Media Spotlight丨AI Reconstructs Creation, Technology Empowers Storytelling: The "Cultural and Creative Industry · Shanghai" Competition Finals Spark Diverse Innovative Ideas
From July 30 to August 2, the finals of the third "Cultural and Creative Industry · Shanghai" Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, co-hosted by DoBe Group, were successfully held at DoBe WE@ Century in Xuhui District, Shanghai. This year's competition saw four times the number of participating companies compared to the first edition, with significantly improved project quality, demonstrating vibrant energy in terms of cutting-edge innovation, technological sophistication, and originality. The competition highlights the deep integration of AI with cultural creativity, technology-driven content innovation, and the convergence of space with the real economy. On August 2, Shangguan News featured the event with an article titled "AI Reconstructs Creation, Technology Empowers Storytelling: The 'Cultural and Creative Industry · Shanghai' Competition Finals Spark Diverse Innovative Ideas".
Below is the full text of the report:
In recent days, the finals of the third "Cultural and Creative Industry · Shanghai" Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition have been heating up across four major tracks.
From 475 participating companies in the first edition, to 1,092 in the second, and now 1,765 global participants in the third, as a co-organizer, DoBe Group has witnessed the competition growing stronger and more successful. The representative of DoBe Group stated: "We are pleasantly surprised. This year's competition demonstrates remarkable innovation, showcasing the strong cultural confidence of the younger generation of creators". At the same time, he keenly identified three distinctive features of this year's entries: the deep integration of AI in the cultural and creative verticals, a new generation of cultural and creative forms driven by technology as the core, and the increasingly evident trend of cultural and creative exports. This not only represents the cutting-edge exploration of Shanghai's cultural and creative sector but also signals that China's cultural and creative industries are gradually taking the lead, driving industrial iteration with an innovative and breakthrough spirit.
DoBe noted that over half of the projects in the "Original Content Production+" track are closely related to AI. "These projects do not simply use AI as an auxiliary tool but reconstruct creative logic through technology, giving rise to entirely new content production paradigms and thereby transforming the industrial ecosystem."
The competition entry "Moment of Fantasy Online", as the first AR infinite flow interactive content platform in China, demonstrates the disruptive impact of AI on content creation. "By tapping into the infinite flow genre beloved by young people, this AI-driven RPG social gaming platform became the largest player community in the country within just over six months of its launch." Moment of Fantasy CMO Wu Zhuojia, a post-00s, stated that "infinite flow" transcends the fixed scripts and linear creation models of traditional online games. It combines real-world scenarios with infinite flow narratives, allowing users to become "time-space detectives" exploring multiverse dungeons. The platform supports non-linear tasks, dynamic endings, and UGC creation, enabling users and creators to jointly build a content ecosystem that blends virtual and real for an immersive experience.
WAKUWAKU aspires to become "the Disney of the AI era", exploring the use of AI technology to reconstruct animation production processes and create a world-class IP incubation platform. It not only addresses the pain points of traditional IP development—long cycles and high costs—but also provides new possibilities for cultural heritage and innovation.
The younger generation of creators not only looks back at the past but is also adept at gazing into the future. A representative from DoBe Group mentioned that in the past, cultural and creative industries were naturally associated with history and intangible cultural heritage as driving forces. With the rise of hard sci-fi works like "The Three-Body Problem", the integration of technology and content themes has become a new direction for cultural innovation.
The "Solar System Development" project of Helium Flash (Shanghai) Culture Media Co., Ltd. (Helium Flash) epitomizes this transformation, combining cutting-edge scientific achievements like uncontrolled nuclear fusion with sci-fi creation to craft a series of stories about humanity venturing beyond Earth and gradually exploring celestial bodies in the solar system. Liu Jian, business producer at Helium Flash, told reporters that the creative team includes PhDs and master's graduates with backgrounds from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, emphasizing that "Creation is not built on sand, but grounded in real scientific research."
This approach of blending sci-fi with technology ensures that cultural and creative content transcends mere artistic expression, becoming a vital medium for disseminating cutting-edge scientific concepts and inspiring innovative thinking. This shift aligns with China's growing emphasis on technological innovation, positioning the cultural and creative industries as a crucial bridge between scientific advancement and societal awareness.
"Going global" is a hot topic across industries today. This year's competition showcases international projects with distinct characteristics—no longer limited to exporting single products but beginning to explore the internationalization of cultural service ecosystems. Launched with original short video IP and MCN incubation featuring Xiao Ni, an Egyptian international student, the "Nihao Going Global" project has gathered a community of overseas students who understand China and are proficient in Chinese. It is progressively building a one-stop service system to support Chinese enterprises in expanding into the Egyptian market.
We have a global execution team with both overseas and local expertise, focusing on the actual needs of Chinese companies operating abroad. We provide full-chain internationalization services such as research reports, channel promotion, trade agency, and local registration, ensuring Chinese companies don't lose their way when expanding into Egypt. Both Li Haodong, a partner of "Nihao Going Global", and Xiao Ni graduated from East China Normal University. Since its launch over half a year ago, the project has expanded to Egypt, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, New Zealand, and is set to reach cities around the Yangtze River Delta in China.
To support young entrepreneurs, DoBe Group announced the 2025 "Cultural and Creative Industry · Shanghai" innovation and entrepreneurship incubation base office space rental sponsorship policy, offering a total of 12 million yuan in rental subsidies to eligible participating companies. Meanwhile, leveraging its global network of parks and service resources, DoBe empowers competition companies through angel funding, incubation policies, mentorship, and resource connections, building a full-cycle growth ecosystem that addresses survival challenges and helps companies develop core competitiveness for long-term success.
It is worth mentioning that a touching scene unfolded at yesterday's finals: Su Shaobo, a hearing-impaired individual and founder of Shanghai Suimeng Culture Communication Co., Ltd., delivered a silent speech about the sign language web series IP "Hi Friends 2", which was met with prolonged applause.
This hearing-impaired creative team started with basic sign language education and pursued their grand dream of sign language film and television. Over nearly a decade, they polished China's first sign language series, "Hi Friends", using the dance of their fingertips to bridge language barriers, allowing the deaf community to "see" a cinematic world of their own. Now, "Hi Friends 2" is in preparation. This persistence aligns with the original intent of the "Cultural and Creative Industry · Shanghai" competition—it is not just an arena but fertile ground for inclusive dreams, ensuring every heartfelt creation is seen and nurtured.
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