Recently, &#34;cyber shrimp farming&#34; has become a hot trend. As one of the key drivers of this wave, MiniMax (Xiyu Technology), born in Shanghai, set a record for the fastest IPO in the global AI sector this January, successfully landing on the Hong Kong stock market and achieving strong growth. This phenomenon reflects the tremendous energy of the synergy between Shanghai's large model capabilities and the developer ecosystem, further opening up vast space for &#34;AI+&#34;.
A glimpse of change reveals the whole picture. Shanghai has always regarded &#34;strengthening the leadership of high-end industries&#34; as the main line of development, supported by a complete innovation ecosystem, promoting breakthrough development in multiple industrial fields. In the integrated circuit sector, companies like Wallen Technology and TianShu ZhiXin continue to tackle high-performance GPUs and intelligent computing ecosystems, solidifying the foundation for industrial development; in the field of artificial intelligence, the country's first heterogeneous humanoid robot training ground has been launched in Zhangjiang, Pudong, supporting collaborative training of multiple robots and accelerating the iteration and upgrading of embodied intelligence technology; in the biopharmaceutical sector, by 2025, Shanghai is expected to approve 9 domestically produced Class 1 innovative drugs and 7 imported innovative drugs, setting a new historical high. In the same year, the total financing of Shanghai's biopharmaceutical industry reached 18.125 billion yuan, accounting for about 25% of the national total, continuing to lead the country.
By 2025, Shanghai's industrial development will yield remarkable results: both regional GDP and industrial added value above designated size will achieve over 5% growth, with investment structure continuously improving. Among them, industrial and related service projects account for more than half, and the proportion of the three leading industries—integrated circuits, biopharmaceuticals, and artificial intelligence—steadily increases, successfully concluding the &#34;14th Five-Year Plan.&#34;
As we embark on the new journey of the &#34;15th Five-Year Plan,&#34; aiming for the planning goal of &#34;striving for the industrial added value to account for over 20% of GDP by 2030,&#34; how will Shanghai further cultivate its innovation advantages, nurture its innovation ecosystem, and continue to write a new chapter in high-quality industrial development?
New Direction
The channel determines the way out, and the direction determines the future.
Facing the &#34;15th Five-Year Plan,&#34; Shanghai has already clarified the new direction for industrial development: with advanced manufacturing as the backbone, accelerating the construction of a &#34;2+3+6+6&#34; modern industrial system, strengthening the three leading industries, expanding the six key industries, and proactively laying out six future industries, continuously enhancing the modernization level of the industrial chain and supply chain, and accelerating the construction of world-class high-end industrial clusters.
This new direction outlines the realistic path for Shanghai's industrial upgrade: chain leadership, cluster strength, and ecological synergy. Driving innovation chains with industrial chains, serving industrial layouts with spatial layouts, allowing &#34;going up and down the building is like going upstream and downstream, and industrial parks are like industrial chains&#34; to accelerate from vision to reality.
The value of clusters is first reflected in the high-density coupling of innovative resources. Taking Shanghai's artificial intelligence industry as an example, a relatively complete chain of &#34;computing power—base models—corpora—applications&#34; has formed. Shanghai's artificial intelligence laboratory Shusheng·Puyu, along with companies like SenseTime, MiniMax, and Jieti Xingchen, are competing to develop foundational models; new industrial MaaS platforms involving KuPass and Xiyu Jizhi (MiniMax) have been launched, promoting further connections between corpora, models, computing power, and industry application services. Enterprises are no longer fighting alone but are accelerating collaboration in R&amp;D, support, and implementation, with the cluster ecosystem rapidly taking shape
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The same is true in the field of high-end equipment. Led by Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, the Shanghai large aircraft industry chain continues to grow, driving the accelerated aggregation of aviation manufacturing, supply chain support, manufacturing equipment, testing and inspection, and other links. The low-altitude economy is also on the rise. Represented by companies such as Shanghai Volant, Shidi Technology, and Yufeng Future, the Shanghai eVTOL industry is accelerating collaboration around whole aircraft research and development, power systems, composite materials, flight control, and communication navigation links; at the same time, a consortium for the construction of a large-scale eVTOL assembly manufacturing base in Shanghai has been established, and the East China (Yangtze River Delta) low-altitude economy industry alliance has also been unveiled. The large aircraft is moving upward, and the low-altitude economy is moving toward new heights, all driven by leading companies, supporting follow-ups, and ecological symbiosis.
