Shanghai is embracing its role as a leading international center for artificial intelligence (AI) innovation, boasting an AI talent pool of nearly 300,000, which accounts for roughly one-third of the nation's total.

An epitome of the megacity's innovation drive is the Shanghai Foundation Model Innovation Center (SMC), a large-model incubator home to over 100 enterprises in Xuhui District of Shanghai.

Among the startups is COOL AI, which is dedicated to transforming large AI models into assistants to office workers of ordinary businesses, driving the industrial application of AI technology.

"We help enterprises across various sectors quickly apply the most cutting-edge AI large models and intelligent agents into their actual business scenarios. It takes two or three people a week to compile a hundreds-page tender document, but with AI's help, it can be finished in just 60 or 70 seconds," said Zhang Jiawei, founder and CEO of COOL AI.

The incubator functions also as a comprehensive industrial ecosystem, where startups share their high-quality resources in core areas, such as chip design, model algorithms, data corpus, and industrial applications. Without needs to seek resources elsewhere，businesses within this cluster enjoy faster research and development and quicker response to market dynamics.

Currently, multiple startups at SMC are not only rapidly expanding their footprint in the domestic market but are also gaining high recognition internationally.

Leveraging its advantages in education, science and technology, and talent, Shanghai is building itself into an engine for scientific innovation and smart manufacturing in China and a global innovation leader.

"China now graduates the largest number of engineers globally, nearly half of the world's total. So, we have substantial advantages in talent. You can find supply chains capable of supporting a vast array of robotics needs within a 100-kilometer radius around Shanghai. Chinese manufacturers are playing a leading role in the global market," said Li Tong, founder and CEO of KEENON Robotics.