Spring Opens the City, Heavy Position in Shanghai, Embracing the Future

Design Yu Fei

Recently, “Cyber Shrimp Farming” has become a viral sensation. As one of the key promoters of this trend, MiniMax (Xiyu Technology), founded in Shanghai, broke the global AI listing speed record in January of this year, successfully listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and achieved strong growth. This phenomenon reflects the tremendous energy generated by the synergy between Shanghai’s large model capabilities and the developer ecosystem, further opening up the broad space of “AI+”.

A small change reveals the full picture. Shanghai has always prioritized “strengthening high-end industry leadership” as its development mainline, supported by a complete innovation ecosystem, to promote breakthrough development across multiple sectors. In the integrated circuit field, companies like Bairen Technology and TianShu Zhixin continue to tackle high-performance GPUs and intelligent computing ecosystems, solidifying the industry foundation; in AI, the country’s first heterogeneous humanoid robot training ground was launched in Zhangjiang, Pudong, supporting multi-robot collaborative training to accelerate embodied intelligence technology upgrades; in biomedicine, by 2025, Shanghai had approved 9 domestically developed Class 1 innovative drugs and 7 imported innovative drugs, setting new records. The same year, Shanghai’s biopharmaceutical industry’s total financing reached 18.125 billion yuan, accounting for about 25% of the national total, maintaining its leading position nationwide.

By 2025, Shanghai’s industrial development has achieved remarkable results: both regional GDP and above-scale industrial added value grew by over 5%, with investment structures continuously optimized. Over half of the projects are in industrial and related service sectors, with the proportions of the three leading industries—integrated circuits, biomedicine, and artificial intelligence—steadily increasing, successfully concluding the “14th Five-Year Plan.”

As we advance into the new “15th Five-Year Plan” journey, aiming to “exceed 20% of GDP from industrial added value by 2030,” how will Shanghai further deepen its innovation advantages, cultivate its innovation ecosystem, and continue writing a new chapter of high-quality industrial development?

New Direction

The course determines the way forward; the heading shapes the future.

For the “15th Five-Year Plan,” Shanghai has clearly outlined a new industrial development direction: taking advanced manufacturing as the backbone, accelerating the construction of a “2+3+6+6” modern industrial system, strengthening three leading industries, expanding six key industries, and proactively planning six future industries. It will continuously enhance the modernization level of the industrial chain and supply chain, and accelerate the building of a world-class high-end industrial cluster.

This new direction sketches the realistic path for Shanghai’s industrial upgrade: chain leadership, cluster-driven, ecological collaboration. By leading innovation through the industrial chain, and serving industrial layout through spatial planning, the vision of “upstairs and downstairs being upstream and downstream, industrial parks being the industrial chain” is moving from aspiration to reality.

The value of clusters first manifests in the high-density coupling of innovation resources. Taking Shanghai’s AI industry as an example, a relatively complete chain of “computing power—models—corpora—applications” has now formed. Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Shusheng·PuYu, as well as foundational models from SenseTime, MiniMax, and LeapStar, are competing for development; new industrial MaaS platforms involving Copas and Xiyu Jizhi (MiniMax) have been released, promoting further integration of corpora, models, computing power, and industry applications. Companies are no longer fighting alone but are accelerating collaboration in R&D, supporting, and implementation, with the cluster ecosystem rapidly taking shape.

The same applies to high-end equipment. Led by COMAC (Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China), Shanghai’s large aircraft industry chain continues to grow, driving the aggregation of aerospace manufacturing, supply chain support, manufacturing equipment, testing, and verification. The low-altitude economy is also gaining momentum. Companies like WOLANT, Shidai Technology, and Yufeng Future are accelerating collaboration around aircraft development, power systems, composite materials, flight control, and communication navigation; meanwhile, the Shanghai eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) manufacturing base consortium has been established, and the East China (Yangtze River Delta) low-altitude economy industry alliance has been unveiled. From large aircraft to low-altitude economy, both are driven by leading enterprises, supported by supporting industries, and thriving through ecological symbiosis.

Technological innovation is the core engine of new productive forces, and industrial innovation is a vital path for realizing their value. To seize opportunities in the reshaping of the global industrial landscape, Shanghai must strengthen its technological innovation sources and accelerate the transformation of innovative achievements. By building the “2+3+6+6” modern industrial system, Shanghai will continue to strengthen its industrial foundation, amplify cluster advantages, and activate its innovation ecosystem, solidifying the “four pillars” of a modern industrial system at a higher level.

New Elements

As the synergistic effects of industrial clusters accelerate, there are higher demands for systematic integration and precise supply of elements. Data, computing power, corpora, scenarios, and other “new elements” are deeply defining a city’s innovation capacity and are key variables in speeding up frontier technology industrialization.

In response to the new industrial revolution, Shanghai has taken the lead in unveiling a “factor package” aimed at new productive forces. On March 14, the 2026 Shanghai Global Investment Promotion Conference and “Invest in Shanghai” Week will be held. It is reported that the conference will release a batch of public empowerment platforms, land major industrial projects, and promote key high-quality spaces.

This new element package reaffirms: in Shanghai, good projects are not lacking land, good industries are not lacking space, and good applications are not lacking scenarios.

Embracing new elements first requires helping enterprises overcome their “hard bones” that they cannot chew on alone. One aspect is platform construction. Around the “Molding Shanghai” project, Shanghai is accelerating the deployment of public service platforms for computing power, corpora, evaluation and adaptation, providing high-performance services at lower thresholds. In terms of data corpora, led by Copas, the “Molding Shanghai” corpus inclusive plan is promoting the shift from scattered, enterprise-specific data cleaning to standardized, shareable public supply.

