In Chinese, 智 (zhì) means intelligence — the intelligent industry, and the counsel of a think tank; 次方 (cìfāng) means “to the nth power”: exponential growth. Since 2012 we have put industry research at the core of the consulting, media and event services we provide to companies, governments and industrial parks across AIoT and Physical AI.
INTELLIGENCE TO THE NTH POWER
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Zhicifang (智次方) is a research-driven intelligent-industry services platform. It started in 2012 as IoT Think Tank (物联网智库), with the motto “Lead the rebuilding of the intelligent ecosystem; help companies upgrade and innovate.”
Research by Zhicifang Institute is at the core; IoT Think Tank's website, WeChat account and industry communities are how we reach the market. Together they deliver consulting, media and event services, connecting companies with experts, local governments, industry associations and research institutions.
Zhicifang Institute (ZCF) is an independent research and advisory firm on AIoT and Physical AI, based in Beijing and Singapore.
Help participants in the intelligent era achieve exponential growth, with a global view
A respected research-driven intelligent-industry services platform
Zhicifang Institute follows the industry closely, surveys companies first-hand and maps the real shape of the industry. It publishes industry maps, research reports and white papers, and provides tailored consulting and training to governments, companies, investment funds and industrial parks.
Published every year since 2016; the 2026 edition is the tenth, rebuilt around the CSIV model — Connectivity, Sensing, Intelligence, Value.
View →Tracks the 5G industry year by year; the 2025 edition is the fifth.
View →Maps the edge-AI value chain from chips and modules to devices and on-device intelligence.
View →Application cases of devices that become intelligent and create value.
View →Dates China's AIoT industry by its subject and core question: Connected Things (IoT 1.0, from 2009), Intelligent Things (AIoT 1.0, from 2017) and Acting Things (AIoT 2.0, from 2024).
Read (in Chinese) →Divides the industry into Connectivity, Sensing, Intelligence and Value along a capability–scenario–settlement loop, replacing the linear device–network–cloud–application stack.
Read (in Chinese) →Profit and capital gather at both ends — the hard-tech foundation and scenario settlement — while pure software and PaaS middle layers are squeezed from three sides.
Read (in Chinese) →Measures how deeply AI reaches the real economy across foundation, application and governance: an annual snapshot, not a ranking.
Read (in Chinese) →Three service lines, driven by research.
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China AIoT Industry Annual Conference, 2020—2026 cumulative
From an industry media brand to a research-driven services platform.
Founder of IoT Think Tank · President of Zhicifang Institute (ZCF) · Co-founding Partner of Yunhe Capital
Master's degree in control theory from the Department of Automation, Tsinghua University; CFA charterholder; mobile-IoT expert for MIIT. She founded IoT Think Tank in 2012 and has spent 14 years in China's AIoT industry, investing in more than ten high-tech companies. Initiator of IC Café and Deputy Secretary-General of the Tsinghua Alumni TMT Association. Author of New Thoughts on the Artificial Intelligence of Things, The New Business Opportunities of Digital Economy and 5G, and Industrial Metaverse; she writes the weekly column 物女心经.
ZhicifangResearch-driven intelligent industry services