On October 12, during the opening ceremony of the 26th China International Industry Fair, the “Shanghai Initiative to Accelerate Next-Generation Smart Manufacturing Development” was officially launched. The initiative sets forth ambitious goals: by 2028, Shanghai aims to achieve complete smart factory coverage across key manufacturing enterprises. It will drive the extensive integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into smart factories, nurture 500 advanced-level smart factories, and expand AI application scenarios in manufacturing to more than 2,000 instances. Simultaneously, Shanghai will develop 10 vertical domain large-scale AI models, introduce 300 high-caliber intelligent agents, and establish new infrastructure tailored to the needs of next-generation smart manufacturing. Furthermore, the city plans to elevate the density of industrial robots to 600 units per 10,000 workers, facilitate the integration of 8,000 humanoid robots into factory settings, scale up the new AI-driven smart manufacturing equipment industry to exceed RMB 200 billion, and propel the smart manufacturing system integration industry to reach RMB 100 billion.