In 2025, Nanjing's software and information services industry surpassed the one trillion RMB milestone, establishing the city's first trillion-level industrial cluster. Yet, as this landmark was reached, an industry transformation driven by artificial intelligence (AI) is systematically reshaping the global software landscape with unprecedented depth and breadth. "We are currently in a critical window of industry change. The opportunities for software enterprises outweigh the challenges. We must have confidence, actively embrace change, accelerate transformation, delve into specialized industry segments, and explore a path for sustainable intelligent development," was the consensus reached by entrepreneurs at a city-wide symposium on the intelligent transformation of the software industry held in early April. Standing atop this trillion-RMB foundation, how will Nanjing's software industry build higher? This is not only a survival question that enterprises must answer but also a strategic choice for the city's future. Faced with the surging tide of AI, Nanjing's response is clear and resolute: to fully commit to building itself into China's premier city for intelligent software.
**Part 1: Why Transform? – Survival and Breaking Through in the 'Deep Winter'** "This January, we launched our 'Intelligent Transformation' strategy with the theme 'The Deep Winter Has Arrived, It's a Fight to the Finish,' establishing a new corporate positioning as an 'AI Software Factory' and a new mission to 'lead the digital and intelligent transformation of the software industry,'" said Cheng Jie, Chairman of Nanjing HeDu Software Technology Co., Ltd. These words not only reveal the transformation challenges facing this 11-year-old company but also resonate strongly with many other software firms.
AI technologies, represented by large language models, are systematically reshaping every aspect of the traditional software industry with unprecedented depth and scope. This impact is particularly evident in business models. Today, software value delivery is shifting from "selling products" to "selling capabilities, services, and outcomes." New models like "Model as a Service" and "Agent as a Service" are rapidly emerging, leading to a reconstruction of the industry's value assessment system.
With AI advancement, traditional information products like directory assistance, ticket booking, communication assistants, and ringback tones offered by Jiangsu Haobai Technology Co., Ltd. are losing user appeal, while demand for scenario-based and intelligent services is growing. Faced with this impact and transformation pressure, the company is explicitly shifting from "traditional information services" to "intelligent scenario services."
AI glasses and other smart wearables have evolved from mere assistive tools into "intimate smart hubs" deeply integrated into various aspects of life, work, and health, completely breaking the usage boundaries of traditional electronic devices.
"In the past, users were accustomed to operating devices via touch on their phones. Now, with the main interaction platform shifting to medium-sized screens, 70% of users have started using voice commands to control devices," explained Zhang Jianwen, General Manager of the company, using the "Tianyi Smart Screen" product as an example. They have created an "Agent Plaza" deeply customized for home scenarios, offering diverse services like an English-speaking tutor agent for children and a medical agent for the elderly. Furthermore, they have brought AIGC capabilities to the medium screen, allowing users to become content creators, not just consumers. Zhang Jianwen revealed that within just one year of its launch, user-generated content like music and picture books on the "Tianyi Smart Screen" rapidly grew from zero to over a million pieces. The company is currently accelerating the introduction of OpenClaw capabilities to the medium screen, aiming to achieve an ultra-simple "one-command service" interaction experience, such as ordering food or hailing a ride with a single voice command.
The rapid development of AI is enhancing the intelligence of software products themselves. Customer expectations are evolving from "usable" to "user-friendly," and further to "thinking and autonomous execution." For software enterprises, this presents both an opportunity for product upgrade and survival pressure of "transform or be left behind."
The transformation in the "production end" is equally intense. "A module development that previously required a team two weeks to complete can now be delivered in two to three days with AI assistance. Traditional delivery models relying on manpower and hours are rapidly losing competitiveness," noted Zhang Zhijiang, General Manager of iFlytek Xingyuan (Nanjing) Technology Co., Ltd. Haobai Technology felt this most keenly in developing the smart screen's "AI Paradise." "This disruptive product was completed by just two of our R&D personnel in half a month using an OPC model," Zhang Jianwen remarked, contrasting it with traditional R&D models where front-end, back-end, and algorithm teams worked separately, often requiring multi-team collaboration and long cycles for project completion.
This transformation is not only about corporate survival but also a "breakthrough battle" for the city's future industrial competitiveness. Looking at the national software industry map, Beijing leads in foundational large models, leveraging its advantage as a source of AI innovation. Shenzhen stands out in "software-hardware integration," supported by its hardware ecosystem. Shanghai is catching up rapidly in fields like fintech and industrial internet. Facing the AI wave, while software firms transform for survival, Nanjing must achieve "industrial breakthrough" through transformation.