Technological innovation is the core engine of new productive forces, while industrial innovation is an important path for realizing its value. For Shanghai to seize the initiative in the global industrial landscape reconstruction, it must strengthen the source of technological innovation and accelerate the transformation of innovative achievements. By building a &#34;2+3+6+6&#34; modern industrial system, Shanghai will continue to strengthen its industrial foundation, amplify cluster advantages, and activate the innovation ecosystem, solidifying the &#34;four pillars and eight beams&#34; of the modern industrial system at a higher level.
New Elements
As the synergistic effects of industrial clusters accelerate, higher demands are placed on the systematic integration and precise supply of elements. &#34;New elements&#34; such as data, computing power, corpora, and scenarios are deeply defining a city's innovation capability and becoming key variables for accelerating the industrialization of cutting-edge technologies.
In the face of a new round of industrial revolution, Shanghai has taken the lead in unveiling a &#34;factor package&#34; aimed at new productive forces. On March 14, the 2026 Shanghai Global Investment Promotion Conference and the &#34;Invest Shanghai&#34; activity week will soon kick off. It is reported that this conference will focus on releasing a batch of public empowerment platforms, landing a batch of major industrial projects, and promoting a batch of key quality spaces.
This new quality factor package aims to reaffirm: in Shanghai, good projects are not lacking in land, good industries are not lacking in space, and good applications are not lacking in scenarios.
Embracing new elements first requires helping enterprises tackle the &#34;hard bones&#34; that they cannot chew through themselves. On one end is platform construction. Centered around the &#34;Molding Shanghai&#34; project, Shanghai is accelerating the layout of public service platforms for computing power, corpora, and evaluation adaptation, providing high computing power services at lower thresholds. In terms of data corpora, the &#34;Molding Shanghai&#34; corpus universal plan led by KuPass is promoting the upgrade of corpora from a decentralized model of &#34;each enterprise searching and cleaning on its own&#34; to standardized, shareable public supply.
On the other end is policy support. Focusing on the core bottlenecks of innovative development, Shanghai has launched a total scale of 1 billion yuan in computing power vouchers, corpus vouchers, and model vouchers, and is promoting subsidies to be &#34;enjoyed without application,&#34; allowing enterprises to focus more energy on innovation and save more costs in critical areas.
If public service platforms such as computing power and corpora solve the &#34;difficult start,&#34; then pilot platforms and application scenarios bridge the &#34;last mile&#34; of technology reaching the market
The &#34;Artificial Intelligence Terminal Hardware and Software Adaptation Optimization Pilot Platform,&#34; which will debut at the 2026 Shanghai Global Investment Promotion Conference, is becoming an innovative window for systematically lowering the threshold for &#34;hardware entrepreneurship&#34; in Shanghai. By providing full-stack services from technology matching, chip adaptation to intelligent testing and certification, the platform will completely liberate developers from the burdensome hardware testing processes. It is reported that the platform builder, WuWenXinQiong, is creating a new paradigm of &#34;M×N&#34; AI infrastructure that connects &#34;M types of models&#34; and &#34;N types of chips.&#34; Zeng Shulin, General Manager of WuWenXinQiong Shanghai, stated, &#34;The connection capability of 'M×N' can only take root and sprout in a place like Shanghai, where both software and hardware elements are complete.&#34;
Shanghai, as a megacity, has a natural scene advantage. From humanoid robot training grounds to autonomous driving leading areas, and new aircraft test flight bases, the entire city is transforming into a massive &#34;full-domain testing ground,&#34; seamlessly connecting real demands, complex environments, and massive feedback, empowering innovative products to be tested, run, and validated here first.
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On October 14, 2025, Volant Aviation completed the industry's first manned flight of the high-grade commercial passenger eVTOL: VE25-100 Tianxing.
The vitality of innovation grows in the free flow of elements. With complete policy and financial support, a complete industrial chain ecosystem, excellent talent, rich scenarios, and ample space and project capacity, when this set of innovation puzzles fits together seamlessly, a full lifecycle industrial ecological chain for continuous development is formed. For innovators, this is the confidence to dare to try and compete; for a city, this is the core competitiveness to absorb global innovative momentum.
New Services
&#34;The industrial elements, policy support, and urban spirit of Shanghai give us the confidence to represent Shanghai in the global competition in the eVTOL field.&#34; This statement was made by Huang Xiaofei, co-founder and president of Volant Aviation, during a media interview on the eve of the 2026 Shanghai Global Investment Promotion Conference.
