Xuhui to boost AI with tower and town

Ti Gong

The under-construction Intelligence Valley on the West Bund waterfront in Xuhui

Two 200-meter landmark buildings, known as the AI Tower, will be completed in October in the West Bund to become a global AI development and exhibition center.

Several AI companies will be based in the building from the end of 2019.

The first batch of nine companies, including Microsoft Research Asia, Huawei, Alibaba and global AI leagues, attended a ceremony on Wednesday on the top of one of the towers.

Around the building, Xuhui District will build a West Bund “Intelligence Valley” covering 1.2 million square meters along the Huangpu River for AI industries, Fang Shizhong, director of Xuhui told a press conference ahead of the World Artificial Intelligence Conference.

Part of the future AI valley will open to global participants at the conference's West Bund branch from Thursday.

The AI Tower, to feature 5G network coverage and an intelligent building management system, will also serve international exchanges, applications exhibition as well as research and transformation of AI technologies, said Li Zhonghui, president of the West Bund Group which is in charge of developing the waterfront region.

The top floor of the building will open as a shared center for global AI companies to showcase their products and exchange with each other, said Fang.

Among the first batch of key enterprises in the buildings, Microsoft Research Asia will focus on computer application research, Huawei will create an innovative center for its Kunpeng processors and Alibaba will mainly develop culture and entertainment as well as new retail sectors.

Leading local tech firms such as United Imaging will establish its Big Data and AI headquarters in one of the buildings. Cloud Translation, based in Shenzhen in south Guangdong Province, will develop a multilingual AI translation system, Li said.

Ti Gong

The under-construction AI Tower on the West Bund waterfront in Xuhui

Ti Gong

Representatives of the first batch of enterprises to base themselves in the AI Tower in the West Bund in Xuhui

Xuhui aims to become a highland of Shanghai's prosperous AI development. It released a T-plan in December 2018, meaning the two key projects AI Tower and AI Town, to boost its ambition.

Fang said 20 percent of over 1,000 leading AI enterprises in Shanghai are now based in Xuhui. Another 50 AI or high-tech startup firms registered in the district from January to June this year.

"AI has become the fastest growing sector of Xuhui in 2018 with a total industrial scale of 21 billion yuan, accounting for a third of that of the city," Fang said.

Preferential policies named after Ming Dynasty official and scientist Xu Guangqi from whom Xuhui was named have been released to attract global AI professionals to the district, he added.

Xuhui plans to create a multitude of AI applications in smart government affairs, transport, medical service and education to let citizens enjoy a safer, more convenient and quality intelligent life, Fang said.

In another key project, Beiyang AI Town, covering 543,000 square meters along the Dianpu River and the city’s Outer Ring Road, will become the city's first AI town where AI and big data technologies will be applied in the town’s urban information and public infrastructure as well as public service facilities.

It will become a demonstration area for AI applications in medicine, finance, transport, media and business, Fang said.

The site in Huajing Town, formerly known for the Beiyang wharf, an industrial port, will preserve some of the warehouses, cranes and other industrial relics and convert historical structures into education centers and commercial facilities, according to a blueprint.

The million square meters of construction to be built will include research facilities, apartments for rent and social service and education centers for the town, said Zhan Feng, general manger with the Shanghai Caohejing Hi-Tech Park, which is in charge of the town's development.