2025 World AI Conference opens in Shanghai on July 26

The 2025 World Artificial Intelligence Conference, along with the High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance, will take place in Shanghai on July 26-28.

This year's WAIC, themed Global Solidarity in the AI Era, features five major sections: forums and conferences, exhibitions, competitions and awards, application experiences and innovation incubations.

The conference aims to spotlight cutting-edge AI technologies, industrial trends and global governance practices.

Global talent, critical dialogues

With its sharp focus on international collaboration, the event will host over 100 forums covering 10 key areas including AI infrastructure, scientific intelligence, intelligent devices, AI-powered industrialization and AI+ Finance.

The program includes:

· 1 opening ceremony and main forum

· 1 high-level meeting on global AI governance

· 2 plenary sessions on scientific frontiers and development security

· 10 themed forums led by national ministries

Multiple parallel ecosystem forums

New additions include youth-focused forums and debates — bringing together top CEOs, global experts and next-generation innovators to tackle hot topics like embodied AI and quantum computing.

More than 1,200 guests from over 30 countries and regions have confirmed their attendance, including 12 Nobel Prize and Turing Award laureates, over 80 academicians and representatives from leading international labs.

Largest exhibition to date

This year marks WAIC's biggest exhibition yet, with over 70,000 square meters of display space and more than 800 companies, over half of which are international or based outside Shanghai.

Exhibitors include China's top AI companies, over 60 global tech giants like Siemens and Schneider Electric and more than 30 Chinese central State-owned enterprises. The event will unveil more than 3,000 AI products, featuring:

· 40+ large AI models

· 50+ smart terminals

· 60+ intelligent robots

·  100+ products making their global or China debut

Youth innovation front and center

WAIC continues to empower young innovators. This year, the prestigious SAIL Award drew 240 submissions, 17 percent from international teams. The Youth Outstanding Paper Award attracted nearly 200 papers, with an average author age of 29, and more than 79 percent from PhD-level researchers.

Newly introduced "science, math and model" challenges offer a deeper platform for emerging voices to explore breakthroughs in life sciences, next-generation AI architecture and AI-math integration.

From ideas to industry

To fuel entrepreneurship, WAIC has introduced a dedicated startup and investment incubation section. Over 200 early-stage projects will promote themselves on-site, with more than 100 investment firms offering real-time matching, funding and solution support.

The conference is also levelling up its immersive experiences. A city-wide WAIC urban tour will feature human-robot interaction, smart driving and more. Attendees can explore Shanghai's AI landscape through themed "intelligent life", "city services", and "industrial ecosystems" tours — bridging global dialogue with real-world applications.