&#34;The proactive service and efficient response from the Shanghai municipal government have also made startups feel warm.&#34; Huang Xiaofei introduced that in response to challenges faced by enterprises regarding intellectual property, financing, and capacity expansion, the municipal, district, and street-level governments in Shanghai are working together to break through: municipal leaders lead teams to deliver &#34;service packages&#34; directly, while grassroots coordinators solve problems on-site; the technology credit policies from the municipal Science and Technology Commission and Economic and Information Commission have also guided multiple banks to extend a helping hand, collectively assisting enterprises through difficulties.
Why do companies choose Shanghai? The story of Volant provides an intuitive answer: because Shanghai takes good care of enterprises.
This &#34;care&#34; has evolved into a &#34;new service&#34; that resonates in harmony with enterprises. In the field of investment attraction, Shanghai has shifted its focus from purely land and policy competition to enhancing the service level for enterprises throughout their entire lifecycle. Shanghai needs to care for both the &#34;tall trees&#34; and diligently nurture every &#34;innovation seed.&#34;
For hard technology companies with cross-provincial layouts, &#34;new services&#34; mean &#34;tailor-made&#34; solutions that balance strategic alignment and precise matching. The successful establishment of ShanShu Technology is attributed to the synergy between Shanghai's AI computing power strategy and the &#34;full-process housekeeper&#34; service of Putuo District. The deeper attraction lies in &#34;ecological empowerment&#34;—Shanghai not only provides financial support but also actively collaborates with companies to co-build the &#34;AI TOWN&#34; incubator and connect alumni resources. This inclusive co-creation environment, transitioning from &#34;helping settle&#34; to &#34;helping grow,&#34; constitutes the driving force for hard technology companies to root in Shanghai.
For foreign enterprises deeply engaged in the Chinese market, &#34;new services&#34; translate into visible and tangible Shanghai efficiency, further enhancing their confidence in deepening their presence in the Chinese market and sustainable development. In 2025, Baoshan District, through the establishment of a dedicated service team and the implementation of material pre-review, assisted Carrier Group's intelligent manufacturing project in achieving &#34;three certificates issued simultaneously&#34; and &#34;groundbreaking upon land acquisition,&#34; refreshing the speed of administrative approval and directly transforming the government's efficient empowerment into the surging momentum for Carrier's &#34;lighthouse factory&#34; to drive green upgrades in the industrial chain.
This tangible service experience directly translates into strong economic momentum. In 2025, Shanghai's total investment reached 1.26 trillion yuan, with a cumulative landing of 4,463 key projects across the city. Behind the impressive data is a profound iteration of Shanghai's investment attraction logic. It is understood that Shanghai is currently focusing on two core directions: first, strengthening city-wide coordination, aiming to create industrial clusters and optimize the industrial ecosystem, promoting investment promotion and industrial development in sync; second, adhering to &#34;integrated investment promotion services,&#34; shifting the focus of investment competition from traditional &#34;land and policy&#34; to &#34;enterprise services throughout the entire lifecycle.&#34;
Conclusion: Spring Awakens in Shanghai, Investing Heavily in the Future
The 2026 Shanghai Global Investment Promotion Conference is about to open. The concept and level of enterprise services throughout the entire lifecycle will be further brought to the forefront. The conference will set up five major zones, covering project negotiations, financing connections, corporate roadshows, policy consultations, and resource matching, weaving a high-efficiency service network that spans projects, capital, and policies, strengthening Shanghai as &#34;the preferred destination for global investment.&#34;
Investing in Shanghai is not just about investing in a project; it is about heavily investing in a future that can achieve win-win outcomes with global partners. Shanghai is making this sincere spring promise with innovative resilience, a complete ecosystem, and first-class services—looking forward to gathering, communicating, and creating with global investors.
With the spring breeze promising, the gathering is scheduled. In this innovative &#34;rainforest&#34; of Shanghai, more &#34;innovation seeds&#34; are poised to take off, growing vigorously into &#34;towering trees.&#34;

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Recently, MiniMax (Xiyu Technology) in Shanghai set a new record for the fastest IPO in the global AI sector, successfully landing on the Hong Kong stock market and achieving strong growth, reflecting Shanghai's strong potential in AI and high-end industries. The continuous development in fields such as integrated circuits, artificial intelligence, and biomedicine is expected to lead to a total financing amount of 18.125 billion yuan for Shanghai's biomedicine industry by 2025, accounting for about 25% of the national total. Shanghai will build a modern industrial system with advanced manufacturing as the backbone, promote high-quality industrial development, and strive for the industrial added value to account for over 20% of GDP by 2030

Spring begins in Shanghai, heavily investing in Shanghai, embracing the future