Join us as we revisit the key highlights from Ultralytics' experience at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) 2025 in Shanghai, China.
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Tune in to YOLO Vision 2025!
September 25, 2025
10:00 — 18:00 BST
Hybrid event
Join us as we revisit the key highlights from Ultralytics' experience at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) 2025 in Shanghai, China.
This week, from July 26 to 29, the Ultralytics team was in Shanghai for the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) 2025. The event took place at the Shanghai World Expo Center and is known as one of the most internationally recognized gatherings in the AI space. It brings together researchers, developers, and industry leaders to explore the latest advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI).
This year’s WAIC focused on the theme Global Solidarity in the AI Era, with an emphasis on international collaboration and responsible development. As AI systems grow more powerful and widespread, so does the need for open dialogue and shared responsibility across borders. For Ultralytics, it was an exciting opportunity to be part of this global conversation while getting to meet our community in China.
At the Ultralytics booth, we showcased real-time Vision AI demos, collaborated with innovators such as Sony and Seeed Studio, and connected with attendees from across the AI ecosystem. From team preparations in Shenzhen to four packed days at Booth C727 in Hall 2, the week was filled with meaningful conversations, hands-on demos, and great moments with fellow AI enthusiasts.
In this recap, we’ll revisit some of the key moments from the week, including setup, live demos, collaboration with industry leaders, and highlights from the expo floor. Let's get started!
Before arriving in Shanghai for WAIC 2025, the Ultralytics team spent several days in Shenzhen, China, where we visited our local Shenzhen office, onboarded new team members, and held planning sessions with partners and customers. The visit was especially meaningful as we continue to grow globally, including the recent expansion with our new office in London.
A highlight of the Shenzhen visit was a meeting with Seeed Studio, where we discussed our ongoing collaboration and preparations for WAIC. Outside of work, the team enjoyed exploring the city, sampling local cuisine, with dim sum being a clear favorite, and taking time to connect as a team.
On July 24, the team arrived in Shanghai and began setting up our space at the World Expo Center. Once all the preparations were made, we took some time to explore The Bund, a scenic waterfront area along the Huangpu River known for its historic buildings and sweeping skyline views. It was the perfect way to unwind and recharge before the start of WAIC.
The following day, Paula Derrenger, our VP of Growth, and Glenn Jocher, our Founder & CEO, met with the Sony team for a day of thoughtful discussions. They explored ongoing collaboration efforts and shared ideas around the future of Vision AI. The day concluded with dinner, offering a chance to connect in a more relaxed setting ahead of the conference.
Before diving into Ultralytics’ experience at WAIC 2025, let’s take a step back and look at what made this year’s event stand out.
WAIC has been held every year in Shanghai since 2018, and over time, it has become a key event for people working in and around artificial intelligence. What makes WAIC special is its balance between deep technical focus and big-picture thinking. The event brings together research, applications, and policy in one place.
This year’s conference featured hundreds of sessions, panels, and demos covering everything from robotics and edge computing to AI ethics and governance. More than 300,000 attendees came from around the world to share their work, learn from others, and explore what’s next in AI.
In particular, a key theme throughout WAIC 2025 was collaboration. Many talks focused on how countries, companies, and researchers can work together to guide AI development in a responsible and inclusive way.
The expo floor was one of the liveliest parts of the conference. Booths featured interactive demos, breakthrough hardware, and real-world applications of AI in areas like healthcare, transportation, and manufacturing. It was an interesting reminder of how quickly AI is becoming a part of everyday life.
On day two, the Ultralytics team had a chance to explore other booths and see how companies across the AI ecosystem are approaching real-time applications and edge deployment. It was a great opportunity to connect with fellow exhibitors and gain insights into emerging trends in computer vision, embedded AI, and hardware acceleration.
Back at Booth C727, we continued our live demos. This time, we collaborated with Seeed Studio to showcase the reCamera, a compact and modular AI camera designed for real-time computer vision tasks.
With native support for Ultralytics YOLO models, the reCamera makes it easy to run tasks like object detection (locating and classifying objects in images) and pose estimation (tracking body keypoints to understand movement) directly on the device, without the need for external processing.
Specifically, the live demo featuring YOLO11's support for pose estimation drew a steady stream of attendees who were curious about how the technology could be applied in areas like robotics, smart manufacturing, and automation.
We were joined by various members of the Seeed Studio team, including Huizhong Hu, Applications Engineer for reCamera, Jianwei Wang, Product Manager, and Shuyang Zhou, Head of the AI Sensing product line. They shared valuable insights into how this collaboration brings Vision AI into everyday applications.
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During the last two days of WAIC, the Ultralytics booth remained an active space for conversation and collaboration. Visitors from research, engineering, and product teams stopped by to learn how YOLO models are being used in real-world projects, from robotics and automation to edge AI solutions.
We had the chance to walk through live demos, answer technical questions, and hear directly from developers using Ultralytics YOLO models in their own work. These conversations offered key insights into the challenges people are tackling and the creative ways they're building with computer vision.
Every person we spoke to at the booth brought a unique perspective, shaped by their specific industry, goals, and experience. Whether it was a robotics researcher or a startup founder, each interaction added something new to the conversation.
Overall, it was a great way to connect with the broader Vision AI community and be part of the shared excitement around accessible, high-performance AI. For the team, it was an inspiring week filled with learning, collaboration, and fresh perspectives on where the field is headed next.
Also, as a globally distributed team, events like WAIC are a good chance to meet in person, strengthen team dynamics, align on goals, and share the momentum of building something meaningful together.
WAIC 2025 offered a fascinating window into the future of artificial intelligence, especially in areas like edge computing and computer vision. The conversations, demos, and connections throughout the event gave us fresh ideas and perspectives to bring back to our work.
We'd also like to thank everyone who stopped by our booth, joined a demo, or shared their insights with us. Your curiosity and feedback help shape how we continue to build and improve our tools for the Vision AI community. Events like WAIC 2025 are a great reminder of how important it is to stay connected and keep learning from each other.
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