On June 2nd, the World Economic Forum (WEF) announced the third cohort of its AI MINDS global exemplar cases. Hisense HVAC Qingdao Factory made the list with its case, "AI-enabled Transformation of the End-to-End Air Conditioner Production Process" — one of only 16 cases selected worldwide. This latest recognition follows the factory's 2024 designation as a WEF "Lighthouse Factory" for advanced manufacturing, and its upgrade to the world's first "Sustainability Lighthouse" in the HVAC sector in 2025.
The AI MINDS initiative, under the WEF's AI Excellence Center, was first launched last June. The acronym stands for Meaningful, Intelligent, Novel, and Deployable Solutions. It selects organizations across five core dimensions — strategy, talent, data, technology, and governance — rigorously identifying those that lead in responsible AI transformation. The selection process focuses on how AI technologies are embedded in key nodes of the industrial value chain to tackle core challenges, and emphasizes that winning practices must be "quantifiable, valuable, and replicable."
In addition, the winners of the 2026 Red Dot Award: Product Design have been officially announced. Hisense TopLift Dehumidifier has secured this prestigious international honor, recognized for its refined aesthetics, human-centric structural innovation, and superior user experience—demonstrating Hisense's outstanding design and innovation capabilities in the home appliance sector.