The other aspect is policy support. Focusing on core bottlenecks in innovation development, Shanghai has launched a total of 1 billion yuan in computing power vouchers, corpus vouchers, and model vouchers, with subsidies that allow enterprises to enjoy “no application required,” enabling them to focus more on innovation and reduce costs at critical points.

If public service platforms for computing power and corpora address the “initial difficulty,” then pilot platforms and application scenarios connect the “last mile” of technology to the market.

The upcoming “AI Terminal Hardware-Software Compatibility Optimization Pilot Platform” at the 2026 Shanghai Global Investment Promotion Conference is becoming an innovative window for Shanghai to systematically lower the barriers for “hardware startups.” By providing full-stack services from technical matching, chip adaptation, to intelligent testing and certification, this platform will free developers from the burdensome hardware testing processes. The platform’s builder, Wuwen XinQiong, is creating a new “M×N” AI infrastructure paradigm connecting “M models” and “N chips.” Wuwen XinQiong’s Shanghai general manager, Zeng Shulin, states: “The connectivity of M×N can only take root and flourish in a soil like Shanghai, where soft and hard elements are both abundant.”

Shanghai, this mega city, has natural scene advantages. From humanoid robot training grounds to autonomous driving pilot zones, and new aircraft test bases, the entire city is transforming into a vast “all-region testing ground.” By seamlessly connecting real needs, complex environments, and massive feedback, it empowers innovative products to be tested, run, and validated here first.

On October 14, 2025, WOLANT Aerospace completed the industry’s first manned flight of a high-grade commercial eVTOL: VE25-100, marking a milestone.

The vitality of innovation grows from the free flow of elements. With comprehensive policies and funding support, a complete industrial chain ecosystem, talented personnel, rich scenarios, and ample space and projects, this puzzle of innovation is tightly assembled, forming a full lifecycle industrial ecosystem. For innovators, this is the confidence to dare to try and compete; for a city, it is the core competitiveness to attract global innovation momentum.

New Services

“Shanghai’s industrial elements, policy support, and city spirit give us the confidence to participate in the global competition in the eVTOL field.” On the eve of the 2026 Shanghai Global Investment Promotion Conference, WOLANT Aerospace co-founder and president Huang Xiaofei expressed this in an interview.

“The proactive service and efficient response of the Shanghai government also make startups feel warm.” Huang explained that to address issues like intellectual property, financing, and space expansion, the city, districts, and streets coordinate to break through barriers: city leaders lead on-site “service packages,” grassroots coordinate precisely; policies from the Science and Technology Commission and Economic and Information Commission guide multiple banks to extend helping hands, jointly helping enterprises overcome difficulties.

Why do companies choose Shanghai? WOLANT’s story provides a straightforward answer: because Shanghai takes good care of enterprises.

This “care” has evolved into a resonant “new service” aligned with enterprises. In investment attraction, Shanghai has shifted focus from merely competing for land and policies to enhancing full lifecycle enterprise services. Shanghai cares not only for “big trees” but also for nurturing every “seed of innovation.”

For high-tech enterprises with cross-provincial layouts, “new services” mean tailored solutions that balance strategic fit and precise matching. The successful settlement of Shanshu Technology, driven by Shanghai’s AI computing strategy and Putuo District’s “full-process concierge” service, exemplifies this. The deeper attraction lies in “ecological empowerment”—Shanghai not only provides funding support but also actively collaborates with enterprises to build “AI TOWN” incubators and connect alumni resources. This inclusive co-creation environment from “helping settle” to “helping grow” fuels the roots of high-tech enterprises in Shanghai.

For foreign-invested companies deeply rooted in the Chinese market, “new services” translate into visible, tangible Shanghai efficiency, further strengthening their confidence in China’s market and sustainable development. In 2025, Baoshan District formed service teams and implemented pre-approval of materials to assist Carrier’s intelligent manufacturing project in achieving “three certificates and immediate land use,” refreshing administrative approval speed and transforming government efficiency into a powerful driver for green upgrades of Carrier’s “Lighthouse Factory” and the entire industry chain.

This tangible service experience directly converts into strong economic momentum. In 2025, Shanghai’s total investment reached 1.26 trillion yuan, with 4,463 key projects landed. Behind these impressive figures is Shanghai’s profound evolution in investment promotion logic. It is focusing on two core directions: first, strengthening urban coordination to create industrial clusters and optimize industrial ecosystems, promoting synchronized investment and industry development; second, insisting on “integrated investment and service,” shifting the focus from traditional land and policy competition to “full lifecycle enterprise services.”

Conclusion: Spring Awakening in Shanghai, Heavy Investment in the Future

The 2026 Shanghai Global Investment Promotion Conference is imminent. The concept and level of full lifecycle enterprise services will be further highlighted. The conference will feature five major zones, covering project negotiations, financing, corporate roadshows, policy consulting, and element matching, forming an efficient service network connecting projects, capital, and policies, strengthening Shanghai’s position as the “world’s top investment destination.”

Investing in Shanghai is not just about a project; it’s about heavily investing in a future where global partners can win together. Shanghai, with its innovative resilience, perfect ecosystem, and top-tier services, sends this sincere spring invitation—looking forward to gathering, exchanging, and creating with global investors.

Spring brings hope, and gatherings bring expectations. In Shanghai’s lush “rainforest” of innovation, more “seeds of innovation” are ready to sprout and grow into towering “great trees.”