Shanghai, April 02, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Against the backdrop of AI technology rapidly entering mainstream adoption, the 2nd Digiloong Cup Global AI Innovation Competition (Digiloong GAIC), initiated by Century Huatong, parent of Century Games, officially launched on April 2nd, with its official website (https://aicht.sjhuatong.com/) going live simultaneously. This year’s competition is guided by authoritative institutions including Games Publishing Committee of CADPA, Pudong New Area Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau, Shanghai Cultural and Creative Industry Promotion Association, Shanghai Online Game Association, and Macau-Qinjin Cultural and Technology Industry Association. It has joined hands with leading platforms and media organizations such as ChinaJoy, CLS, TideNews, 36Kr, ModelScope, and GAMEKEZHAN to build a full-chain empowerment system focused on AI technological innovation and industrial application, and comprehensively accelerating the transformation of artificial intelligence into real productivity.
The 1st Digiloong GAIC was successfully held in 2025. With its cutting-edge event positioning and core industrial value, it achieved fruitful results: more than 150 high-quality innovative teams from around the world participated enthusiastically, and a total of 120 valid works were collected. After rigorous review, 11 winning teams stood out and won 6 awards. The competition not only discovered a number of young entrepreneurial forces deeply engaged in vertical scenarios but also promoted the exploration of the commercial landing of AI technology. Among them, Haiyi Interactive Entertainment, a winning team, obtained strategic investment from Century Huatong with its high-quality project, and Gamercury team received joint investment from Shanghai Angel Club, becoming typical examples of the competition empowering industrial application and laying a solid industrial foundation for the upgrading of the 2nd competition.
This year’s competition has set a complete schedule: the submission period is from April 2nd to May 31st, opening the registration channel to global AI innovation teams and developers; the preliminary selection of works will be held from June 1st to June 15th, conducting the first round of professional screening of all participating works; the re-selection and finalist period is from June 16th to June 30th, where projects passing the preliminary selection will undergo further review to determine the list of teams shortlisted for the offline review; the offline review of shortlisted works will be carried out in mid-to-late July for offline professional competition; the award ceremony will be held at ChinaJoy 2026 on July 31st to announce the winners of various awards and commend outstanding AI innovation achievements and teams.
In terms of track design, closely following the current hot spots of AI industry development, this year’s competition has expanded its tracks on the basis of deepening the original core tracks, officially dividing into three major tracks: AI Games, AI Applications, and AI Agents, fully covering the core application fields of current artificial intelligence technology.
Regional empowerment has become an important highlight of this year’s Digiloong GAIC. The organizer will cooperate with multiple partners to arrange characteristic offline activities in three cities: Hangzhou, Macau, and Shanghai, build a regional innovation empowerment network, activate the AI innovation vitality of different regions, help the development of AI industry innovation in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the Yangtze River Delta and other regions, and expand the global influence of the competition. Meanwhile, the rich and diverse online live salon format from the first competition will be retained, focusing on the theme of “AI+” and project roadshows for participating teams.
Compared with the 1st competition, the 2nd Digiloong GAIC pays more attention to the post-competition incubation and long-term support of participating projects. In addition to cash rewards, it has created a diversified characteristic reward system, providing participating teams with comprehensive empowerment from exposure, resources to capital and technology, allowing high-quality innovative projects to continue to receive development support after the competition. The core feature reward of this competition is “one registration, two competitions participation”. The competition has been closely linked with the 4th “Cultural and Creative Shanghai” Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition. Teams shortlisted for the Digiloong GAIC can simultaneously participate in the selection of the “Intelligent Future +” track of the 4th “Cultural and Creative Shanghai” Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition, unlocking double exposure opportunities, multiple policy supports and rich industry resources for participating teams. The “Intelligent Future +” track focuses on the in-depth integration of artificial intelligence and digital cultural and creative industries, which is highly consistent with the positioning of the Digiloong GAIC. The linkage of the two competitions provides a broader display platform and commercial landing path for participating teams.
In terms of industry and investment matchmaking, the competition can provide outstanding participating teams with one-on-one communication opportunities with senior executives, allowing teams to obtain professional guidance on industrial development and suggestions on project optimization. At the same time, the investment department of Century Huatong will provide special investment connection services for high-quality projects, and work with well-known venture capital institutions to build an exclusive and efficient investment matchmaking channel for participating teams, helping projects obtain financing support. In addition, all high-quality participating projects will be included in the competition resource pool, obtaining long-term industrial resource connection services, continuously enjoying the empowerment dividends of the competition, and realizing the long-term development of the projects.
Since its birth, the Digiloong GAIC has been committed to building a platform for AI innovation and industrial application, and helping cutting-edge AI technology break through and land. The launch of the 2nd competition is an important measure for Century Huatong to continue its layout in the AI industry and promote inclusive technological development. With the Digiloong GAIC as the link, Century Huatong will continue to gather global AI innovative talents, integrate cross-border high-quality resources, break the barriers between technology and industry, laboratories and the public, and rely on the three core empowerment systems of capital, computing power and resources, to comprehensively help participating teams grow rapidly.
At present, China is at the forefront of global AI application innovation, while the overseas market also contains a lot of innovation opportunities in segmented fields. The 2nd Digiloong GAIC will continue to take the competition as the core carrier, link global AI innovation resources, promote the accelerated landing of cutting-edge achievements such as AI games, AI applications and AI agents, and continuously inject momentum into the high-quality development of China’s digital economy and artificial intelligence industry.
