The 100-Point Evaluation Framework
The overall score (out of 100) is a weighted sum of scores across five key criteria. Each criterion is broken down into measurable sub-indicators.
Investment & Commercialization
25 pts
- Venture Capital & Funding: Volume of private investment in AI startups, number of funding rounds (Series A, B, C+)
- M&A Activity: Number and value of mergers and acquisitions in the AI sector
- Corporate Presence: Density of HQs and R&D labs of leading tech giants (Google DeepMind, Meta, NVIDIA, Baidu, Alibaba) and "AI Unicorns"
- Startup Ecosystem: Number of active AI startups, survival/growth rate, and support infrastructure (incubators, accelerators)
Research & Innovation
25 pts
- Academic Output: Volume and citation impact of AI research publications from universities and corporate labs
- Talent Concentration: High-profile AI researchers, engineers, and scientists (publishing at NeurIPS, ICML, CVPR)
- University Excellence: World-class AI/CS programs (Stanford, MIT, CMU, NTU, Tsinghua)
- Patent Activity: Filed and granted patents in AI and machine learning domains
Talent & Human Capital
20 pts
- Workforce Pool: Total number of AI professionals, data scientists, and ML engineers
- Educational Pipeline: Graduation rates of students with AI, CS, and data science degrees
- Global Attractiveness: International talent attraction via immigration policies, quality of life, salary competitiveness
- Skills & Training: Specialized AI courses, bootcamps, and continuous learning programs
Technological Infrastructure
15 pts
- Compute Capacity: Supercomputers, cloud hubs (AWS, Azure, GCP), specialized AI chips
- Data Ecosystem: Large, open, industry datasets. Privacy laws enabling innovation
- Connectivity: Internet infrastructure quality, 5G/6G rollout, fiber optic penetration
- AI Integration: Smart city initiatives (intelligent transport, security, utilities)
Regulatory Environment & Government Strategy
15 pts
- National AI Strategy: Government AI strategy clarity, funding, and effectiveness
- Policy Support: Tax incentives for R&D, grants for AI startups, public procurement
- Ethical & Legal Framework: Data privacy, algorithm auditing, AI ethics regulations
- Open Data Policies: Government data release for public and commercial use
Total Points: 25 + 25 + 20 + 15 + 15 = 100 Points
Legal Information
This analysis was conducted independently using public AI services. The ratings were obtained through standard user interfaces. The visual design is purely informational to distinguish sources and does not imply partnership, official cooperation, or endorsement by the mentioned services. All trademarks belong to their respective owners.
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Great ranking methodology! Would love to see more emerging cities in future rankings.