About
WAIC is China’s flagship AI conference and the world’s most influential AI platform, bringing together 800+ companies, 1,200+ global experts, and 300,000+ attendees in Shanghai.
Past speakers at WAIC have included AI luminaries including "Godfather of AI" Geoffrey Hinton, Eric Schmidt (Alphabet), Li Qiang (Premier of the People’s Republic of China), Yan Junjie (MiniMax), Yann LeCun (AMI Labs, Meta), Elon Musk (Tesla, SpaceX), Jack Ma (Alibaba Group, Yunfeng Capital) and Pony Ma (Tencent).
Through the WAIC FUTURE TECH Pitching Competition, top AI companies will win a fully sponsored immersion program to WAIC 2026, happening in Shanghai in July.
Winner Benefits
Fully-sponsored Trip to Shanghai
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International flights, hotel accommodation, local transport
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Conference tickets and participation in WAIC FUTURE TECH Conference
Amplified Presence at WAIC 2026
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6 sqm booth in the Innovation Zone - direct exposure to 300,000+ in-person attendees & 2 billion+ global online impressions
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One-on-one access to the FUTURE TECH Investor Alliance
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Priority nomination for the SAIL Award (The most prestigious AI Award in China)
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Potential media exposure through China news channels and WAIC official channels
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Join enterprise meetings with local industry partners
AI Immersion and
Site Visits
Visits to various high-tech industrial parks:
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Model Speed Space (Xuhui): Integration with the LLM/MaaS ecosystem and local unicorns
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Robot Valley (Zhangjiang): Exploring robotics, embodied AI, and hardware–software integration
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AI Innovation Port (Lin-gang): Industrial AI, data infrastructure, and enterprise deployment with large corporates (e.g. automotive, manufacturing)
Timeline
1
Deadline for Open Call
1 May 2026
All AI startups are welcome to submit their application to apply to the pitching competition from now till the deadline in April.
2
Pitching Competition
7 May 2026
All entries will be evaluated and the top 15 AI companies will be invited to pitch at the competition online.
3
WAIC in Shanghai
July 2026
Winners will be selected to fly to Shanghai to attend WAIC as part of the FUTURE TECH delegation and take part in further activities.
Partners
BROUGHT TO YOU BY
ECOSYSTEM PARTNERS
Who Should Apply
Open to global AI startups at all stages.
Novel Solutions
Demonstrates clear technical innovation or a differentiated AI approach
Real-world Application
Strong potential to solve meaningful, practical problems
Forward-looking Innovation
Represents the next wave of AI with potential for future impact and scale