The "Wings of Digital" Innovation Night takes place in Wuzhen, Jiaxing city, East China's Zhejiang province, on Nov 2, 2026. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Researchers, investors, and startup founders from around the world gathered in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province on Monday to talk about the development of artificial intelligence — with a focus on the emerging OPC startup model — at the "Wings of Digital" Innovation Night.

The event is part of the "Straight to Wuzhen" Global Internet Competition, a signature event of the World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit. So far, the competition has drawn 1,347 projects and one-person companies from 31 countries and regions, with 112 projects advancing to the final.

The "Wings of Digital" Innovation Night takes place in Wuzhen, Jiaxing city, East China's Zhejiang province, on Nov 2, 2026. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Zhejiang offers ongoing support for startups on policy, funding, supply chains, and talent, the Zhejiang Department of Economy and Information Technology said during the event.

China has advantages in embodied intelligence and robotics, creating opportunities for international cooperation, according to the chairman of Founders Space and the co-chair of the Straight to Wuzhen Global Internet Competition Steve Hoffman.

The "Wings of Digital" Innovation Night takes place in Wuzhen, Jiaxing city, East China's Zhejiang province, on Nov 2, 2026. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Reliable rules for AI systems will be just as important as technical progress. The future of embodied AI will hinge less on how fast technology evolves, and more on building reliable permission frameworks for machines. Global industrial competition will ultimately be a test of combined technological strength, trust architecture, and governance capacity, according to Peter Sachsenmeier, Oxford professor and academician at the German National Academy for Science and Engineering.

The "Wings of Digital" Innovation Night takes place in Wuzhen, Jiaxing city, East China's Zhejiang province, on Nov 2, 2026. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

An industry report on the OPC model was released during the event. The event also featured two panel sessions, examining barriers for cross-border AI ventures and the day-to-day realities of independent AI founders.