The Shanghai Foundation Model Innovation Center announced the launch of 10 new incubation sites across Xuhui district in June. This expansion extends beyond the West Bund core area, scaling up its proven mechanisms and support policies across the district.

The move comes in response to surging demand, as the original West Bund hub quickly reached capacity amid rising interest from companies.

To address this, Xuhui district is building a 50,000-square-meter core zone on the West Bund and establishing supporting innovation clusters in key areas such as Xujiahui, Caohejing Hi-Tech Park, and Beiyang AI Town.

High-end frontier industries

• The incubation site of Shanghai Foundation Model Innovation Center at Beiyang AI Town is developing a full-cycle AI innovation ecosystem, covering everything from research to commercialization. It has formed partnerships with institutions such as the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and Shanghai Innovation Institute.

A 12,900-square-meter incubation facility has been completed, with Phase I and II spaces scheduled to open later this year.

• The incubation site at the Shanghai Jiao Tong University campus focuses on transforming academic research from Shanghai Jiao Tong University into market-ready innovations.

Vertical applications

• The incubation site in Xujiahui leverages its commercial setting to support AI-powered consumer applications.

• The incubation site at Inesa draws on the group's industrial resources to advance vertical applications in specialized sectors such as AI-powered instrumentation.

Spanning approximately 11,000 square meters, it replicates the West Bund's proven incubation model with comparable policy incentives, computing power support, and ecosystem resources.

• The incubation site in Caohejing is building a tech-driven cultural ecosystem centered on MiniMax's multimodal foundation. It collaborates with top game developers, including Mihoyo and Lilith, to drive breakthroughs in artificial intelligence-generated content and smart hardware.

Industry synergy

• The incubation site at Meicheng Tower cooperates with the adjacent blockchain innovation platform SDBC to create a clustering effect. Tapping into the smart home zone along Yishan Road, it focuses on developing competitive AI products tailored for the consumer market.
• The incubation site at Fenglin Sci-Tech Innovation Park targets cross-disciplinary innovation, with a particular focus on the "AI + Healthcare" area.
• The incubation site at Ces West Bund Center brings together AI companies within the China Eastern Airlines ecosystem.

Ecosystem building

• The incubation sites at the West Bund AI Valley and in Shuzhihui aim to attract enterprises to build incubators for real-world applications of AI.

Sources: Wenhui Daily, Jiefang Daily