological cooperation. When General Secretary Xi Jinping exchanged views with the young entrepreneurs of “Moduspace”, the Frenchman, Burhan Vladimir, who studied at Tongji University and now teaches at the Paris School of Engineer Excellence of Shanghai Jiaotong University, and who founded the Shanghai Confidence and Computing Technology, appreciated Shanghai’s openness. Internationalization is an important feature of a competitive innovation ecosystem. For example, 57% of researchers at the University of Cambridge come from overseas, and 57% of research results are done in collaboration with overseas scholars. Shanghai should further utilize its traditional advantage of openness to attract and gather young talents in the field of AI from all over the world, and strive to increase the “international participation rate” of science and technology innovation activities.

Seeing the “micro” of the large model industrial ecosystem of “ModSpeed Space”, we can know the “work” of Shanghai’s construction of science and technology innovation highland. As long as the underlying logic is well grasped, we can surely transform AI, a young man’s career, into an important force for the “strong function” of Shanghai’s science and innovation center.