From March 30th to 31st, 2024, the Second Youth Forum on Frontiers of Science and Technology Policy was held in Shanghai. Hosted by the China Association for Science of Science and S&T Policy, the forum focused on "Digital Innovation, Artificial Intelligence, and Intellectual Property Rights." Over 30 experts and scholars from renowned universities, research institutions, and corporate entities across the country were invited to discuss topics such as application models of the digital economy in specific fields and technological innovations in the digital economy era. Xia Quan, Vice President of Qualcomm Global, was invited to attend and delivered a speech titled "Empowering the Digital Future with 5G + AI Technological Innovation."
Xia believes that digital transformation is one of the most important development trends in recent years. In this context, the interactive development and mutual promotion of 5G and AI technologies are changing many industries, accelerating the development of the digital economy, and altering the way people experience the world, thus creating a better future. Specifically, 5G and AI not only revolutionize user experiences on personal terminal devices such as smartphones and personal computers but also bring tremendous potential for transformation across various industries such as industrial applications and automotive sectors.
Summer Quan, Vice President of Qualcomm, delivered a speech at the forum, outlining key trends shaping the next innovation cycle in the global technology landscape. Firstly, he highlighted the revolutionary progress of Generative AI (GenAI), which is advancing in innovation and application at an unprecedented pace. Secondly, connectivity remains a crucial technology for the digital economy, particularly in the AI era, where its significance will be even more pronounced. Qualcomm believes that the next step in AI development, especially in practical applications, will depend on the combination and complementary advantages of edge AI and cloud AI. If technologies like Generative AI can be implemented at the edge and combined with large cloud models, it will bring unprecedented convenience.
Quan stated that Qualcomm is at a crucial intersection driving digital transformation, including mobile connectivity, mobile computing, and other innovative technologies. Qualcomm is committed to providing the most comprehensive and advanced solutions for partners across industries, facilitating global economic interconnection, and creating significant growth opportunities for the global ecosystem. Qualcomm expects to leverage its technological innovation advantage and global resource layout through deep cooperation with the Chinese industry chain, continuing to work with Chinese industry partners to achieve win-win cooperation in the global market and jointly create a bright future for the digital economy.
Below is an excerpt from the speech:
Distinguished leaders and experts,
It's a pleasure to participate in today's forum. Today, I'd like to discuss how to empower the future of the digital economy with 5G+AI, driving a new wave of technological innovation.
Digital transformation is undoubtedly one of the most important trends in recent years. Currently, companies worldwide are accelerating the adoption of digital tools and platforms to maintain competitiveness and collaborate in a rapidly changing business environment. It is estimated that global spending on digital transformation will reach nearly $3.9 trillion by 2027.
From the perspective of technology companies, we are in an exciting period. The interactive development and mutual promotion of 5G and AI technologies are changing many industries, accelerating the development of the digital economy, and changing the way we experience the world, creating a better future.
Globally, several key trends are shaping the next innovation cycle in the global technology landscape.
Last year, Generative AI (GenAI) made revolutionary progress, and we are witnessing its innovation and application advancing at an unprecedented pace. According to McKinsey's research, Generative AI technology can achieve annual overall economic benefits of $2.6 trillion to $4.4 trillion for more than 60 use cases, roughly equivalent to the GDP of the UK in 2021.
Connectivity will remain a key technology for the digital economy, especially in the AI era, where its importance will be even more pronounced. The 5G Advanced being adopted by Chinese operators will enhance the performance and reliability of existing networks and lay the foundation for the next generation of mobile communication technology—6G.
Another industry turning point will be the introduction of next-generation AI PCs. Similar to AI smartphones launched earlier this year, this new type of PC will fundamentally change the application experience of personal computing in communication, productivity, creativity, and entertainment by running AI simultaneously on the edge and in the cloud.
Furthermore, the convergence of physical and digital spaces is accelerating, and we can anticipate virtual reality (VR), mixed reality (MR), and augmented reality (AR) becoming the next computing platform.
