Original Title: Notice of the General Office of the People’s Government of Guangdong Province on Issuing Several Policy Measures to Promote the Innovative Development of the Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Industries in Guangdong Province
To thoroughly implement the national strategic decisions on the development of the artificial intelligence and robotics industries, and in accordance with the Provincial Party Committee’s “1310” specific deployment, these policy measures are formulated with the aim of building a new pillar industry characterized by high technology, high growth, and large scale, and establishing a global hub for innovation in the artificial intelligence and robotics industries.
I. Support for Research and Development of Key Core Technologies. Support enterprises, universities, research institutes, and other innovation entities in conducting joint research and development efforts. Establish industrial innovation alliances covering the entire upstream and downstream of the artificial intelligence and robotics industry chain to accelerate the construction of a comprehensive innovation chain. Organize and implement flagship projects and major special programs under the provincial R&D plan for key fields, such as “Next-Generation Artificial Intelligence” and “Intelligent Robotics,” and deploy a series of research and development tasks in the fields of artificial intelligence and robotics.For key projects in the AI and robotics sector under national major science and technology special projects that meet provincial matching criteria, the provincial government will provide matching rewards in accordance with regulations. For individual projects where the provincial matching amount exceeds 100 million yuan (inclusive), support will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Establish manufacturing innovation centers in the AI and robotics sector; for eligible national-level and provincial-level manufacturing innovation centers, the provincial government will provide financial support of up to 50 million yuan and 10 million yuan, respectively, in accordance with regulations.
II. Cultivating High-Quality Enterprises. Support enterprises in integrating resources across the artificial intelligence and robotics industrial and innovation chains to promote clustered development and comprehensively enhance the collaborative innovation capabilities of the industrial chain. Establish a tiered enterprise cultivation system in the artificial intelligence and robotics sector, with “single-champion” enterprises and specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative SMEs serving as the backbone.For enterprises in this sector that are recognized as national-level “single-champion” enterprises or “Specialized, Refined, Unique, and Innovative” (SRUI) “Little Giant” enterprises, in addition to implementing provincial support policies, we will strengthen coordination between provincial and municipal levels. We encourage municipal governments to provide rewards, and the provincial government will further match these municipal rewards on a 1:1 basis to incentivize municipal participation. The total reward for national-level “single-champion” enterprises shall not exceed 3 million yuan, and the total reward for national-level SRUI “Little Giant” enterprises shall not exceed 2 million yuan.
III. Creating Application Scenarios. Establish a provincial-level cross-departmental coordination mechanism to clarify responsibilities for “managing industries and AI applications.” Implement the “AI+” initiative to broadly expand applications in education, healthcare, transportation, civil affairs, finance, and security. Organize and carry out the “Robotics+” initiative to deeply explore and open application scenarios in industries such as manufacturing, agriculture, urban management, healthcare, elderly care services, and specialized operations. Encourage local cities to identify and open various application scenarios and attract enterprises to create a series of exemplary cases.
IV. Promote Industrial Clustering and Development. Relying on key industrial clusters, conduct pilot programs for AI-enabled new industrialization. Provide support for the research and development of large-scale models and application solutions in the industrial sector. Each year, select and support no more than 10 exemplary cases, awarding each a maximum of 8 million yuan to drive the intelligent transformation of manufacturing enterprises. Leverage the role of various industry organizations, such as AI and robotics innovation alliances and associations, to facilitate rapid integration of the industrial chain. Utilize the strengths of universities and research institutes to promote the industrialization of innovative achievements.
V. Support Key Project Development. Coordinate provincial and municipal resources to establish a “green channel” for key AI and robotics projects across the province. Accelerate approvals for project land use, environmental impact assessments, energy conservation, and forest land use in accordance with laws and regulations. Implement coordinated provincial and municipal measures to safeguard advanced manufacturing projects with fixed-asset investments of 50 million yuan or more.
