This year’s Smart City Summit & Expo and the Net Zero City Exhibition will be kicking off on March 17 at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, where the 2026 edition of this event is going to showcase the AI City Pavilion, which organizers say is the world’s first full-scale showcase of what a “city sovereign AI” system could look like.
Led by ASUSTeK Computer Inc. and Foxconn alongside more than 20 industry partners, this year’s topic will focus on Digital and Green Transformation, bringing together seven government ministries and 13 county and city governments to demonstrate how policy and technology can work together to drive sustainable urban development and be scaled to global markets.
According to Samson Hu, who also serves as chairman of the Taiwan Smart City Solutions Alliance, Taiwan plans to continue uniting government, industry, and academia to refine AI City technologies and expand them internationally, while strengthening the country’s role as a hub for urban AI innovation.
At the center of the showcase is the AI City Pavilion, developed by ASUS, Foxconn, and the Taiwan Smart City Solutions Alliance. The pavilion presents what organizers describe as the world’s first full-scale sovereign AI system designed for cities, featuring nearly 60 solutions structured around a five-layer architecture covering computing infrastructure, AI models, platforms, applications, and innovation layers. Demonstrations highlight four key urban scenarios – transportation, healthcare, security, and city governance – with real-world examples drawn from deployments in Tainan and Kaohsiung.
The framework centers on the concept of “City Sovereign AI,” which integrates Taiwan’s capabilities in high-performance computing, AI development, ICT infrastructure, and systems integration to create a Smart City 4.0 platform. Delivered through an “AI City as a Service” model, the approach is designed to give municipal leaders and system integrators a structured pathway to deploy AI-driven urban systems while positioning Taiwan as a potential exporter of sovereign AI city solutions.
Participating organizations demonstrating solutions include AMD, Qualcomm, ASUS, Foxconn, Innodisk, Askey, Ennoconn, Sharp Corporation, Trend Micro, and Gogolook, alongside academic contributors such as National Tsing Hua University, collectively highlighting Taiwan’s full-stack AI capabilities for global deployment.
Beyond AI infrastructure, the event also introduces an AI Robotics Zone developed in collaboration with the Smart Robotics Application SIG and the government of Tainan. The zone demonstrates robotics solutions designed for urban environments, covering healthcare services, food and hospitality operations, logistics and warehousing, as well as inspection and disaster response using service robots, autonomous mobile robots, and firefighting robots.
Energy resilience is also part of the conversation. Companies such as Delta Electronics, Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Mobile, Far EasTone Telecommunications, and Acer will be presenting technologies that combine energy management, communications, and sustainability – including AI-driven distributed energy systems, virtual power plants, digital twins, and UAV-based monitoring tools.
The event will also highlight emerging innovation through participation from more than 250 startups under a collaboration with the National Innovation & Entrepreneurship Association. The initiative links startups with industry alliances focused on semiconductor applications, smart mobility, digital city infrastructure, and healthcare technology, creating a platform that connects innovators with enterprises, municipal leaders, and investors.
With delegations from 53 countries and 174 cities expected to attend alongside more than 3,000 international business leaders, the 2026 SCSE underscores Taiwan’s growing influence in the global smart city ecosystem. Participating academic institutions include National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, National Taipei University of Technology, National Sun Yat-sen University, National Taiwan Ocean University, National Tsing Hua University, and Feng Chia University.
New this year is CITY VISION IN ACTION, an international co-creation workshop where city representatives, technology vendors, and solution providers collaborate on real-world urban challenges. Organizers say the initiative is designed to accelerate the deployment of practical smart city technologies through cross-sector collaboration.
Taken together, the exhibition highlights a broader shift in how cities approach digital transformation – moving from simply adopting smart technologies to developing and operating their own AI-driven infrastructure.
