Skip to content
Prospector
Get a free sampleReviews
Blog

WAIC Shanghai Guide: AI Conference, Tickets and Attendees

By Ilyas Kerbal,

Speaker giving a keynote on stage at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference 2025 in Shanghai
Photo: Emmanuel.goffi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) is where China shows the world its AI industry. Tech giants launch products, startups pitch investors, ministers make policy statements, and more than a thousand companies fill the exhibition halls. If you sell to AI companies, or sell AI to enterprises, WAIC is the event where your buyers are concentrated in one city for four days.

This guide explains how WAIC worked in 2026 so you can plan for the next July edition, where it takes place, how tickets work, who attends, and how to turn it into a pipeline instead of a sightseeing trip.

WAIC at a glance
Industry AI
City Shanghai, China
Venue Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Center + Expo Centre (main), Zhangjiang Science Hall and West Bund venues
Dates July, 2026: 17–20 Jul
Frequency Annual
Moves between cities? No, always Shanghai (multi-venue)
Typical scale ~300,000 attendees · ~800 exhibitors
Visitor ticket ≈ RMB 400 full-period pass (2026)
App / platform Hi WAIC (official app)
Official website worldaic.com.cn

Details checked in October 2026. Dates, prices and venues can change between editions, so confirm on the official WAIC website before you book travel.

What is WAIC?

WAIC is co-hosted by national ministries and the Shanghai Municipal Government and has been held every year since 2018. The 2026 edition combined:

  • An exhibition of 100,000+ m² with 1,100+ exhibitors and 3,000+ exhibits
  • More than 140 themed forums
  • The SAIL award
  • A high-level governance meeting that has become China’s main stage for AI policy
  • Startup and investor programmes under WAIC Future Tech
  • 172 buyer delegations

Huawei, Alibaba, Baidu, Tencent, SenseTime, robotics firms, chip companies and hundreds of startups launch products here. The 2026 edition promised more than 300 global debuts.

Industrial robot arm demonstrated at a technology exhibition

Robotics and embodied AI take up a growing share of WAIC’s exhibition halls. Photo: Humanrobo, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Dates and venues

WAIC is held every July. The 2026 edition ran from 17 to 20 July in Shanghai. It is a multi-venue event:

  • Main exhibition: Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Center and the Expo Centre in Pudong
  • Satellite venues: Zhangjiang Science Hall and the West Bund International Convention & Exhibition Center
  • City-wide: the “WAIC City Walk”

One visitor ticket covers all three areas. The city never changes, but moving between venues takes time, and Shanghai in July is hot, so plan your days by area.

Who attends WAIC

Attendance runs to about 300,000 people, including public open days.

Audience What they want Who should target them
Executives from Chinese and international tech companies Partners, suppliers, market signals Cloud, data, chip and tooling vendors
AI researchers and university labs Compute, datasets, collaboration Hardware and infrastructure providers
Investors and VC firms Deal flow Startups, advisory firms
Government officials and policymakers Policy dialogue, local investment Investment promotion, consulting
Enterprise buyers and 170+ buyer delegations AI solutions for their industries AI application vendors, integrators
Startups and developers Customers, funding, talent Developer tools, accelerators

Skip the badge-scanning lottery. I can deliver the WAIC exhibitor and attendee list, enriched with job titles, company data and LinkedIn URLs, so your team books meetings weeks ahead instead of hoping for walk-ins. Request the WAIC list

Tickets

Visitor tickets are sold through the official Hi WAIC app. A full-event pass was listed at about RMB 400 for 2026 on the authorised ticketing partner. One ticket covers every venue area. Forum seats, VIP access and media accreditation are handled separately, by invitation or application.

The Hi WAIC app

The Hi WAIC app (iOS and Android) handles tickets, registration, agendas and venue maps, and WAIC streams many forums online. It is fine for finding a session. It is not built for finding the 40 companies you need to meet and getting their decision-makers into a spreadsheet. With more than a thousand exhibitors, multiple venues and mostly Chinese-language content, a pre-built list saves a lot of time.

Pros and cons of WAIC

Pros

  • The best window into China’s AI ecosystem and roadmap
  • Mass product launches with strong media and analyst coverage
  • Senior government and corporate speakers
  • Startup and investor matchmaking
  • One ticket for all venues

Cons

  • Public attendance makes halls crowded and conversations harder
  • Lots of travel between venues
  • Forums are mostly in Chinese
  • Export controls and geopolitics limit some US participation
  • July heat in Shanghai

One file, ready for HubSpot, Salesforce or Pipedrive. That’s what you get when you order the WAIC attendee and exhibitor list from me. Order it here

Getting real meetings out of WAIC

  1. Choose your venue cluster. Decide whether your buyers are in the main expo halls, at Zhangjiang or at West Bund, and plan your days around that.
  2. Target the buyer delegations. With 170+ delegations, they are often the most purchase-ready people at the event.
  3. Avoid public days for serious meetings, or book quiet rooms nearby.
  4. Prepare a Chinese one-pager. Many conversations start or continue on WeChat.
  5. Book meetings two to four weeks out with exhibitors and speakers from your target list.
  6. Follow up after the launches settle. Executives are busy during launch week; the week after is often better.

FAQ

When was WAIC 2026?

WAIC 2026 took place from 17 to 20 July in Shanghai, across the Expo area, Zhangjiang and West Bund.

How do I buy WAIC tickets?

Through the Hi WAIC app. A full-event pass was listed at about RMB 400 for 2026.

Is WAIC open to the public?

Yes, there are public open days, which is why the halls get very crowded.

Can I get the WAIC exhibitor and attendee list?

The app shows exhibitors and agendas but doesn’t provide a usable export. I can compile an enriched list of exhibitors, speakers and attendee profiles before the event.

Get the WAIC attendee list before the show

Exhibiting or just walking the halls, the companies you want to meet at WAIC are already registered. I can find them, enrich them with titles, company data and LinkedIn profiles, and deliver a file your team can work from straight away.

Contact me to get started

Sources

Photo credits