Shanghai Targets AI in Over 85% of Industrial Services by 2028

What changed

Shanghai has issued a 2027–2028 action plan to push artificial intelligence deeper into industrial services, alongside a new intelligent-manufacturing initiative. By 2028, the city aims for AI applications in more than 85% of industrial services, 500 advanced intelligent factories, over 2,000 manufacturing AI scenarios, 10 industry-specific large models and 300 intelligent agents.

The plan also targets robot density of 600 units per 10,000 people and an AI-enabled intelligent-manufacturing equipment industry worth more than 2,000亿元, or 200 billion yuan. Companies developing model-driven products or virtual pilot platforms may receive up to 10 million yuan in support.

Why it matters

This is a shift from showcasing robots to rebuilding the machinery around factories. Shanghai wants AI involved in product design, testing, supply-chain resilience, equipment maintenance and flexible production, especially in high-end equipment, vehicles, semiconductors and new-energy vehicles.

The most consequential target may be the 500 advanced intelligent factories. If reached, it would give AI a much wider role in everyday industrial decisions, including embedded quality checks and predicting when equipment needs maintenance. That could make factories more adaptable, but the plan leaves open how progress will be measured, who qualifies for funding and how the targets will be phased in.

Shanghai is also betting that industrial AI will produce companies of its own, with a goal of nurturing 10 “digital-native” unicorns by 2028. The ambition is clear: make AI an operating layer for manufacturing, not merely another machine on the factory floor.