Chinese-developed AI system revolutionizes industrial fermentation process

An artificial intelligence (AI)-empowered monitoring system developed by a team of Chinese researchers has been put into operation in biomanufacturing companies, with the potential to optimize processes, predict outcomes, and propel life science towards a new era of efficiency.

The AI system, developed by a research team at Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), is used in industrial fermentation. It can accurately predict and control the fermentation process, promoting the transformation of the biological fermentation industry from experience-driven to data-driven.

Time is a critical factor in fermentation, one of the core technologies of biomanufacturing, as microorganisms vary greatly at different growth stages, and their growth directly determines the success or failure of the fermentation process.

In the past, in order to ensure the quality of fermentation, engineers needed to monitor production lines in three shifts 24 hours a day.

In an AI-assisted fermentation workshop, hundreds of sensors are mounted on key equipment such as fermentation tanks, to monitor in real time hundreds of important parameters such as microorganism growth status and oxygen levels in the tanks.

The AI model will analyze the data, to ensure that the fermentation process is always in the best state.

In addition, the AI technology can draw up plans in advance.

For example, the antibiotic fermentation cycle is seven days. When the fermentation reaches the 20th hour, the AI tech can generate a complete fermentation operation plan from the 21st hour to the remaining 150 hours, making predictions about the entire process.

"It serves as an 'intelligent brain' and can make predictions about production process. Based on predictions about the production process, it can generate the best process plan in real time, so as to greatly increase production," said Li Jinjin, director of the artificial intelligence and micro structure laboratory (AIMS-Lab) at SJTU.

Chinese-developed AI system revolutionizes industrial fermentation process

Chinese stocks closed higher on Friday, due to stimulation from the newly-released US technology earnings, said China Global Television Network (CGTN) analyst Timothy Pope.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 0.72 percent to 3,832.26 points.

The Shenzhen Component Index closed 2.21 percent higher at 13,578.93 points.

The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, gained 3.06 percent to close at 3,343.96 points.

"The latest U.S. technology earnings have made Chinese AI stocks whipsaw over the past couple of sessions. Before we get into that, as far as the dust is settling, the Shanghai Composite added 0.7 percent today, the Shenzhen Component rose 2.2 percent and the ChiNext gained 3 percent. And those numbers just screamed technology rebound," Pope said.

"Yesterday's sell-off was absolutely brutal after we saw the results from Meta and other U.S. technology companies reviving concerns about the hyperscalers' enormous AI spending. The worry is that they may be investing too much, too quickly, without generating returns fast enough to justify that. That punished both ends of the market: it hit the U.S. technology giants because of the scale of their spending, and it hit their suppliers in China because it cast doubt on future demand. But then we got results from Azure -- Microsoft's cloud-computing division -- and the market grabbed at those like a lifebelt. Azure's revenue grew faster than expected, demand is still exceeding Microsoft's available computing capacity, and the company says its spending will continue. That is fantastic news for Chinese optical-transceiver companies, data equipment makers, semiconductor firms and memory-chip producers-basically the entire AI supply chain. And it is those shares currently underpinning gains on the Chinese mainland market," he said.

Chinese stock markets close higher amid US tech earning stimulation: analyst