Major expansion in works for AI and semiconductor industries
The scale of Shanghai's artificial intelligence and semiconductor industries will double in the next five years, according to city government officials.
To enhance the city’s digital transformation, Shanghai should establish a national AI lab to boost basic and academic research and provide more support to AI chip development, according to lawmakers attending the ongoing meeting of Shanghai People's Congress.
The city’s integrated circuit industry is estimated to have hit 200 billion yuan (US$30.8 billion) in 2020, compared with 170 billion yuan in 2019.
The integrated circuit industry, which covers chip design, manufacturing, testing and assembly, is often called the heart of the IT industry. Chips are widely used in televisions, cars, smartphones and other smart devices.
The AI industry scale reached 134 billion yuan in 2019, and is projected to have surpassed 150-billion yuan in 2020.
Earlier this month, Shanghai launched 64 major integrated circuit, AI and biomedicine projects totaling more than 270 billion yuan.