Microsoft Opens Immense AI and IoT Lab in Shanghai

AI and IoT are set to boom in the Mainland, and from the looks of things, Microsoft will be in the thick of it.

According to Xinhua, Washington-based tech giant Microsoft has opened its fourth – and largest – AI & IoT Insider Lab in Shanghai. The lab is located in a 2,800 square meter building in the Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park, and will purportedly provide “all-around support,” from hardware and software to cloud and Microsoft ecosystem access, to enterprises housed within the lab.

30 Chinese and foreign businesses have been selected to join the lab from a pool of roughly 300 applicants. This first batch of “enterprises of empowerment” include local startups and multinational corporations.

“The combination and application of AI and Internet of Things technologies are becoming the latest trends leading global digital transformation,” Alain Crozier, Microsoft corporate vice president, chairman and CEO of Greater China Region, said at a launch ceremony held Wednesday.

“A survey indicates that global Internet of Things business will exceed 255 billion U.S. dollars in 2022, and China will occupy nearly a quarter of it, which means a market with huge potentials,” he said, adding that the lab aims to help enterprises “win market opportunities brought by the technology innovations.”

Photo: Raimond Spekking