East China's Anhui to boost artificial intelligence innovations

HEFEI -- East China's Anhui province has released a three-year action plan, aiming to build itself into an innovation "highland" of the general artificial intelligence (AI) technology industry, said local authorities on Thursday.

The plan focuses on building intelligent computing platforms, promoting the opening up of data resources, developing large models, introducing more application scenarios and attracting more AI enterprises, according to information revealed at a press conference held by the provincial government information office.

By 2025, Anhui's total intelligent computing power is expected to hit 14,000P (Peta) and its data scale of key industries including education, health care and automobiles will reach 500 TB, according to the plan.

Meanwhile, a total of 200 AI-based application scenarios will be formed and first applied in 18 key areas like the new energy vehicle sector by 2025, said Wu Jinsong, an official from the provincial department of science and technology.

Currently, the province's intelligent computing power exceeds 5,000P. Last year alone, 818 projects related to the AI industry were launched in the province, with a total investment of around 600 billion yuan (about $83.6 billion), Wu added.

Anhui has also established an investment fund for its AI industry, with an initial scale of 6 billion yuan, which is expected to reach over 20 billion yuan in the coming five years, aiming to provide necessary financial support for AI projects.