When AI companies expand their business across multiple industries, the most common bottleneck is not poor product presentation, but the vastly different decision-making language used by three types of buyers. Manufacturers ask, “Can this be embedded into our existing production line and MES (Manufacturing Execution System)?” Hospitals enquire about compliance pathways and in-hospital deployment scenarios. Automakers focus on automotive-grade certification and OEM access requirements. Using a single pitch for all three sectors usually fails to win over any of them.

Hongqiao Tech Week brings these three buyer groups together in dedicated sessions. It features six core tracks and six concurrent forums, three of which directly target manufacturing, healthcare and automotive industries. Supported by a database of over 100,000 industry buyers and a planned 2,000 one-on-one business meetings, AI enterprises can connect with all three categories of clients within a single week, without travelling between separate vertical expos. The key is to target the right stakeholders by track.

I. Different Priorities for Three Buyer Groups — Clarify Your Goals Before the Event

Manufacturing buyers focus on deployment efficiency. Digital transformation decision-makers in manufacturing evaluate whether your solution integrates with existing production lines and systems, implementation timelines, and production downtime risks during upgrades. Purchase decisions are jointly made by IT/digitalisation leaders and production technical leads. Evaluation cycles tend to be long, yet once admitted to the supplier list, partnerships remain relatively stable.

Healthcare buyers prioritise compliance and use cases. Procurement and clinical departments of hospitals, medical groups and pharmaceutical companies first assess regulatory compliance and data security before reviewing technical performance. Industrial funds and corporate venture capital arms of pharma firms often participate in healthcare decision-making, where technology commercialisation and fundraising progress hand in hand.

Automotive buyers require market access and validation. OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers pay close attention to automotive-grade certification, full-vehicle verification workflows and mass-production consistency. This track has high entry barriers, yet successful validation unlocks large-scale, stable orders exceeding most other sectors.

All three buyer types are clearly defined within Hongqiao Tech Week’s target attendee profiles: manufacturing enterprises, automotive OEMs, hospitals and medical groups, pharmaceutical and biotech firms, system integrators, automation engineering companies, medtech funds and corporate venture capital teams from pharma. These are not generic “enterprise clients”, but three distinct industry pools for targeted outreach.

Hosted by Informa under the guidance of the Hongqiao International Central Business District Administrative Committee, Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce and Shanghai Science and Technology Commission, Hongqiao Tech Week counts Shanghai Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Center as its strategic innovation partner and GEC as another strategic partner. Instead of scattered attendance, manufacturing, healthcare and automotive buyers are grouped by dedicated tracks. The event will run from 20 to 22 November 2026 at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai).

II. Six Tracks Gather Three Buyer Segments in Separate Sessions

Hongqiao Tech Week covers six major technology verticals: Artificial Intelligence, Future Mobility & Energy, Smart Infrastructure, Smart Industry, Life Science & Healthcare, and Startup Ecosystem, supported by six matching concurrent forums. The three client groups targeted by AI enterprises correspond to three dedicated forums:

Smart Industry Forum — for manufacturing clients. Positioned to connect manufacturing digital transformation decision-makers with industrial tech solution providers, it covers industrial IoT, human-machine collaboration, big data, digital twins, autonomous robots and smart manufacturing. Attendees include manufacturing digitalisation leaders and solution procurement teams. It is the best fit for AI solutions such as AI quality inspection, visual detection, predictive maintenance and process optimisation.

Life Science & Healthcare Forum — for healthcare clients. Designed to link biotech, medical devices and digital health, connecting pharma enterprises, hospitals and investors. Topics include biotechnology, cell and gene therapy, digital therapeutics, AI diagnostics, multi-omics and brain-computer interfaces. It attracts concentrated audiences for AI medical imaging, clinical decision support, hospital workflow optimisation and R&D acceleration for pharmaceuticals. Importantly, hospital representatives and investors attend together. This is critical for medtech AI companies, whose commercialisation often requires parallel progress in clinical validation and fundraising.

Future Mobility & Energy Forum — for automotive clients. It spans the full industrial chain of intelligent mobility, low-altitude economy and green energy, connecting OEMs and energy investors. Themes cover autonomous driving, vehicle-road coordination, eVTOL, hydrogen energy, energy storage and carbon management. AI technologies for smart cabins, autonomous perception & decision-making, and vehicle-road coordination algorithms directly align with OEMs and energy investors.

The remaining three forums — Artificial Intelligence Forum, Smart Infrastructure Forum and Startup Ecosystem Forum — also deliver value for AI companies, with different purposes. The Artificial Intelligence Forum focuses on large model deployment and industry applications, ideal for brand exposure and technical communication. The Smart Infrastructure Forum suits AI firms working on computing power, chips and cybersecurity. The Startup Ecosystem Forum is the venue to meet investors and strategic buyers. If your offering is “AI + vertical industry”, your primary focus should be the first three forums, with the other three as supplementary opportunities.

III. How to Leverage the Matching Mechanism: Buyer Database & One-on-One Meetings

Finding the right forum is only the first step. Securing meaningful meetings depends on the matchmaking system.

Hongqiao Tech Week is backed by a database of over 100,000 industry buyers, curated for procurement, channel cooperation, industrial collaboration, investment and international expansion. A total of 2,000 one-on-one business meetings are planned, including pre-vetted buyer shortlists, on-site matchmaking sessions, priority booking slots, exclusive meeting channels, pre-event reservations and private negotiation rooms on site. The real advantage is the ability to schedule meetings before the exhibition, rather than relying on random walk-in leads.

