Mentougou, a district in Beijing, has emerged as a significant player in the city's strategy for building a robust AI industry. The Western Beijing AI Valley established in the district is providing substantial and reliable computing power resources crucial for AI advancement.

Facilitating AI model training

Science and Technology Daily reporters visited the Western Beijing AI Valley to see how the Huawei Ascend series of computing power cluster is supporting AI development.

"This is Beijing's first self-innovated AI computing power cluster. A super cluster with immense computing capabilities, it serves as a training base for industry-level AI models," said Yan Xinyu, executive deputy general manager of Beijing Ascend Innovative AI Co.

The power cluster facilitated the recent launch of a model tuning workshop in the AI valley to help traditional enterprises upgrade in efficiency and intelligent operation.

Given the rapid evolution of AI, especially in large model technologies, there is a growing demand across various sectors for digital transformation. However, many traditional businesses and research institutions are limited by their lack of adequate computing power and data. The model tuning workshop addresses this gap.

"For research institutions and traditional enterprises, we can swiftly integrate resources from the workshop to identify the most suitable large model for their needs and provide targeted solutions alongside efficient professional tuning services," Yan added.

Fostering a thriving talent ecosystem

The Western Beijing AI Valley is drawing young talents through various initiatives and support policies.

In 2023, Mentougou announced dedicated talent policies for AI algorithm specialists, a first in Beijing, to enhance entrepreneurship, computing power support, algorithm trading, and funding security.

The "Yongding Card" introduced by Mentougou offers various services, including healthcare, transportation, housing and leisure activities, to create a thriving talent development environment and strengthen talent retention.

Han Yu has been working as a product manager at Metabrain AGI (Beijing) Information Technology Co. for two years. He said, "The environment is great, the facilities are comprehensive, and the computing resources enable significant research outputs."

Han's company has collaborated with the local emergency management bureau to develop an emergency large model applicable in various scenarios, including fire prevention and flood relief.

As Mentougou enhances its business environment and industry ecology, various other large AI model applications have emerged, including the multi-modal large model Awaker, traditional Chinese moxibustion robots, and a campus intelligent service platform.