On September 5, 2018, a Forum on the Tianjin Artificial Intelligence Industrial Chain, undertaken by Tianjin Institute of China Engineering Science and Technology Development Strategy, was held at Tianjin University. More than twenty people attended the event, including Dai Yongkang, Director of the Tianjin Science and Technology Commission, Zu Yanhui, Deputy Director, and Wang Shuxin, Vice President of Tianjin University, along with related staff and leading experts in artificial intelligence.

Zhong Denghua, the President of Tianjin University, met with the guests on the Weijin Road Campus. Zhong Denghua expressed his gratitude to the Tianjin Science and Technology Commission for their vigorous support, saying that he hoped its beneficial effect as a regional think tank could be fully used to optimize the distribution of the Tianjin Artificial Intelligence industrial chain.

Zhou Bin, Senior Researcher of NovuMind NVIDIA, pointed out that, at this stage, lack of a self-developed chip is a big challenge facing our domestic AI industry. Thus, he advocated new self-directed AI research, the research and development of three-dimensional heterostructures and the promotion of next-generation computation. Mou Qilin, Deputy General Manager of the Big Data Research Institute Co. Ltd. of CETC, proposed that authorities should help in collecting big data to support government decision-making and in building platforms to ensure the security of big data at every point. Professor Dai Huadong, Director of the AI Research Center of the Academy of Military Service, said that an AI industrial chain should be developed and founded on innovation, and “trump technology” should be developed.

After hearing suggestions from experts, Wang Shuxin and Dai Yongkang concluded that, while developing the Tianjin artificial industrial chain, it is a necessity to focus on the research and development of an AI chip to break the technology monopoly of Western countries and to support domestic intelligent industries. It was believed that the development of a domestic AI chip will speed up the upgrade of the Tianjin AI industrial chain.