China: Wuhan’s startup community helps AI firms grow together.

Shotlist Wuhan City, Hubei Province, central China - Recent (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland) 1. Various of staff working with computer 2. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Zhang Ao, founder, Lingine Technology Co., Ltd.: "The government not only provides the office to us for free, but also offers financial support, such as interest-free loan. These measures are great encouragement for startups like us." 3. Various of staff discussing 4. Various of staff working with computer 5. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Zhang Ao, founder, Lingine Technology Co., Ltd.: "The biggest advantage to start a company in such an environment is that all the enterprises can help each other and grow together." 6. Various of staff working, discussing 7. Various of screen showing AI learning center 8. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Ye Wanqi, deputy director, AI+ office, Optics Valley: "When the companies of these young generations grow big enough to go beyond here, they will also recruit more employees." 9. Various of staff working, discussing 10. Aerial shot of buildings Storyline Wuhan, the capital city of central China's Hubei Province, has been creating several clusters for entrepreneurs, where startups in AI industry can develop collectively. So far, the industry size of Hubei Province's AI sector has surpassed 160 billion yuan (about 22.5 billion U.S. dollars). Wuhan's Donghu New Technology Development Zone, also known as the Optics Valley, is one of such clusters. AI startup, Lingine Technology Co., Ltd., just moved to this community eight months ago, Not only does its number of employees have increased from two to eight, but also its business scale has expanded to research and development of intelligent devices. "The government not only provides the office to us for free, but also offers financial support, such as interest-free loan. These measures are great encouragement for startups like us," said Zhang Ao, founder of Lingine Technology Co., Ltd. In this community, the neighboring companies are the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain. Back in February, when Zhang's firm encountered an obstacle on agent frame, another startup, just 10 meters away from them, unreservedly provided them with underlying technical support. "The biggest advantage to start a company in such an environment is that all the enterprises can help each other and grow together," Zhang said. "When the companies of these young generations grow big enough to go beyond here, they will also recruit more employees," said Ye Wanqi, deputy director of Optics Valley's AI+ office.