第一财经

Wuhan Plans to Issue 100 Million Yuan in “Computing Power Vouchers” to Make Computing Power as Affordable as Water and Electricity

原文:武汉拟发1亿元“算力券”,让算力像水电一样用得起

Summary of Key Points

Wuhan is making significant efforts in the development of data resources and computing power: on one hand, it aims to increase the supply of computing power (with a target of 15,000 PF this year) and issue 100 million yuan worth of computing power vouchers to enable businesses and individuals to use computing power just like they use water and electricity; on the other hand, it is working to facilitate data circulation by planning 100 use cases and creating 143 high-quality datasets. The city has also pioneered a new national standard for the distribution of public data assets (with the operator and data provider splitting the profits in a 6:4 ratio). Over the next three years, Wuhan plans to establish a national data industry cluster, with over 10,000 data-related companies and 2,000 tradable data products.

Detailed Interpretation

1. Computing Power to Increase by 2.5 Times! 100 Million “Computing Power Vouchers” Make It Easy to Use

Wuhan currently has a high-performance computing capacity of approximately 6,000 PF (which means it can perform 6000 quintillion calculations per second). This year, the goal is to raise this to 15,000 PF. To achieve this, the city has already built 8 intelligent computing centers and 1 supercomputing center, and is working on another 15 major projects, including setting up a computing power base in Yichang (which will add an additional 3,000-4,000 PF by the end of the year). Additionally, 100 million computing power vouchers have been issued, which can be used by universities, businesses, and individual entrepreneurs, effectively acting as a form of computing power subsidy. The upgraded computing platform also offers a “tokenized service” – similar to purchasing mobile data plans – where users can buy computing power tokens and use them directly without having to sign complex contracts with service providers, making it as convenient as using water or electricity.

2. 18.6 Billion Records of Public Data Made Accessible for Profit

Wuhan has developed a platform called “Han Shu Tong” that connects 17,000 public data directories (including transportation and medical data), totaling 18.6 billion records. These datasets have been used to develop more than 100 large models. For example, Landing Medical uses these data for AI-based cancer screening, while Huagong Technology utilizes them to optimize industrial manufacturing processes. These five projects have received nearly 90 million yuan in central government subsidies, helping companies reduce costs by 900 million yuan. The city is also planning 100 more use cases for data circulation, such as smart transportation (using real-time traffic data to improve navigation) and smart healthcare (using patient data to train diagnostic models), turning data from being stored in repositories into valuable assets.

3. First in the Country! Public Data Generates Revenue, with Data Providers Getting 40% of the Profit

Previously, it was difficult to monetize public data (such as government transportation and social security data) due to a lack of interest from operators and unclear profit-sharing mechanisms. Wuhan’s new rule solves this issue: the operating company sells the public data as a product, with the operator taking 60% of the profits and the data provider (e.g., the transportation bureau or health commission) receiving 40%. This incentive structure encourages both parties to participate actively, creating a cycle where data is provided, generates revenue, reinvested, and leads to better services, preventing public data from remaining unused.

4. Wuhan to Become a National Data Industry Hub in Three Years: Over 10,000 Companies, 2,000 Tradable Data Products

Over the next three years, Wuhan aims to become a pilot for a national data industry cluster with specific goals:

  • More than 10,000 data-related companies (although the current number may be lower);
  • 1,200 large-scale data companies (with annual revenues exceeding 20 million yuan);
  • 2,500 datasets made available for use by more companies;
  • 2,000 tradable data products (e.g., user behavior data or weather data from specific industries that can be bought and sold).

In short, Wuhan aims to transform itself into a central hub for the data industry, where companies can obtain computing power, access data, and sell data products, forming a complete ecosystem.

In One Sentence

Wuhan is transforming the core resources of the AI era – “data” and “computing power” – from high-tech concepts into tools that ordinary people and businesses can use to generate revenue, with the goal of becoming a leader in the national data industry.