On November 4, NIO founder, chairman and CEO William Li delivered a keynote speech on the social value of autonomous driving and the industrial deployment of artificial intelligence at the Internet Entrepreneurs Forum of the 2026 World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit. Li said autonomous driving should not be understood as replacing drivers but as freeing them from behind the wheel and reducing road fatalities, stating that its greatest significance is not to eliminate the jobs of ride-hailing and taxi drivers but to free up drivers' energy and reduce traffic-related accidents. He extended this to AI broadly, saying its value should make people's work easier and safer, not deprive human existence of its meaning. Figures released by the World Health Organization in July show global road traffic deaths reached about 1.16 million in 2025, and Li said annual deaths still exceed 1.16 million. He said drivers worldwide collectively spend more than 1.5 billion hours driving each day. Li said smart electric vehicles have become the largest AI application industry, citing estimates that the global auto industry is worth roughly $7 trillion to $9 trillion in total and that AI applications in the auto industry could create more than $1.2 trillion in commercial value. NIO has built a technology system spanning chips, perception hardware, world models and full-vehicle operating systems, including the Shenji NX9031, a 5nm automotive-grade high-level intelligent driver-assistance chip, the "NIO World Model (NWM)" and SkyOS