Shenzhen Unveils Comprehensive AI Action Plan to Revolutionize Advanced Manufacturing by 2027

Good news has just arrived! Shenzhen has made a significant announcement! On February 12, the Shenzhen Municipal Bureau of Industry and Information Technology released the “Artificial Intelligence +” Advanced Manufacturing Action Plan (2026-2027). This plan outlines 13 specific measures across three main areas: developing key support platforms, empowering key industry clusters, and strengthening work guarantees. The aim is to seize the historical opportunity of the intersection between intelligence and industrialization, accelerating the deep integration of artificial intelligence technology with all aspects of the manufacturing process.

The Action Plan emphasizes promoting the application of artificial intelligence technology in critical areas of the semiconductor industry chain, utilizing AI to optimize efficiency in chip design, software coding, and more. By focusing on AI chips, the plan aims to strengthen the semiconductor industry, targeting the demands for AI phones, AI glasses, intelligent robots, and other AI terminal products. It plans to develop high-performance, energy-efficient specialized SoC (System on Chip) main control chips that support new architectural processors, such as storage-compute integration and in-memory computing.

According to the announcement, by 2027, the “Artificial Intelligence +” advanced manufacturing sector aims to establish a national AI application pilot base (focusing on consumer mobile terminals), create an industrial intelligence innovation center, form an industrial knowledge alliance, open hundreds of application scenarios, and develop numerous vertical industry models and industrial intelligent bodies. The goal is to promote the revitalization of traditional industries and accelerate the leap of emerging industries, thereby supporting the advancement of new industrialization.

In the area of building key support platforms, the Action Plan specifies the creation of an industrial intelligence innovation center. It aims to expedite the construction of provincial-level industrial intelligence innovation centers and strive for the establishment of national-level manufacturing innovation centers. Focusing on the demand for “digital employees” in industrial scenarios, it supports the development of industrial intelligences that possess environmental perception, autonomous decision-making, and dynamic adaptability. The plan emphasizes R&D in design, manufacturing, and supply chain management, bringing together high-level developers of intelligent applications and establishing a platform for supply and demand matching in industrial intelligence.

The Action Plan also highlights the development of industrial software and the industrial knowledge alliance. It supports companies in transforming industrial knowledge and industry experience into standardized models, focusing on the development of large models for key industrial software such as operating systems, CAD, CAE, and EDA. The plan encourages the industrialization of key scenario big models and aims to create leading autonomous industrial software products. It also addresses the trend of miniaturization in industrial big models, supporting the use of techniques like pruning, quantization, and distillation to develop lightweight, scenario-specific industrial small models, enabling low-latency decision-making and widespread deployment.

In empowering key industry clusters, the Action Plan focuses on the role of artificial intelligence in the semiconductor and integrated circuit sectors. It promotes the application of AI technology in critical areas of the semiconductor industry chain, aiming to enhance efficiency in chip design and software coding. The plan targets the AI chip sector to strengthen the semiconductor industry, developing high-performance, energy-efficient SoC chips tailored for AI phones, AI glasses, and intelligent robots. It also supports the domestic replacement of high-end automotive-grade AI chips, intelligent cockpit SoC chips, domain controller MCUs, and central domain control SoC/MPU chips, especially in the trillion-dollar market for new energy vehicles.

The Action Plan outlines the empowering of robots through artificial intelligence. It supports the research and development of multi-modal interaction technologies, such as world models and visual-touch-language-action (VTLA), to construct a large model of embodied intelligence with interactive, predictive, and decision-making capabilities. This initiative aims to enhance the autonomous learning capacity and support efficient processing of cross-scenario tasks. It encourages the establishment of test fields for embodied intelligence technologies, focusing on industrial manufacturing applications like welding, assembly, coating, and logistics, thereby improving smart operations in hazardous and challenging environments.

Additionally, the Action Plan addresses the low-altitude economy by establishing a framework for the autonomous evolution of drones. It proposes creating an intelligent simulation platform and a low-altitude digital twin system that deeply integrates AI technology to enhance the capabilities of drones in perception and decision-making. This initiative aims to develop an “air wisdom road system” to support intelligent design and planning in airspace, enhancing the efficiency of low-altitude resource scheduling and collaborative operations across various applications.

In the realm of electronic information manufacturing, the Action Plan emphasizes the leading role of major enterprises, encouraging collaboration across the industrial chain to explore potential application scenarios. It supports deep applications of AI in core processes such as product design, quality inspection, and data analysis, aiming to establish benchmark demonstration projects. The plan also focuses on the innovation and upgrade of terminal products, supporting the R&D of key products like AI phones, AI glasses, and smart displays, thereby driving technological iterations and nurturing new industry growth points.

When it comes to pharmaceuticals and medical devices, the Action Plan calls for expedited innovation in drug development, gene therapy, and precision medical services. It promotes the application of AI technology in key processes related to drug discovery and design, supporting the establishment of major platforms for AI drug development and enhancing the integration of AI and biotechnology. It emphasizes collaboration among model enterprises and high-end medical device companies to foster innovation in medical equipment and key components, facilitating the development of high-end and intelligent medical devices and creating benchmark applications in the field.