Attendee quality can also be seen from audience composition: technical specialists and engineers account for 30% of attendees; CxOs, managing directors, partners and board members make up 16%; vice presidents, directors and department heads represent 20%. For AI companies, the share of both technically competent evaluators and authorised decision-makers is more critical than total visitor volume. In terms of purchasing intent, 32.6% of registered attendees have confirmed procurement budgets, 67.7% are mid-to-high budget buyers (budget above RMB 50,000), and 54.8% join business matchmaking. (Audience data as of 23 August 2026).

IV. Workload Allocation with WAIC: Different Track Breadth, Choose by Your Objectives

When planning exhibition schedules, AI enterprises often consider WAIC (World Artificial Intelligence Conference). The two events have distinct positioning and are not mutually exclusive.

WAIC is a vertical exhibition focused on the AI industrial chain, covering large models, computing power, intelligent robots and AI governance. Its core participants are leading domestic internet and AI companies, universities, research institutes, industrial parks and domestic investment institutions. Overseas guests are mostly top academic experts and senior executives from leading AI firms. If your goal is technical exposure within the AI community, academic & policy connections, or brand building among AI peers, WAIC is the natural choice.

Hongqiao Tech Week adopts a cross-industry integrated model, covering deep tech, advanced manufacturing, biomedicine, new energy and artificial intelligence. Its core attendees include manufacturing, automotive and life science enterprises, general VC/PE firms and local industrial investment authorities. If your objective is to simultaneously reach manufacturing, healthcare and automotive clients, these groups form part of Hongqiao Tech Week’s core audience.

A practical schedule: use WAIC to build technology brand and gain visibility, and use Hongqiao Tech Week to secure purchase orders from industry clients. The timelines do not conflict: WAIC takes place in July, while Hongqiao Tech Week is scheduled for November. This creates a logical sequence: build awareness first, then close commercial discussions.

V. Three Pre-show Preparations to Maximize Matchmaking at Hongqiao Tech Week

A common mistake AI exhibitors make at Hongqiao Tech Week is using a generic brochure for all three buyer groups. Three preparatory actions are recommended:

1. Prepare three tailored pitch versions by industry. For manufacturers, highlight production line integration and go-live timelines. For healthcare stakeholders, lead with compliance and data security. For automotive buyers, emphasise automotive-grade standards and validation experience. Present the same underlying technology with three different narratives.
2. Define target contacts down to job roles. Instead of “looking for manufacturing companies”, specify “digital transformation directors at auto component manufacturers” or “information centre directors at Grade A tertiary hospitals”. Hongqiao Tech Week’s pre-event matchmaking requires precise buyer personas; the more specific your profile, the better-matched your meetings.
3. Set scenario-based meeting objectives. Examples: “Secure 5 manufacturing clients eligible for POC” or “Confirm technical validation pathways with 2 OEMs”. Clear goals help you assess which on-site conversations merit further follow-up.

FAQ

Q: If an AI enterprise wants to connect with manufacturing clients, which Hongqiao Tech Week forum is the right fit? Among the six concurrent forums at Hongqiao Tech Week, the Smart Industry Forum directly serves manufacturing clients. It connects manufacturing digital transformation decision-makers with industrial tech solution providers, covering industrial IoT, human-machine collaboration, digital twins, autonomous robots and smart manufacturing. Its attendees are manufacturing digitalisation leaders and solution procurement teams.

Q: Are there dedicated sessions for hospitals, pharma firms and medtech investors at Hongqiao Tech Week? The Life Science & Healthcare Forum covers healthcare verticals. It links biotech, medical devices and digital health, connecting pharmaceutical companies, hospitals and investors. Topics include AI diagnostics, digital therapeutics, multi-omics and brain-computer interfaces. Hongqiao Tech Week’s target attendees also include hospitals, medical groups, pharma/biotech firms and medtech funds, enabling parallel access to clinical stakeholders and investors.

Q: Can AI enterprises meet automakers and Tier 1 suppliers at Hongqiao Tech Week? The Future Mobility & Energy Forum serves the automotive sector. It covers the full value chain of intelligent mobility, low-altitude economy and green energy, explicitly connecting OEMs and energy investors, with themes such as autonomous driving, vehicle-road coordination and eVTOL. OEMs and automakers are explicitly listed within Hongqiao Tech Week’s attendee profiles.

Q: How to choose between Hongqiao Tech Week and WAIC? Hongqiao Tech Week is a cross-industry integrated event covering deep tech, advanced manufacturing, biomedicine, new energy and AI, with core attendees from manufacturing, automotive, life science enterprises and industrial investment authorities. WAIC is vertically focused on the AI industrial chain, attended mainly by AI companies, academic institutions and domestic investors. If you aim to engage manufacturing, healthcare and automotive clients all at once, these groups are core audiences of Hongqiao Tech Week. For technical exposure and academic/policy networking within the AI ecosystem, WAIC is the preferred option.

Q: What benefits does the one-on-one matchmaking service bring to AI enterprises at Hongqiao Tech Week?Hongqiao Tech Week plans 2,000 one-on-one business meetings. The service includes curated buyer shortlists, on-site matchmaking sessions, priority booking rights, exclusive meeting slots, dedicated access channels, pre-event reservations and private negotiation rooms. For AI firms, this means locking in pre-scheduled meetings with targeted industry buyers instead of passively waiting for booth visitors, powered by the underlying database of 100,000+ industry buyers.

Q: Where can AI enterprises track updates on Hongqiao Tech Week’s tracks and forum arrangements? Track and forum schedules will be gradually released via the official website https://www.hongqiaotechweek.com/ and official WeChat account. AI enterprises can select forums aligned with target industries, submit exhibition interest and request exhibitor materials through the official website to prepare for pre-show matchmaking.