Located in Zhangjiang, Shanghai, the so-called largest Microsoft Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things Laboratory (hereinafter referred to as "Microsoft-Zhangjiang Lab") is rumored to have been closed.

Several industry insiders close to Microsoft stated that the laboratory was initially established with joint funding from Zhangjiang and Microsoft. Not long ago, when the contract was nearing its expiration, Microsoft expressed unwillingness to continue investing. Recently, there have been rumors that the cooperation between the two parties has ended, and the laboratory has been closed.

Leiphone Network learned that the laboratory was officially launched in May 2019 on the "Internet Celebrity Island" of Zhangjiang, Zhangjiang Artificial Intelligence Island, in Shanghai. At that time, during the AI technology boom, Zhangjiang Group joined hands with a number of top domestic and international tech companies to establish multiple laboratories, including the Microsoft-Zhangjiang Laboratory. In addition, this laboratory is also one of the 7 laboratories set up by Microsoft globally.

The laboratory initially had more than 30 enterprises and startups move in, and after operating for over a year, it empowered more than 90 enterprises and over 400 projects, covering multiple hot fields such as manufacturing, retail, healthcare, finance, and urban construction. At that time, it was one of the benchmark cooperation cases.

However, in the past two years, the laboratory has gradually declined, due to a combination of complex factors including increased international uncertainties, limited AI application scenarios, and foreign companies reducing costs and increasing efficiency in China, or even gradually withdrawing.