Inside WAIC 2026: A Massive 4,500-Product Push for AGI

Industry leaders and tech pioneers gathered in Shanghai today as the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC 2026) and the High-Level Meeting on Global AI Governance officially opened.

The four-day event features a staggering 4,489 exhibits, including 349 global and Chinese debuts. Among the highlights driving China's booming AI ecosystem are 108 specialized chips, over 300 advanced robots and 261 large language models.

Speaking at the WAIC Main Forum, Yin Qi, chairman of the Shanghai-based AI firm StepFun, predicted that model capabilities will cross a "critical threshold" by the end of this year, bringing the industry significantly closer to artificial general intelligence (AGI), a theoretical type of AI that can match or exceed human intelligence.

Yin also emphasized that AI agents are increasingly breaking out of digital screens and integrating into next-generation physical devices. Embodying this trend, StepFun hosted the global debut of its STEPX Neo, heralded as the world's first native AI smartphone.

Meanwhile, Kai-Fu Lee, founder of 01.AI and a former executive at Google and Microsoft, urged the industry to pivot toward high-stakes AI application. Speaking from the 01.AI booth, Lee challenged the current consumer-centric focus.

"Does it really make sense to just use AI for basic customer service or fortune-telling?" he questioned. "We need to put it in the most crucial role within an enterprise – helping the CEO make critical, strategic decisions to drive massive value."

Consumer AI technologies also took center stage at the conference, ranging from smart glasses to companion robots and AI models designed for daily life.

During another WAIC forum, Lenovo Vice President Chen Minyi declared the ongoing FIFA 2026 tournament as the first true "AI World Cup." She noted that the World Cup has evolved far beyond a sporting event, becoming a massive real-world testing ground for advanced AI.

Lenovo's FIFA AI Pro agent can access millions of real-time data points and analyze over 2,000 football match metrics. It compresses post-match analysis – a task that previously took analysts two days – into less than two hours.

Additionally, Chen revealed that Lenovo's referee-perspective AI video enhancement system has been officially adopted this year to assist with live broadcasts and clarify officiating decisions.

Meanwhile, Shanghai-based AI firm Intsig showcased several consumer-related apps. Its standout WAIC exhibits featured advanced reflection-removal technology and a multimodal AIGC (AI generated content) detection system designed to combat AI frauds.

To demonstrate these capabilities, Intsig hosted an on-site "AI Forgery Detection Challenge." Visitors were invited to guess whether payment screenshots, social media profile pictures, pet videos and news clips were genuine or AI-generated.

The interactive experience vividly demonstrated how easily subtle digital manipulations can evade human judgment – and how advanced AI can provide the evidence-based verification needed to stop them.