(Yicai) June 13 -- Shares of Hubei Radio & Television Information Network hit the daily limit after the Chinese TV broadcaster said it would participate in a CNY2.5 billion (USD345 million) artificial intelligence project to meet smart media and internet companies' demand for computing power.

Hubei Radio & TV [SHE: 000665] closed 10 percent elevated at CNY3.91 (US 50 cents) in Shenzhen today.

Hubei Radio & Television Network Digital Technology, a unit of the cable TV and broadband internet provider, is the main investor in the project and will operate the service center with a capacity of 25,000 flops per second in the Wuhan East Lake High-tech Development Zone, also known as the Optics Valley of China, to serve technology companies in the region while striving to form an AI industry ecosystem, the Wuhan-headquartered media firm announced yesterday, without disclosing the construction timetable.

Moreover, a local private fund manager called Huaxinxin Asset Management will chip in by pouring at least CNY670 million (USD92.4 million) into Hubei Radio & Television Network Digital. After making the first injection of CNY300 million, Huaxinxin will gain a controlling stake in the digital infrastructure firm, the parent said, without disclosing the scale of its own contribution nor the resulting shareholding ratio.

The group has already started construction work by breaking ground on a building that is designed to accommodate 4,050 server cabinets and is expected to cost Hubei Radio & Television Network Digital CNY293 million.

The center should provide strong computing support to develop the broadcaster's smart radio and TV business, accelerate the application of new technologies such as fifth-generation networks and virtual reality, as well as enhance the firm's user experience, the parent added.

Editor: Emmi Laine