China has the second-largest number of artificial intelligence (AI) companies in the world, trailing only the United States, according to a blue paper published by Gartner and the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) in Shanghai at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference 2018. “The number of AI-related companies in China continues to grow and now ranks second in the world,” said Liu Duo, President of CAICT. She said the number of AI-related patent filings has increased in China since 2015 and the scale of the AI market has also developed drastically, especially concerning voice and image recognition technology. Domestic AI companies are developing the fastest in Beijing, Shanghai as well as Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu provinces, Liu added. Phil Todd, Managing Vice President of Gartner, said that research covering over 3,000 companies showed that only 4% of them have invested in and utilize AI technology. The country accounted for 48% of the world’s total AI startup funding last year, consultancy CBInsights said.

During the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC), Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced the opening of its AWS Artificial Intelligence Lab in Shanghai, which is dedicated to making advanced AWS AI and machine learning services available. The three-day conference has attracted experts, scholars and entrepreneurs from nearly 40 countries and regions. More than 200 top companies in AI participated in the conference and the exhibition. Underlining the importance that the Chinese government attaches to AI, a letter by Chinese President Xi Jinping was read out at the opening ceremony by Shanghai Party Secretary Li Qiang. Vice Premier Liu He attended the opening forum of the conference.

The WAIC ended after holding one main forum, 33 themed forums, five brain-storming discussions and 22 kick-off events. As the world’s top AI platform for cooperation and exchange, 335 speakers ranging from top science experts to business executives gave their opinions on stage. A total of 40,000 visitors from more than 40 countries attended the three-day event, including 700 journalists from 30 countries.

Shanghai has opened more public roads for testing of intelligent and connected vehicles (ICVs) to further accelerate industry development and commercialization of ICVs. The length of roads for testing was extended from 5.6 kilometers to 37.2 kilometers, and there are now a total of 12 public roads that can be used for testing of ICVs, as revealed at the 2018 World Autonomous Vehicle Ecosystem Conference in Shanghai. Shanghai is the first city in China to move road tests of ICVs from enclosed areas to public roads. By the end of this year, about 10 auto companies will have received road testing licenses.