The upcoming World Artificial Intelligence Conference, one of the world's most influential AI events, will reach a record scale this year in its exhibition area, and is expected to attract more than 1,100 companies, display in excess of 3,000 exhibits, and feature over 300 global product debuts, according to a news conference held on July 7 in Shanghai.

Shanghai has hosted the conference for eight consecutive years, with the event becoming an important platform for showcasing cutting-edge AI technologies from China and around the world, while also deepening international cooperation, said Chen Jie, vice-mayor of Shanghai.

"For the first time since its inception, the conference's exhibition scale exceeds 100,000 square meters. The intelligent computing and embodied AI segments will each bring together more than 200 companies. Leading companies, major State-owned enterprises, and top multinational companies will join their ecosystem partners to showcase the latest AI-enabled applications across industries," said Chen.

He added that such an expansion in the scale and capacity of the conference is based on the city's thriving AI industry.

Shanghai's 394 major AI enterprises, each with annual revenue of at least 20 million yuan ($2.9 million), saw their combined industry scale exceed 637 billion yuan in 2025, up 39.5 percent year-on-year, emerging as a new driver of the city's economic growth, according to Chen.

Shanghai has built a complete ecosystem for AI development, integrating innovation, application, cooperation, ecological coordination, and security governance, he further added.

Set to take place from July 17 to 20, the 2026 conference will feature six major sections, including forums, exhibitions, innovation incubation, and talent exchanges.

Officially titled the 2026 World AI Conference & High-level Meeting on Global AI Governance, the event will host more than 140 forums over four days, bringing together over 1,400 guests from China and overseas.