Data from the National Data Administration shows that China’s daily Token call volume surged from roughly 100 billion at the start of 2024 to 140 trillion in March 2026, an increase of over 1,000 times in two years. Behind this rapid growth in call volume lies the deepening adoption of AI applications.
Meanwhile, Chinese large language models are growing more competitive globally. According to OpenRouter data, Chinese models have led the global usage ranking for 26 consecutive weeks, taking all top five spots worldwide.
AI is reshaping how industries operate, making computing power, energy and data increasingly critical elements of competition. 2026 marks the start of the 15th Five-Year Plan period. Breakthroughs in China’s cutting-edge tech sectors are accelerating toward industrial deployment.
Against this backdrop, Informa’s Global Tech Festivals portfolio lands in Shanghai. Hongqiao Tech Week will be held at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai) from 20 to 22 November 2026. Centered on artificial intelligence, it extends to smart infrastructure, future mobility & energy, life sciences & health, and smart industry. It also provides capital and talent support for the startup ecosystem, featuring more than 200 conferences and thematic forums.
Hongqiao Tech Week
⏰ 20–22 November 2026
📍 National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai)
AI Stage: Setting the Tone for How AI Delivers Real Value
The agenda for the AI Stage sets the overall direction for Hongqiao Tech Week, exploring layer by layer how AI can truly deliver value. Discussions will span trustworthy AI governance and mainstream adoption, AI-native organisations and data infrastructure, cross-disciplinary AI for Science and life sciences, and finally industry-education integration and international talent development.
Speakers from Standard Chartered, Hitachi and RezolveAI will share insights on advanced AI security scaling and how agents evolve from “answering questions” to “taking action”. 01.AI and MatrixOrigin will present organisational transformation and data foundations. Crystal Memory and Meter Therapeutics will showcase new paradigms for drug discovery and medical device innovation. Academicians from the Chinese Academy of Engineering, the Yangtze River Delta National Technology Innovation Center, the Joint Council of Presidents of High-level Application-oriented Universities, Siemens and other industrial stakeholders will discuss international innovation talent development, and launch the Hongqiao International Community for Industry-Education Integration and Innovation Development.
At the macro policy level, the State Council’s Opinions on Further Implementing the “AI+” Initiative clearly states that “all people shall share the benefits of AI development”. It positions artificial intelligence as “a global public good for humanity”, advocating “inclusive AI for all” and bridging the global digital divide. In this sense, AI inclusion has evolved from a domestic livelihood goal into a global governance proposition.
Digital Infrastructure Stage:
What Powers Global AI Ambitions
Gartner forecasts that global spending on AI infrastructure will reach USD 1.48 trillion in 2026, with rapid growth projected to continue in the years ahead. Computing power networks, computing-energy coordination and green intelligent computing centres will be key drivers for the next phase of the digital infrastructure market.
As the physical backbone of Hongqiao Tech Week’s AI agenda, discussions on the Digital Infrastructure Stage will follow a progressive roadmap spanning computing power networks, energy coordination, and the future of quantum technology. The China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) will unpack national strategies and investment trends for computing power networks, covering AI and 6G, space-air-ground-sea connectivity, optical interconnection and more. During the AIDC session, participating enterprises will dive into energy storage, power quality, liquid cooling and computing-energy coordination, turning the challenge of “power-hungry AI” into systematic solutions. The quantum technology segment will explore quantum computing use cases across finance, healthcare and new drug development.
This agenda aligns with Shanghai’s development of a “general-purpose + intelligent + supercomputing” three-in-one computing service system and the construction of the Yangtze River Delta computing hub. The reach of computing power networks defines the depth of AI applications, while the precision of computing-energy coordination determines the sustainability of AI expansion.
A stellar lineup of high-profile speakers from the global industrial chain will take the stage at the Digital Infrastructure Stage, including Indonesia Data Center Ecosystem Council, Tototheo Global, Sungrow Power, Shenzhen Sinexcel, Shenzhen Fluorosen, Jinchao Times, Trina Solar, VNET BlueCloud, Wanwu Energy and Envision Energy. The sessions will deliver highly valuable industry insights and sharing.
Future Mobility & Energy Stage:
Exploring Implementation Pathways for Land, Power and Air Integration
When will Robotaxi cross the commercialisation inflection point? How can manned eVTOL move from technical validation to commercial operation? Centered on intelligent driving, energy coordination and low-altitude economy, the Future Mobility & Energy Stage addresses the critical barriers for new technologies to scale up.
