Profile on the AI accelerator Xi Jinping visited in Shanghai - it was built in 38 days. #AbundanceAgenda On the morning of April 29, General Secretary Xi Jinping visited the “Model Speed Space” (模速空间), a large-model AI innovation ecosystem community located in Xuhui District, Shanghai. What kind of “space” is Model Speed Space? Strategic Significance In September 2023, China’s first dedicated incubation and acceleration platform for large AI models—the Shanghai Model Speed Space Innovation Ecosystem Community—was inaugurated in Xuhui Riverside. Its goal is to build five core public service platforms: open data, testing and evaluation, computing resource scheduling, financing services, and integrated services. Phase one of the community, covering 10,000 square meters, was launched immediately after the opening ceremony and welcomed nearly 20 large-model AI enterprises. The entire project is planned to cover 100,000 square meters. Remarkably, the construction of Model Speed Space took just 38 days. In August 2023, leveraging the spillover effects of the World Artificial Intelligence Conference, which hosts a sub-forum annually in West Bund, the Shanghai municipal and Xuhui district governments collaborated to choose a prime riverside location in West Bund Media Port for developers and talent. Starting from bare concrete, construction teams transformed 13,000 square meters of space into a high-quality, plug-and-play industrial hub for developers in just over a month. But more urgent than building physical space was enabling its functional capacity. With the AI industry evolving rapidly, Model Speed Space focused on solving the most pressing challenges facing large-model innovation enterprises. Based on its comprehensive service platforms, Model Speed Space is now deepening its evaluation, overseas expansion, and other value-added services. Innovative Approach Model Speed Space also enhances its service capability through an innovative paradigm: each resident company receives dedicated 1-on-1 lifecycle support, including policy guidance and targeted resource matchmaking. Over the past year, it has assisted nearly 100 companies in applying for city- and district-level industrial policies, with application funding exceeding 100 million RMB. Additionally, it appointed 12 leading large-model experts to mentor resident companies in R&D, venture capital, and entrepreneurship—nurturing a wave of potential unicorns. A few numbers illustrate the space’s broader impact on Shanghai’s AI sector: As of the end of last year, 255 large-model enterprises had settled in the area. 34 large-model filings were successfully completed. More than 1.3 billion RMB in computing subsidies (overlapping city and district policies) were granted. Over 180 TB of open-source corpus has been released, with a 2000+ TB data resource system under development. Over 100 AI companies have received funding from national and municipal AI funds, as well as direct and indirect investments from Xuhui Capital. More than 100 financial institutions have now established offices in the area, highlighting Model Speed Space’s growing capital magnetism. Global Relevance Looking back at its first year of development: At launch, over 20 companies moved in. Within 100 days, that number surpassed 50. After 500 days, it had grown to 255. Today, over 100 large-model companies operate directly from the site, catalyzing over 200 surrounding AI enterprises and more than 100 investment institutions. Recently, a returned overseas developer interviewed in the space’s communal lounge shared that thanks to initiatives like Model Speed Space, "Shanghai is now globally recognized as China’s most AI-focused city." In late February, the 2025 Global Developers Pioneer Conference was successfully held at the site. During the event, Model Speed Space announced its next goal: to become “the world’s largest AI incubator.” In January, Shanghai had already unveiled five public service platforms under the “Modeling Shanghai” initiative, covering intelligent computing, corpus, large-model evaluation and validation, young scientist development, and financing—each one deeply linked with Model Speed Space. Prior to that, in October 2023, Shanghai’s Pilot Zone for Generative AI Innovation was also inaugurated within Model Speed Space. Why is it called “Model Speed”? After nearly 19 months of refinement, Model Speed Space is shaping a “dual-cycle ecosystem” for the large-model AI industry. Internally, it addresses practical challenges in AI deployment by encouraging cooperation among upstream (infrastructure), midstream (model building), and downstream (applications) enterprises—creating a vertically integrated flywheel model where “a change of floor means a new partner in the value chain.” Externally, it connects with academia, enterprises, and capital, organizing nearly 100 matchmaking events to help resident startups validate business models and expand commercially—supported by favorable policy and an integrated innovation ecosystem. A National Innovation Hub Model Speed Space is surrounded by seven major tech innovation clusters in Xuhui Riverside, each over one million square meters. These include: UNESCO Category I Center China-BRICS AI Development and Cooperation Center Open Atom Foundation It also houses national research anchors like: Shanghai AI Lab China Telecom AI Research Institute Tech giants such as Alibaba, Tencent, NetEase, and AI leaders like SenseTime, StepFun, and Xiyu Technology are also present, alongside industry giants like CCTV, BMW, Polestar, and Zeekr—together forming a powerful innovation matrix. As of February 2025, 60,000 square meters of Model Speed Space have been completed, with Phase 5 currently under rapid development. The Road Ahead To fulfill its ambition of becoming “the world’s largest AI incubator,” Model Speed Space is exploring a “standalone operations + co-incubation” model and launching the “Model Speed Partner Program.” The initiative supports: Dedicated zones for foundational models University innovation hubs AI innovation centers led by major tech firms It is building: A computing resource platform with 9 partners, over 50,000 GPU cards, and 30 EFLOPS of planned compute power An open data platform via Shanghai AI Lab’s OpenDatalab and KoopaTech, planning to offer 2000 TB of high-quality data in 2025 A financial services platform that hosts 52 investment institutions and over 100 billion RMB in combined national, municipal, and district AI funds A compliance guidance platform, home to Shanghai’s first offline service center for large-model regulatory advice