On October 17, the final of the 8th “Chengdu 80” Global FinTech Product Design and Development Competition, jointly organized by Southwestern University of Finance and Economics (SWUFE) and Chengdu Jiaozi Financial Holding Group, was held at SWUFE’s Liulin Campus. Li Yongqiang, Deputy Party Secretary and President of SWUFE; Jiang Hongbo, Member of the Party Committee and Deputy General Manager of Chengdu Jiaozi Financial Holding Group; and Deng Honghui, Member of the Party Committee and Editor-in-Chief of Southern Finance Omnimedia Group, attended the event.
Themed “Building the Next-Generation AI-Native Financial Application Platform,” this year’s competition brought together teams from eight universities in China and abroad: Tsinghua University, the University of Science and Technology of China, the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, the University of Hong Kong, the National University of Singapore, Queen’s University in Canada, ETH Zurich, and SWUFE. After an intensive 80-hour development challenge, the teams presented AI-native financial application platforms and their applications, which were evaluated for both technical implementation and market value through code presentations and project pitches. Following the judging process, the team from Queen’s University received the Pioneer Award; the teams from SWUFE and the University of Hong Kong received the Leader Award; and the teams from Tsinghua University, the University of Science and Technology of China, the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, the National University of Singapore, and ETH Zurich received the Innovator Award.
In his address, Li Yongqiang noted that artificial intelligence and digital technologies are driving profound changes across industries. In response, SWUFE is actively promoting the deep integration of finance and economics with artificial intelligence, big data, and computer science. Using high-level innovation competitions as a platform, the university is building an end-to-end pathway from student ideas and project development to technology entrepreneurship and incubation. These efforts encourage young people to develop interdisciplinary thinking through real-world problem-solving and aim to cultivate innovative, interdisciplinary talent with a strong foundation in finance and economics, technological expertise, and a global perspective.
At the closing ceremony, Li Yongqiang and Deng Honghui jointly unveiled the plaque for the Southwestern University of Finance and Economics–21st Century Business Herald Joint Studio. Under the agreement, the two parties will collaborate on leading fintech competitions, the co-development of AI-powered financial information services, financial services supporting international expansion, and certification for emerging AI-related professions. Through joint research, talent development, and platform building, the partnership will further integrate industry, academia, and research.
Established in 2018, “Chengdu 80” is an influential fintech innovation competition in China, widely regarded as a “hackathon” for the financial technology sector. Unlike the previous seven editions, this year’s challenge moved beyond developing a single product to building an entire platform. Participating teams were required to create an “application factory” capable of automatically generating financial applications and deliver three distinct applications to demonstrate the platform’s capabilities. Users can simply describe their requirements in natural language, and the platform automatically generates and deploys the corresponding applications. Potential applications span financial services for small and medium-sized enterprises, the digitalization of financial regulation, and intelligent investment decision-making.
Over the past eight years, the competition’s challenges have evolved from personal credit assessment, investment analysis, and corporate risk assessment to AI-native financial application platforms, reflecting the transformation of fintech from the big data era to the age of artificial intelligence. By consistently addressing real-world financial challenges, the competition enables students to experience the entire process, from needs analysis and product design to technical development and presentation of results. It has become an important platform connecting academic innovation at universities, Chengdu’s financial industry, and capital markets. SWUFE will continue to leverage this flagship competition to bring together young people from China and abroad to tackle common challenges, learn from one another, and contribute its expertise to Chengdu’s development as a financial center in western China.
