Shanghai works to connect AI with finance

Shanghai Vice Mayor Wu Qing told the Financing and Investment Forum during the World Artificial Intelligence Conference that Shanghai will continue to finalize AI action plans. 

"Shanghai will fully leverage financial resources and its favorable position as an innovation hub to push for AI's integration with a wide range of commercial facilities and connect them with financial institutions," he said. 

"We will better serve all kinds of players in the AI innovation ecosystem," he added. 

The AI market is still relatively small compared with the city's overall GDP, but it's growing fast and has the potential to upgrade and empower all industries. 

Last year, the sector grew 10 percent and was valued at 147.7 billion yuan (US$21.1 billion).

A city-level AI fund with an initial size of 10 billion yuan (US$1.4 billion) and investors like Guosheng Group, Lingang Group, the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone Lingang Committee and YF Capital have completed fundraising, according to Wu. 

The first batch of investment projects made by the fund will be unveiled during this year's WAIC. 

Zhu Yikai, a partner at Yunfeng Ventures, said in recent years that it has shifted its focus to industrial and manufacturing companies. Its investment portfolio includes top AI companies such as Yitu Technology. 

"Smart CT imaging solutions have been a major contributor to expedite diagnosis during the coronavirus outbreak," said Co-chair Zhou Xiang of United Imaging Intelligence. He also noted that it takes longer time for IT infrastructure to be upgraded at hospitals which might be a challenge for AI solutions to be deployed.