VI. Expand the Supply of Data Resources. Build high-quality AI datasets and corpora to develop a range of high-quality data products and services. Support the development of data trading markets and promote the Guangzhou and Shenzhen Data Exchanges in establishing national-level data trading platforms. Support the implementation of the “Data Elements ×” initiative to deepen the application and empowerment of data resources. Support the accelerated cultivation of data enterprises and leverage local strengths to establish a Guangdong Data Element Aggregation and Development Zone.
VII. Improve the open-source innovation ecosystem for artificial intelligence and robotics. Support enterprises, universities, research institutes, and industry associations in collaborating to jointly build open-source communities, open-source ecosystem centers, and related public service platforms in the fields of artificial intelligence and robotics. These platforms will provide services such as technical exchange and sharing, ecosystem promotion and cultivation, computing power scheduling, open industry big data training repositories, standard test datasets, open services for large-scale model evaluation, and testing and verification.Each year, up to five eligible open-source communities and open-source ecosystem centers will be selected for support, with funding of up to 8 million yuan provided, not exceeding 30% of their audited operating expenses from the previous year.
VIII. Attracting and Cultivating High-Level Leading Talent. Focusing on the development needs and key tasks of the artificial intelligence and robotics industries, support enterprises in attracting and cultivating a group of innovative leading talents and outstanding young talents who possess outstanding technological innovation capabilities and are adept at solving complex engineering and technical problems. Support universities in developing high-level disciplines in the fields of artificial intelligence and robotics, further strengthen efforts to independently cultivate talent, and accelerate the building of a large pool of talent for the artificial intelligence and robotics industries. Encourage relevant cities and prefectures to introduce special policies for talent in the artificial intelligence and robotics industries.
IX. Strengthening Industrial Investment and Financing. An artificial intelligence and robotics industry fund will be established within the provincial industrial development investment fund cluster. In collaboration with relevant cities and prefectures, we will guide social capital to focus on key core areas of the artificial intelligence and robotics industrial chain, prioritizing early-stage, small-scale, long-term, and hard-tech investments. We will innovate fund management mechanisms and strengthen a fault-tolerance mechanism centered on due diligence and compliance liability exemptions.Guide banks and other financial institutions to provide full-lifecycle financial services to AI and robotics enterprises, diversify the supply of financial products, and increase policy support for interest subsidies and risk compensation on loans for AI and robotics.
X. Promote the development of a standards system. For enterprises and research institutes that take the lead in formulating international, national, and industry standards related to the AI and robotics industry, provide funding of up to 500,000 yuan, 300,000 yuan, and 150,000 yuan per standard, respectively; for those serving as secretariats for technical committees of international standardization organizations, as well as national and Guangdong provincial specialized standardization technical committees, provide funding of up to 1,000,000 yuan, 300,000 yuan, and 100,000 yuan per committee, respectively.
XI. Building High-End Exchange Platforms. Organize the “Mass Innovation Cup” AI and Robotics Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, and establish specialized AI and robotics categories within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Doctoral and Postdoctoral Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, the “Maker China” SME Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition (also known as the “Maker Guangdong” Competition), and the “Better and Better” International Design Competition. Support prefectures and cities in organizing internationally influential academic conferences, exchange activities, and innovation and entrepreneurship competitions focused on the high-quality development of AI and robotics.
XII. Establish an Inclusive and Prudent Regulatory Mechanism. Explore innovative regulatory models such as “regulatory sandboxes” for AI and robotics to foster an institutional environment that encourages innovation and bold experimentation.Increase financial support for soft research projects in the fields of artificial intelligence and robotics. Improve the development and management mechanisms for generative artificial intelligence, and accelerate the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Joint Laboratory for the Safe Development of Generative Artificial Intelligence. Support the construction of testing and certification platforms related to the safety of artificial intelligence and robotics, and provide assessment and certification services regarding safety risks, ethics, and other aspects. Accelerate legislative efforts in the fields of artificial intelligence and robotics to provide institutional safeguards for the development of the artificial intelligence and robotics industries.
These policy measures shall remain in effect until December 31, 2027.
