Tu Guangshao: AI Competition Cannot Rely on "Opportunistic Capital"; Tech Capital Urgently Needs to Fill the Gap
Speaking at the 2026 Third "Science and Technology Industry and Finance Coordinated Development Forum," Tu Guangshao said the global economy has entered the "era of tech capital," and that China's technological development does not lack money; what it lacks is tech capital capable of bearing risk, investing for the long term, and empowering industry. He pointed out that AI development requires sustained, long-term, massive capital investment rather than short-term opportunistic capital, and that there is a time lag in translating AI technological innovation into commercial returns, creating a gap between long-term investment and investment returns; insufficient capital matching may lead to weak staying power in technological development.
Body · AI translation
What exactly is lacking in scientific and technological innovation? On October 23, at the 2026 Third "Science and Technology Industry Finance Collaborative Development Forum," Tu Guangshao, former member of the Standing Committee of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee and former executive vice mayor of the Shanghai Municipal Government, gave the answer: a lack of "science and technology capital."
At the meeting, Tu Guangshao stated that the global economy has officially entered the "era of science and technology capital," and China's scientific and technological development does not lack money; what it lacks is science and technology capital. Unlike simple funding supply, science and technology capital must have three characteristics: it must be able to bear risk, be able to invest over the long term, and also empower science and technology innovation enterprises and industries.
Taking the field of artificial intelligence as an example, Tu Guangshao analyzed that behind global AI innovation competition is in fact also competition in science and technology finance and capital strength. Current AI development faces two challenges: first, it requires sustained, long-term huge capital investment rather than short-term opportunistic funds; second, there is a time lag in transforming AI technological innovation into commercial returns, creating a gap between long-term investment and investment returns. If capital matching is insufficient, scientific and technological development may show weak staying power.
Speaking of development shortcomings, Tu Guangshao mentioned that in recent years, progress has been made in the development of science and technology capital, but there remain "shortcomings" of insufficient diversity of entities and relatively single channels. It is necessary to proceed from the strategic height of scientific and technological innovation, address key links such as capital formation, circulation, and exit to remedy the "shortcomings," and build a full-chain, multi-level science and technology capital ecosystem.
Tu Guangshao also mentioned that science and technology finance cannot "advance as a single force"; only by forming an ecosystem can sustainability be achieved. This requires integrating multiple entities such as banks, securities, insurance, and venture capital, building a multi-level, full-coverage collaborative network, and achieving efficient interconnection of resources among all parties.
Tu Guangshao emphasized that the integration of science and technology and finance is not simple splicing, but requires breaking down industry barriers and forming a two-way cycle in which "science and technology empower finance, and finance nourishes science and technology in return."