The Innovation Plaza in central Pingshan. Photo from Pingshan Media Center

Pingshan’s high-tech zone and nine more areas in Shenzhen have been designated as the 10 industrial clusters of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in the city. This announcement was made by the city government during the Beijing-Shenzhen Industrial Cooperation Meeting, held in Beijing on Aug. 13.

The other nine AI industrial clusters are located in the Shenzhen Bay, Xili-Shiyan, Qianhai Bay, Futian, Bantian, the Universiade area in Longgang, the Longhua Central Axis area, Qingshuihe in Luohu District, and Guangming Science Town. 

The city government has prioritized the development of AI technologies and released an action plan July 30. “Shenzhen has been making every effort to create a comprehensive ecosystem featuring software development and the evolving landscape of the AI sector by providing policy and financial assistance while leveraging its industrial strengths,” said Lin Yi, vice director of the Shenzhen Municipal Industry and Information Technology Bureau.

Shenzhen led the country in the China Software Development Index, which was released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology at the beginning of this year. The software sector has been one of Shenzhen’s industrial pillars. Four of the software parks are located in Nanshan, two in Longgang, and one each in Futian, Luohu, Bao’an, and Longhua districts. Together, they are home to approximately 400 national-level software enterprises. In addition to robust infrastructure, these software parks offer specialized and high-standard services tailored to specific sectors. 

Shenzhen has nurtured many of the country’s leading software enterprises, like Huawei and Kingdee, within its industrial parks, where a number of specialized and sophisticated small and medium-sized software companies are flourishing.