Currently, artificial intelligence (AI) is deeply integrating across various fields, reshaping new paradigms of productivity. According to the "China AI Regional Competitiveness Research Report" released in the first half of this year, Anhui province has leapt to fifth place nationwide among 31 provincial-level regions in an overall evaluation of AI innovation capabilities, thanks to its soaring smart computing power and pioneering application scenarios. What development "secret" lies behind this impressive performance? Let's see how Anhui is building itself into an AI industry powerhouse. 

At Yaohai District, Hefei, there's a unique group of "students" currently undergoing training. They aren't human, yet they can learn and develop just like people. So, how does this unconventional school conduct its lessons, and how does it produce qualified graduates? Let's go inside and find out.

Walking into this training ground, reporters see over a dozen robots "attending class." Here, they undergo three to six months of "learning," progressing from initial clumsiness to eventually performing precise sorting and collaborative tasks. He Ziqing is one of the first batch of "instructors" at this "Robot University." Over the past three months, he and his team have had to teach each robot to complete 500 grasping exercises every day.

During research interviews, reporters discovered that establishing real-world scenario laboratories like this "Robot University" has been a major highlight in Anhui's efforts to vigorously develop its AI industry in the first half of this year. Currently, this "Robot University" has already attracted a group of robotics companies to join.

Anhui possesses unique foundational strengths and conditions for holistically advancing the entire AI industry chain. Anhui has established three major intelligent computing centers in Hefei, Wuhu, and Suzhou, with a combined smart computing capacity exceeding 35,000P. Simultaneously, the province has promoted over 300 "AI+" application scenarios by encouraging enterprises and institutions to open up opportunities. In terms of policy support, earlier this year the provincial government specifically issued the "Anhui Province Action Plan for Accelerating the Promotion of 'Artificial Intelligence Plus'", focusing on implementing four key initiatives: strengthening foundational capabilities at the base layer, deepening integrated applications, building an ecosystem, and reinforcing security safeguards—all aimed at expediting the creation of an innovative hub for the artificial intelligence industry. 

Driven by innovation, Anhui's AI sector is rapidly forming industrial clusters with growing momentum. In the first half of this year, Hefei's intelligent voice technology industrial cluster was designated as a national advanced manufacturing cluster, bringing together a cohort of high-quality enterprises.

In the first quarter of this year, the revenue of Anhui's AI enterprises above designated size grew by 14.7% year-on-year, with key indicators such as revenue and fixed-asset investment growth ranking among the forefront of the province's emerging industries. By late June, the province had secured 750 AI investment projects with a total  investment of 195.775 billion yuan, marking a 47.93% year-on-year increase, along with 427 signed projects worth 96.381 billion yuan.  

Today's success stems from yesterday's vision, and tomorrow's landscape depends on today's planning. Currently, Anhui has established the foundational conditions for a full AI industrial chain—spanning upstream computing hardware, midstream software services, and downstream applications. The province excels in both "cutting-edge breakthroughs" and "grounded industrial transformation." Moving forward, Anhui aims not only to "build AI well" but also to "use AI effectively," empowering industries across the board and boosting productivity with its "brilliant brain."

Source: anhuinews.com