As AI moves from a technical concept to the industrial front lines, an emerging role known as the Forward Deployed Engineer (FDE) is becoming a key force in bridging the "last mile" of implementation. On August 5, the National FDE Experts Exchange Conference was held at the National AI Application Pilot Testing Base (hereinafter "the Pilot Testing Base") in Dongguan's Binhai Bay New Area, attracting more than 50 industry representatives and establishing the first cross-regional collaboration and exchange platform for this emerging professional group.
The event was guided by the Dongguan Binhai Bay New Area Bureau of Economy, Technology and Finance, organized by Shengen Ningji (Dongguan) Artificial Intelligence Technology Co., Ltd., and hosted by HA7CH (an FDE community and incubator). The conference focused on policy and base resource introductions, real case sharing, industry methodology discussions, and the joint building of collaboration mechanisms. Drawing on their own hands-on experience, the experts explored a core question: how to make AI truly enter factories, workshops, and real production processes. Notably, this conference was one of a series of implementation activities under the "Wisdom Converges at Binhai · AI Future" AI full-scenario literacy enhancement training program, and also the first nationwide FDE industry exchange conference.
What is an FDE? The "translator" that bridges the "last mile" of AI implementation
The FDE role was first scaled and promoted by the American big data analytics company Palantir, with a core model of dispatching engineers to customer sites to embed standardized products into enterprises' existing systems and workflows. Amid the wave of AI implementation, this model has been simultaneously adopted by top global AI companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic. According to a LinkedIn report released in 2026, 1.3 million AI-related jobs were created globally between 2023 and 2025, with demand for FDEs growing 42-fold.
Wu Mingze, head of HA7CH, offered a plain-language explanation of this emerging profession: "What a Forward Deployed Engineer does is complete the last mile of AI implementation—bringing AI out of large models and into real industries, enabling it to empower every process of an enterprise." With a master's degree in design engineering from Harvard and a background as a research assistant at Stanford's AI Lab, and having worked as an engineer at Alibaba, Tencent, and MiniMax, he began working in FDE-related roles this past April.
Discussing the relationship between FDEs and the more familiar OPC (One Person Company), Wu Mingze noted that major AI vendors and OPC individuals are all currently working on AI implementation and efficiency gains, but there is a clear market stratification: FDEs at large AI vendors mainly serve large enterprises such as banks and state-owned enterprises, while individual OPCs are more flexible and excel at serving small and medium-sized enterprises.
In discussions among attendees, the FDE role was given multiple interpretations—the "connector" between technology and business, the "translator" embedded on the front lines, and the "deliverer" of highly customized services at low cost. Though the emphasis varied, the consensus was clear: the core value of an FDE lies in entering the enterprise site and transforming vague business needs into implementable technical solutions.
On-site highlights: FDE hands-on experts reach consensus—manufacturing is the "main battlefield" for AI implementation
At the conference, nine core speakers from diverse fields including industrial manufacturing, construction engineering, and cross-border e-commerce delivered in-depth presentations and discussions.
The first half, themed "Why enterprises need FDEs," featured speakers drawing on their own practices in industrial manufacturing, construction engineering, and cross-border e-commerce, using real cases to demonstrate the FDE's "translation" value—converting enterprises' vague demands for "cost reduction and efficiency improvement" into implementable technical solutions. Once enterprises saw the efficiency gains with their own eyes, their attitude shifted from initial wait-and-see to actively seeking more AI transformation opportunities. What FDEs bring is not just single-point efficiency gains, but systematic optimization of how enterprises operate.
The second half, themed "How to become an FDE," focused on capability building and growth paths for FDEs. Speakers shared their observations from dimensions including the industrial ecosystem, technology transfer, and scenario implementation: an FDE must understand not only technology, but also business and communication; must be able to break down complex problems as well as design executable solutions. The value of an FDE lies in helping enterprises identify their real problems and then matching the corresponding capabilities to solve them—this is the key role FDEs will continue to play in the future.
Compared with industries such as finance and the internet, manufacturing—with its thin profit margins and difficult transformation—is precisely the "main battlefield" where AI implementation offers the greatest room for efficiency gains and where FDEs can demonstrate the most value.
Positioned at a national opportunity: Binhai Bay unveils its "trump card toolbox" for AI empowerment
Recently, some cities have introduced policies that write FDEs and OPCs into official government documents and provide all-around support. This move signals that FDEs have entered the policy arena, becoming a key link in driving AI industry implementation.
Meanwhile, in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, a practice of deep integration between FDEs and manufacturing is unfolding in Binhai Bay New Area. At the conference, during a special presentation on the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem, a New Area official stated that Dongguan, as a manufacturing capital renowned worldwide, is home to approximately 223,000 manufacturing enterprises, more than 14,000 industrial enterprises above designated size, and over 10,000 high-tech enterprises. This wealth of manufacturing enterprises provides a continuous stream of real scenarios and validation needs for AI implementation. These industrial scenarios, flowing with real data and real needs, are the "best testing ground" for AI implementation in manufacturing.
Wu Mingze has first-hand experience of this: "FDEs must go into enterprises. Binhai Bay New Area, backed by Dongguan's strong hinterland resources, has an enormous number of manufacturing scenarios, a great environment, and is close to the airport." In his view, this is both the center of manufacturing demand and a hub for FDE implementation.
This national FDE representatives exchange conference is a key step for Binhai Bay in promoting AI empowerment of manufacturing. Taking this as an opportunity, Binhai Bay is accelerating the connection of national expert resources with local industrial scenarios, transforming technical capabilities into tangible productivity and injecting new momentum into the intelligent manufacturing upgrade of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.