A power inspection box identifies potential hazards at a substation in milliseconds, while a domestically produced neural network chip performs inference on the terminal side… On August 4th and 5th, the finals of the 2026 “Shanghai Silicon Alley” Edge-Side AI Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition were held in Changning.

The competition attracted nearly 100 projects, with 30 projects making it to the finals to discuss “how AI can run in the closest places to the end users".“Edge-side AI means that AI capabilities no longer rely on the cloud, but are deployed at local devices. Compared to the general track, the significance of this professional competition lies in breaking down the problems into more specific areas,” according to an official with the district science and technology commission, the competition set up enterprise tracks and team tracks, attracting participating projects focusing on integrated circuits, edge AI large models, embodied intelligence, and other directions, covering chips, frameworks, hardware, and applications.The final invited heads of investment and financing institutions, university experts, and professionals from the Shanghai Artificial Intelligence Research Institute to serve as judges. The projects that advanced in the final roadshow competed on their core technologies, product maturity, and ability to be implemented in various scenarios.

"A notable characteristic of the participating projects is the high proportion of 'hardware and software integration'," an official with the district science and technology commission stated.The enterprise track includes both hard technologies geared towards industry, such as Nanchang Hualiang Optoelectronics' "Intelligent Radiation Detection and Imaging Equipment" and Inceptio Technology's "L4 Intelligent Driving Light Truck Mass Production and Commercialization".The latest projects also include innovative applications that are closer to everyday life, such as GGAI's "Industrial-Grade Computing Power AI Financial Workstation" and Shenzhen Hezhu Technology's "Digital Labor Market Roundtable Solution." The team track, on the other hand, focuses more on early-stage projects targeting rising demands in the next 2 to 3 years, such as OpenTako's "Edge-Side Computing Power Engine," Harbin Institute of Technology professor's team's "Modular Intelligent Robot Platform," Cabinet Digital Library's "Medical Electronic Nose," and Guanyi AI's "Liquid Rocket Engine AI Controller."

Beijing Santing Technology Co Ltd's "Low-Altitude Guardian," a multimodal sensing system for low-altitude aircraft based on acoustic phased arrays, targets low-altitude security scenarios. The team leader stated, "This system can perform real-time fusion and recognition of acoustic signals in outdoor environments with weak network coverage, ensuring stable and reliable operation of the equipment in low-altitude scenarios."

"The project we brought is a 'Lightweight Edge-Driven AI-Driven Integrated Power Active Operation and Maintenance System'. The core is to push the entire set of model's perception, reasoning, and execution capabilities to the edge, without over-relying on the cloud, and directly complete identification and early warning locally," said a representative from Changzhou Zhongneng Power Technology Co Ltd.

Edge AI spans algorithms, chips, systems, and applications. Many teams write models and build complete systems at the same time. Early-stage projects, in particular, need to be identified, screened, and further incubated on professional platforms. Currently, Changning District is leveraging platforms such as "Shanghai Silicon Alley" and municipal and district-level innovation platforms to provide these high-tech teams with space and resources from proof-of-concept to pilot-scale amplification. This professional competition has established a complete supportive and empowerment system.

"The competition goes beyond mere technology demonstrations; it asks more specific questions: Where are the customers? How will orders come in? Can costs be reduced? How will the verification process be completed?" said an official from the district's science and technology commission.Projects winning first, second, and third prizes in the finals will directly advance to the 2026 "Start-up In Shanghai" International Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition at the municipal level and will be given priority recommendations to hundreds of leading investment institutions.Enterprises or teams meeting certain conditions can also receive priority cooperation opportunities with leading companies in the industry, as well as innovation funding from both the municipal and district levels, and district-level housing subsidies and residency qualifications for outstanding talents.

This competition was guided by the organizing committee of the"Start-up In Shanghai" International Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition and co-organized by the Changning District Science and Technology Commission and Shanghai Hongqiao Zhiyu Technology Development Co Ltd.Although the competition has concluded, a new journey of technological industrialization has just begun. Starting from the competition, 30 projects connected chips, algorithms, and terminals, integrating the industrial layout of "Digital Changning" into specific scenarios, cultivating new productivity in the edge intelligence track, and continuously strengthening the science and technology innovation ecosystem of "Shanghai Silicon Alley".