Global Developers Summit to accelerate Shanghai's AI hub transformation

The 2026 Global Developer Pioneers Summit, an artificial intelligence event for global developers to communicate, collaborate and innovate, will be held in Shanghai's Xuhui district from March 27 to 29, its organizers announced on Friday.

Gathering top-level developers from around the world, the event aims to explore cutting-edge technologies and industry integration and contribute to Shanghai's development into a global hub for AI innovation. The event will include an opening ceremony, contests, workshops, interactive experiences and carnivals, said Zhong Junhao, secretary-general of the Shanghai AI Industry Association during a news conference held on Friday.

"The event is tasked with helping build Shanghai into a city of open source and openness, where creativity can be materialized at the fastest speed, AI applications can reach their full potential, and developers can be better understood," said Zhong.

"Shanghai's 394 AI enterprises above designated size, referring to those with an annual revenue of 20 million yuan ($2.9 million) or above, saw their combined industry scale exceed 637 billion yuan in 2025, a year-on-year growth of 39.5 percent," said Pan Yan, deputy director of the Shanghai Commission of Economy and Informatization.

"As of Feb 28, as many as 149 generative artificial intelligence services completed filing across Shanghai, and the AI sector has become an important engine in driving the city's GDP growth," Pan said.