Pengcheng Laboratory

Pengcheng Laboratory (鹏城实验室, Péngchéng Shíyàn Shì) is a Chinese government-backed research institute headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China, established in 2018 by the Shenzhen Municipal Government, the Guangdong Provincial Government, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and other partners. The lab's research scope spans artificial intelligence, network communications, cybersecurity, and high-performance computing, with emphasis on Chinese government-priority research areas. Pengcheng Laboratory operates the Pengcheng Cloud Brain (鹏城云脑) AI compute platform with Huawei Ascend AI compute infrastructure. As of April 2026, Pengcheng Laboratory is one of the principal Chinese government-backed AI research bodies, alongside BAAI (in Beijing) and Shanghai AI Laboratory (in Shanghai), positioning Pengcheng Laboratory as the principal Chinese government-backed AI research body in southern China.

At a glance

• Founded: 2018 in Shenzhen, China, by the Shenzhen Municipal Government, Guangdong Provincial Government, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and other partners.
• Status: Chinese government-backed research institute. Not a private company.
• Funding: Chinese government funding through the Shenzhen Municipal Government and other Chinese government bodies. Specific budget allocations not publicly disclosed.
• Director: Gao Wen, Director (since founding). Chinese Academy of Engineering academician; computer-vision researcher.
• Other notable leadership: Senior research and engineering leadership across the Pengcheng Cloud Brain and other research programs.
• Open weights: Yes, partial. Selected research outputs released open-source through GitHub.
• Flagship outputs: Pengcheng Cloud Brain AI compute platform (Huawei Ascend AI compute infrastructure); published research output across AI, network communications, cybersecurity, and high-performance computing; cooperation with adjacent Chinese government-backed AI research bodies.

Origins

Pengcheng Laboratory was established in 2018 in Shenzhen by the Shenzhen Municipal Government, Guangdong Provincial Government, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and other partners. The founding mandate was explicitly oriented around research priorities including AI, network communications, cybersecurity, and high-performance computing, with Shenzhen and southern-China regional commitment.

The 2018 to 2022 founding period built research capacity across the principal research areas. The Pengcheng Cloud Brain AI compute platform, with Huawei Ascend AI compute infrastructure, anchored AI research compute capability for the 2020 to 2024 Chinese AI research expansion.

The 2023 to 2026 period has continued published research output and cooperation with adjacent Chinese government-backed AI research bodies including BAAI and Shanghai AI Laboratory.

Mission and strategy

Pengcheng Laboratory's mission is to advance research in AI, network communications, cybersecurity, and high-performance computing for Chinese government priority areas. The strategy combines four threads. First, AI research with cross-institution cooperation. Second, network communications research. Third, cybersecurity research. Fourth, high-performance computing research with the Pengcheng Cloud Brain compute platform.

Distribution channels include open-research publication through major academic venues, open-source code releases through GitHub, the Pengcheng Cloud Brain compute platform user-program, and cross-institution cooperation across Chinese academic and industry research peers.

Models and products

• Pengcheng Cloud Brain AI compute platform. Huawei Ascend AI compute infrastructure.
• Published research output. Across AI, network communications, cybersecurity, and high-performance computing.
• Cross-institution cooperation. With BAAI, Shanghai AI Laboratory, and other Chinese government-backed AI research bodies.

Distribution channels include open-research publication, open-source code releases, the Pengcheng Cloud Brain compute platform user-program, and cross-institution cooperation.

Benchmarks and standing

Pengcheng Laboratory's evaluation framework focuses on published research output, AI compute platform deployment metrics, and cross-institution research-cooperation depth. The Pengcheng Cloud Brain compute platform has been characterized in Chinese AI compute industry coverage as a AI compute resource for southern-China AI research community.

Leadership

As of April 2026, Pengcheng Laboratory's senior leadership includes:

• Gao Wen, Director (since founding). Chinese Academy of Engineering academician.
• Senior research and engineering leadership across the principal research areas.

Funding and backers

Chinese government funding through the Shenzhen Municipal Government and other Chinese government bodies. Specific budget allocations not publicly disclosed.

Industry position

Pengcheng Laboratory occupies a distinctive position as one of the principal Chinese government-backed AI research bodies in southern China, alongside BAAI (Beijing) and Shanghai AI Laboratory (Shanghai), with Pengcheng Cloud Brain AI compute infrastructure and published research output.

Competitive landscape

• BAAI, Shanghai AI Laboratory. Direct Chinese government-backed AI research peers.
• Huawei Noah's Ark Lab. Chinese industrial AI research peer with cooperation through Huawei Ascend AI compute platform.
• Tsinghua IIIS, Tsinghua KEG. Chinese academic AI research peers.
• Argonne, Oak Ridge, Lawrence Berkeley. Non-Chinese national-lab peers.

Outlook

• Continued published research output through 2026 to 2027.
• Continued Pengcheng Cloud Brain AI compute platform expansion.
• Continued cross-institution cooperation across Chinese academic and industry research peers.
• The continued Chinese government research-funding direction.

Sources

• Pengcheng Laboratory official site. Lab reference.
• Gao Wen Wikipedia. Director reference.
• Chinese Academy of Sciences. Founding partner organization.
• Pengcheng Cloud Brain. AI compute platform.
• Huawei Ascend. Underlying AI compute architecture.