Jinan draws AI talent with strong industrial support

Eight AI projects have signed agreements at the award ceremony for the AI division finals of the Western Returned Scholars Association (WRSA)'s Fifth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition in Jinan on Oct 27.

The competition initially attracted more than 370 projects from China and abroad after launching in March, with 16 reaching the final.

These projects, which cover edge AI computing chips, safety platforms for Level 5 autonomous driving, high-density, low-power memory chips, and precision semiconductor manufacturing equipment, require computing power, quality data, and opportunities for real-world testing.

Jinan's WRSA returnees town can meet these requirements by bringing together research resources, industrial infrastructure, and services to support project development.

The town hosts six computing centers, including Jinan's National Supercomputer Center, with a combined capacity of 4,842 petaflops, about 44 percent of the city's total. It also has 20 universities, research institutes, and other scientific institutions, alongside four national-level research and innovation platforms.

To support entrepreneurs, the town provides a one-stop service center for returning overseas talent; a dedicated international talent community with 1,500 apartments; and 17 established or jointly developed investment funds, totaling about 5.3 billion yuan ($795.57 million), focused on AI and related fields.

The town is also developing six industrial parks with planned investments totaling about 24.7 billion yuan and has already attracted 170 companies, including 60 AI-related businesses and 11 founded by returning overseas talent.