Standing on the "trillion" foundation, Nanjing is seizing the historic opportunity for AI to comprehensively reshape the software industry. It aims to leverage the first-mover advantages and brand effects of being the first "China Software City" and the first national advanced manufacturing cluster for software and information services. By accelerating the deep and extensive integration of AI with the software industry, Nanjing is fully committed to building itself into China's premier city for intelligent software.
**Part 2: Where to Transform? – The Leap from 'Software Factory' to 'Intelligent Engine'** During its "intelligent transformation," HeDu Software has defined a "three-step" transformation process. "First, all staff use AI-assisted development to gain personal experience. Second, each project team customizes AI development workflows, masters high-quality AI automated programming and testing, and achieves full-process engineering implementation. Third, roles merge to form amoeba-style (breaking the company into numerous micro-entrepreneurial units where everyone operates like a business owner) operational teams, building new business models and performance mechanisms," Cheng Jie explained, noting the company is currently in the second stage.
Transformation is not about starting over but defining new tracks and positioning. HeDu Software is targeting the output of its self-developed core "AI Software Factory" equipment and construction services (i.e., intelligent transformation consulting services for software teams) to software teams across various industries. "Our AI equipment, 'Software Logic Map,' is the world's first 'SPEC model-driven' enterprise-level software development AI platform. It includes three professional agents covering the entire software development lifecycle—software modeling, software manufacturing, and reverse modeling—successfully deployed in industries like finance, power, and state-owned enterprise digital technology companies," Cheng Jie introduced.
Where to transform? At the city-wide symposium, entrepreneurs and experts shared diverse views and suggestions, generally agreeing on three directions: product, service, and platform. "Product intelligent upgrade is the 'survival line,' building industry agent development platforms is the 'development line,' and reconstructing business models towards a new 'subscription + service + data' model is the 'future line,'" said Sun Zhiming, Chairman of Jiangsu Huizhi Intelligent Digital Technology Co., Ltd. Huizhi Intelligent is focusing on platform transformation, currently operating in legal services, intangible cultural heritage, and intelligent manufacturing.
Zhou Wenming, Chairman of Nanjing Youtong Information Technology Co., Ltd., believes the key for traditional software companies is not simply renaming themselves as AI companies but deeply integrating their accumulated industry capabilities, delivery capabilities, and client relationships with AI. The goal is to gradually transform from traditional software contractors into AI service providers, industry agent developers, and comprehensive digital solution providers.
Agents, intelligent systems driven by large models with capabilities for perception, learning, adaptation, decision-making, and execution, are considered the most noteworthy direction for the current fusion of AI and software. Since last year, manufacturers of end-side devices like phones and computers, large model developers, and agent innovation companies have launched a series of agent products for both consumer and enterprise applications. Application scenarios are gradually expanding, and agent applications are moving from localized pilots to full-scenario coverage.
"Software companies have several options. First, becoming agent integrators, helping clients select, deploy, and optimize agents. Second, becoming vertical domain agent developers, like Runhe Software, which focuses on finance, power, healthcare, etc. Third, becoming agent operational service providers, offering ongoing data annotation, model fine-tuning, and performance optimization services," stated Zhou Hongwei, Chairman and President of Jiangsu Runhe Software Co., Ltd.
As software companies actively accelerate their transformation, government departments have introduced a series of policy measures to clarify the direction and further guide the process. The "2026 Nanjing Action Plan for Accelerating 'AI + Software' Development" explicitly states that the city will focus on transforming software enterprises into AI service providers and agent developers. Using intelligent reshaping of the entire software development lifecycle as a breakthrough and cultivating new agent business forms as the main line, the plan will implement five major actions, including enhancing intelligent development capabilities, to drive industry-wide changes in production methods, product form reshaping, business model innovation, and development level leapfrogging.
**Part 3: How to Transform? – The Tripartite Concert of Government, Enterprise, and Talent** Transformation is a systematic project that cannot be accomplished by enterprises alone. From Nanjing's practice, the government, enterprises, and talent are resonating in sync and collaborating.
The city's Industrial攻坚 and "AI+" Promotion Conference held in March this year clearly identified "AI+" as the "top priority" for Nanjing's high-quality development, accelerating the transformation of software enterprises into AI service providers and agent developers, and cultivating new forms of intelligent economy.
In response to industrial change, government departments are acting as "pushers" and "companions." Nanjing will improve its policy support system, build an organizational model of "leading enterprises + OPC entrepreneurship," create scenario entry points for enterprise transformation, increase AI talent supply and training, strengthen support for new elements like computing power and data, and further foster an open-source and open development ecosystem.
