Government officials and around 30 insiders of the artificial intelligence (AI) industry witness the opening of the second section of the China Speech Valley industrial park on Nov 15. [Photo from WeChat account hefeigaoxinfabu]

Government officials and around 30 insiders of the artificial intelligence (AI) industry witnessed the opening of the second section of the China Speech Valley industrial park on Nov 15. 

Located in the Hefei National High-tech Industry Development Zone, China Speech Valley boasts China's only national-level industrial base in the field of AI. 

Due to an industrial promotion system jointly established by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Anhui provincial government, China Speech Valley has been able to branch out from intelligent speech technology to other AI fields. 

The valley had a production value of 51 billion yuan ($7.3 billion) in 2017, and was home to over 300 AI enterprises, including iFlytek, China's largest voice recognition company. 

The second phase of the valley, with a floor area of 167,000 square meters, is designed to accommodate more than 100 AI companies and offer integrated services from research and development to public exhibition. 

The new area has already attracted 30 leading AI companies, transforming it into a hub where industrial innovation, commercialization of research findings, professional training, and product demonstrations can flourish 

Going forward, the valley will remain committed to developing AI theories, technology, products, application, and commercialization. It will take full advantage of the explosive growth of AI technology and its integration into the new layout of the AI ecosystem.

China Speech Valley boasts China's only national-level industrial base in the field of AI. [Photo from WeChat account hefeigaoxinfabu]