The automotive industry is also evolving at an unprecedented pace under the impetus of digital technology proliferation. Software-defined vehicles are at the core of this transformation, providing car manufacturers with significant opportunities to enhance connectivity, improve safety and security, advance towards higher levels of autonomous driving, and create new business models and revenue streams.
Today, China's 5G development plays a crucial role in driving economic growth, innovative applications, and industrial upgrading. By the end of 2023, China had a total of 3.377 million 5G base stations, with 805 million 5G mobile phone users, 2.5 times the global average, and a 5G user penetration rate exceeding 50%. China's network construction leads the world, effectively supporting the scale application of 5G and the innovative development of the digital economy.
Currently, the first phase of 5G technology evolution has been completed, and we have entered the stage of 5G Advanced, which will support more enhanced features such as RedCap for lightweight IoT terminals, enhanced industrial IoT, non-terrestrial networks, etc., promoting 5G into a wider range of industries.
With the revolutionary progress of 5G technology, artificial intelligence technology has seen rapid development in various fields. Today, Generative AI has become a major hotspot in the technology field.
From Qualcomm's perspective, the next step in AI development, especially in practical applications, will depend on the combination and complementary advantages of edge AI and cloud AI. Unlike processing solely in the cloud, edge AI supports more interactive AI applications, with advantages in efficiency, personalization, privacy protection, and cost. For example, an increasing number of users prefer their data to be processed locally rather than uploaded to the cloud. Edge AI can process data on user devices, avoiding the transmission and storage of sensitive data, thereby enhancing the level of privacy protection. Therefore, the importance of edge AI is becoming increasingly prominent.
If technologies like Generative AI can be implemented at the edge and combined with large cloud models, it will bring us unprecedented convenience. This trend will not only drive the continuous upgrade of terminal devices, bringing new growth cycles to the market but also expand the scale of the entire intelligent terminal market, covering multiple fields such as AI PCs, smart cars, etc. The smartphone market holds a massive advantage in terms of scale. Numerous manufacturers are actively promoting the application of generative AI, making smartphones poised to become one of the fastest-growing areas for generative AI development. By February 2023, we could run Stable Diffusion models with 1 billion parameters on smartphones, generating an image from text prompts in just 15 seconds. By the end of 2023, running the same model on terminals equipped with the latest flagship Snapdragon mobile platform could be accomplished in just 0.6 seconds.
The rapid development of terminal-side generative AI capabilities not only accelerates smartphone updates and optimizes the existing market but also presents vast development prospects. Predictive data from market research firms indicate that by 2024, 5% of smartphone shipments will be AI phones, increasing rapidly to 45% by 2027. Currently, companies like Xiaomi, Honor, OPPO, Samsung, among others, have launched flagship devices supporting rich generative AI use cases, allowing users to experience the growing application of generative AI in their daily lives.
As AI technology for PCs evolves and with the arrival of the laptop replacement cycle, the PC market is poised for transformative change. The next generation of PCs will enter a new era characterized by intelligence, connectivity, high performance, efficiency, multimedia, and security, profoundly impacting office productivity and personal privacy. This innovation not only signifies the evolution of the PC market but will also drive the growth of AI PC demand in the coming year, fundamentally altering both enterprise and consumer computing experiences. According to industry forecasts, AI PCs are projected to account for nearly one-fifth of PC shipments in 2024. By 2027, driven by replacement momentum and new local experiences, this proportion is expected to rapidly increase to over 60%. Compared to consumers, enterprises will be more proactive in adopting AI technology, with 60% of AI PC shipments by 2027 applied in commercial fields. In 2023, we introduced the Snapdragon X Elite platform specifically designed for handling AI tasks, capable of running generative AI models with over 13 billion parameters on the terminal side. Additionally, at this year's Mobile World Congress (MWC), we successfully demonstrated the world's first multimodal large model for audio inference running on a Windows PC.
In addition to personal terminal devices such as smartphones and personal computers, Qualcomm also believes that the combination of 5G and AI will bring tremendous transformative potential to various industries. As 5G technology matures and becomes more widespread, combined with the continuous development of AI technology, their integration will greatly drive digital transformation and innovation across various industries. For instance, in the industrial application field, AI+5G will support more flexible and efficient factories, providing key functionalities through machine learning and generative AI. High-performance 5G networks tailored for industrial scenarios can deliver high reliability, low latency, large capacity, scalability, and security. Currently in China, 5G industry applications have been integrated into 71 out of 97 categories of the national economy, with over 94,000 application cases, more than 29,000 5G industry virtual private networks, and over 10,000 "5G + Industrial Internet" projects.
In the automotive field, the entire industry is facing a once-in-a-century transformation characterized by networking, intelligence, sharing, and electrification. Now, all new energy vehicles are pushing various intelligent networking functions when they are launched. The development of advanced driver assistance and autonomous driving technologies will bring people a more efficient, safer, and more comfortable driving experience. At the same time, the practical application of these technologies will change existing service forms and bring new connected business models, such as fleet services and sharing services.
This transformation brings unprecedented development opportunities to the Chinese automotive industry. In 2023, China ranked first globally in terms of automotive exports. In the coming years, China will further become a significant force in the global new energy vehicle industry.
Since its inception, Qualcomm has been focused on mobile computing and wireless connectivity technologies. From 3G to 4G, and now into the 5G era, we have maintained deep cooperation with the global mobile industry chain. We also work closely with the Chinese mobile industry chain to jointly promote industry development.
Over the past 30 years, we have established strong, trusting, and mutually beneficial relationships with Chinese partners. Today, as our technology expands into new industries, Qualcomm is continuously building new partnerships.
For example, in the industrial Internet field, Qualcomm is collaborating with industry partners to promote the implementation of more application scenarios. In 2022, Qualcomm partnered with the China Industrial Internet Research Institute, China Telecom, and Quectel Communications, among other partners, to launch the 5G full-connection factory project at the ThyssenKrupp Elevator Industrial Park in Kunshan, Jiangsu Province. Tailored to the needs of ThyssenKrupp Elevator factories, a 5G technology private network based on Qualcomm solutions was established. In September of last year, this project was recognized as a "Science and Innovation Service Demonstration Case" at the 2023 China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS). In November, this project was included in the "2023 5G Factory Directory" published by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
In the automotive field, since 2021, Qualcomm has collaborated with over 40 Chinese automotive brands to support them in launching more than 100 models based on the Snapdragon digital chassis solution. For example, with the technical support of the Snapdragon digital chassis, Great Wall Motor has successfully upgraded its products to be more intelligent and launched multiple new models in overseas markets, bringing innovative intelligent driving experiences to global consumers. Meanwhile, as generative AI technology flourishes, automotive manufacturers like Xpeng, Li Auto, and NIO have also introduced AI large model capabilities in models based on the fourth-generation Snapdragon cockpit platform. These efforts fully demonstrate the achievements of our collaboration within the ecosystem. According to data from 2022, China's digital economy reached 50.2 trillion CNY, ranking second in the world with its share of GDP rising to 41.5%. The digital economy has become a crucial engine for stable growth and transformation. During this year's Two Sessions, the government work report highlighted the importance of "vigorously promoting the construction of a modern industrial system and accelerating the development of new productive forces," placing it as the top priority among the ten major tasks for 2024, attracting widespread attention from various sectors.
The concept of "new productive forces" driven by technological innovation, particularly in the field of mobile communications where Qualcomm operates, has been a focal point of discussion among representatives and the wider society. We believe that the mobile communication industry, where Qualcomm operates, serves as a robust support for the new productive forces in the digital economy era.
Currently, Qualcomm finds itself at the convergence of several critical technologies driving digital transformation, including mobile connectivity, mobile computing, and other innovative technologies. We remain committed to providing the most comprehensive and advanced solutions for partners across industries, facilitating global economic connectivity, and creating significant growth opportunities for the global ecosystem.
Through deep collaboration with the Chinese industrial chain, we aim to leverage Qualcomm's technological innovation and global resource advantages to continue working hand in hand with Chinese industry partners to achieve win-win cooperation in the global market, and jointly create a bright future for the digital economy.
Thank you all!