As the core area of Nanjing's software industry, the China (Nanjing) Software Valley announced the launch of the "Software Industry Intelligent Action Plan." It will invest 1 billion RMB annually in special funds to promote industrial transformation, establish 10 vertical OPC communities in fields like embodied intelligence and AI+education, and form the city's first AI Diagnostic Enterprise Alliance to provide enterprises with multi-dimensional diagnostic services covering digitalization, intelligence, and business compliance.
Faced with this "mandatory question" of transformation, an increasing number of software companies are contemplating how to combine their accumulated industry knowledge and client resources with AI's new capabilities to explore their transformation paths. Runhe Software proposed an eight-character guideline: "Breakthrough in Tradition, Innovation Breakthrough." "Breakthrough in Tradition" refers to reshaping traditional business tools, models, and content using AI technology, while "Innovation Breakthrough" focuses on specific scenarios, utilizing AI to rapidly develop and complete products and services.
Whale Cloud Computing Technology Co., Ltd. has built a full-chain AI capability system of "computing power + platform + application + ecosystem." It has released core products like the enterprise AI operating system "WhaleWisdom Baiying" and WhaleWisdom Large Model 2.0, cumulatively creating over 50 dedicated AI Agents, and launching smart hardware like AI recorders, traditional Chinese medicine large-model all-in-one machines, and Xiaoxingren Intelligent Diagnostic Devices.
In the AI era, the software R&D talent enterprises need is no longer "code farmers" who just write code, but individuals upgraded from "code movers" to "business problem solvers." "For software professionals, the most important thing is not 'anxiety about being replaced' but quickly thinking about 'how to become a higher-value person in the AI era,'" Zhou Wenming believes. Software practitioners must shift from a "function development mindset" to a "business efficiency mindset," understanding business, scenarios, and client value better. The most needed improvements are business comprehension, AI tool usage, system integration, and outcome-oriented delivery capabilities.
To address the talent demands of the AI era, Nanjing has launched a set of "combined measures." Among them, the Software Valley initiated the "100,000 AI Engineer Elite Training Plan," cultivating practical, high-quality AI engineers through a government-enterprise-university collaborative education model. Today, a role transformation from "code implementers" to "AI application consultants," "scenario implementation experts," "data operators," and "agent orchestrators" is quietly occurring among Nanjing's 850,000 software practitioners.
Government, enterprises, and talent are collaborating to promote the intelligent transformation of the software industry. The Action Plan proposes implementing five major actions: enhancing intelligent development capabilities, upgrading software product intelligence, building agent development highlands, transforming software enterprises intelligently, and promoting an intelligent development ecosystem. It sets clear development goals, including cultivating over 100 high-level industry-specific AI service providers, over 100 agent developers, creating ten benchmark intelligent software factories, and fostering 300 industry agent products.
Building higher on the trillion-RMB foundation. In this major test of intelligent transformation, leveraging its software industry积淀 and with AI empowerment as the main line, Nanjing, as a pioneer, is writing the时代答卷 of leaping from a "major software industry city" to "China's premier city for intelligent software."
**Reporter's Note: Transformation Brings Growing Pains, But Nanjing Has the Confidence** As the AI wave sweeps through, growing pains in the software industry's transformation are inevitable. Facing transformation, traditional software enterprises need not be pessimistic. Their deeper understanding of industry scenarios, delivery implementation, and closer client trust relationships are precisely their unique advantages for intelligent transformation.
As the "First Software City of China," Nanjing, with its solid industrial foundation, robust computing power base, abundant科教 resources, and precise policy support, is steadily advancing into the national first tier for AI application, injecting ample confidence into enterprise transformation. iFlytek Xingyuan (Nanjing) Technology Co., Ltd. is actively participating in building the Jiangsu International Data Port AI Public Technology Service Platform, aiming to address practical pain points like high technical barriers, significant R&D costs, and insufficient talent reserves faced by regional enterprises during intelligent transformation. This platform is expected to become crucial infrastructure for Nanjing's software industry intelligent transformation.
Faced with the disruptive opportunities brought by the AI wave, leading companies are intensifying cooperation. Douyin Group and Gulou District are jointly building an "AI + Industrial Innovation Platform" to empower universities and enterprises, supporting youth in achieving high-quality innovative employment in Nanjing through OPC models. Alibaba Cloud is deepening cooperation in government cloud, computing power, and applications, further expanding its business布局 in Nanjing, helping the city build highlands for "AI+" innovation, industrial agglomeration, and integrated application demonstration.
Although transformation presents challenges, Nanjing is fully confident. Standing at a new historical starting point, with government-enterprise collaboration and industry-academia-research linkage, Nanjing is advancing the intelligent transformation of its software industry with firm steps, writing a new chapter in high-quality development.
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