Huang Jun, Vice President of Pony.ai, will discuss the balance between safety and economics in city-wide Robotaxi operations. Ford China will dive into “restorative cabins” and “co-pilot synergy”, sharing how to deliver more human-centric mobility experiences. Star Charge will focus on inclusive energy access, presenting practical cases integrating AI with charging, energy storage and microgrids.
The low-altitude economy is another highlight. Autoflight and EHang Technology will explore the application prospects and commercialisation hurdles of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) vehicles. Together with topics such as regularised drone logistics operations, the sessions will examine how future mobility can evolve from technical feasibility to sustainable operation.
Life Science & Health Stage:
Connecting Cutting-edge R&D to Global Markets
Brain-computer interfaces, AI-powered drug discovery and the global expansion of innovative medicines will be the core highlights of the Life Science & Health Stage. The agenda explores how technological breakthroughs translate into clinical and commercial value, spanning from frontier discoveries to safety assessment, clinical translation and global development.
Wang Shouyan, Director of the Center for Neuromodulation and Brain-Computer Interface at Fudan University, will discuss the evolution of brain-computer interfaces from emerging technology to future industry. Sessions on AI drug discovery focus on tackling undruggable targets, AI antibody design and mRNA cancer vaccines, examining how AI is transforming drug R&D.
For the global expansion segment, HUTCHMED, Zai Lab and Yaning Wang, former Chief of the Clinical Quantitative Pharmacology Review Branch at the US FDA, will share insights on the next five years for China’s innovative medicines. Discussions will also cover AI-enabled regulatory pathways and ecosystem collaboration, grounding the topic of global expansion in practical considerations around clinical evidence, regulatory approvals and partnerships.
Industry 5.0 Stage:
How AI Truly Finds Its Way Into Factories
The value of industrial AI is ultimately validated by quality, cost and delivery. The Industry 5.0 Stage focuses on “how AI moves from demos onto production lines”. Centered on equipment manufacturing, flexible production and embodied intelligence, it explores pathways from pilot projects to large-scale deployment.
Cheng Yan, CIO of Shanghai Electric Group, will share the implementation roadmap for AI from cloud to edge in the equipment manufacturing industry. Zhitao Gao, former lead of digital transformation at Tesla Gigafactory Shanghai and Founder of IndustrialMind.ai, will draw on global manufacturing experience to discuss how to measure the true value of industrial AI.
The dedicated session on embodied intelligence and robotics will delve into trending scenarios such as wheeled humanoid robots and multi-robot collaboration. Aubo Robotics and other speakers will share their explorations of robots cooperating to finish complex workflows. Discussions will stay grounded in real factory environments: how AI adapts to engineering constraints, integrates into production workflows and builds stable delivery capabilities.
Startup Stage:
From Funding Success to Operational Success
After technical validation, how can tech companies secure market traction and achieve growth? The Startup Stage centres on AI entrepreneurship, deep-tech financing and “Global Expansion 2.0”, addressing practical challenges spanning product development, fundraising and overseas market entry.
Zhang Tao, Founder of sspai, will unpack trends of tech co-creation in the AI era. Laurie Fuller, Partner at Raiven Capital and Mentor for Google for Startups, will share growth strategies amid capital scarcity. Scaling vertical AI companies, embodied intelligence and next-generation AI hardware will also be key discussion themes.
In a special session organised by the Shanghai Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Center, PwC and other participants will tackle localisation, profitability and execution challenges for global expansion. The session hosted by CENTI Group focuses on deep-tech’s leap from technical validation to scaled delivery, guiding entrepreneurs to move beyond “securing funding” and think about sustainable operations.
In addition, speakers from Roche, Carl Zeiss, Arkema, L.E.K., Haier New Energy, Shanghai FANUC, Jiangnan Shipyard, SAIC MAXUS, SenseTime, DeepModeling, FAW Bestune, BAIC Research Institute, Rystad Energy, Cansino Biologics, SynDrugs, Chengdu Haifeng, West China Haiqi, Shanghai Minis and Shanghai Robot Industry Technology Research Institute will also take the stage to share cross-industry practices and insights. More speakers are being added on an ongoing basis.
Moving forward, Hongqiao Tech Week will align globally with Informa’s flagship tech IPs including London Tech Week, Asia Tech x Singapore (ATxSG) and Africa Tech Festival. It will build a more open international cooperation platform for global tech resources to access China and Chinese tech enterprises to go global.
The countdown to Hongqiao Tech Week is underway! Visitor registration is now open. 📅 20–22 November 2026 📍 National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai)