Abstract: The intelligent economy represents an advanced economic form emerging from the evolution of the information economy and the digital economy. It is fundamentally characterized by the deep integration of data, algorithms, and computing power. Through the systematic coupling of intelligent factor endowments, intelligent industrial development, intelligent application integration, and an intelligent collaborative ecosystem, it reshapes the entire processes of production, distribution, exchange, and consumption. Based on the evolutionary logic, connotations, and characteristics of the intelligent economy, this study constructs an evaluation index system comprising four dimensions: intelligent factor endowments, intelligent industrial development, intelligent application integration, and Intelligent collaborative ecosystem. Using the improved entropy-weighted TOPSIS method, the all-permutation polygon method, the Dagum Gini coefficient, kernel density estimation, and the spatiotemporal Markov chain method, this study measures the level of intelligent economy development in 284 prefecture-level cities in China from 2013 to 2023. The findings indicate that: First, China’s intelligent economy has continuously improved overall, evolving from initial accumulation to accelerated development and subsequently to quality-oriented optimization; second, regionally, the eastern region remains the leader, while the central and western regions continue to catch up, and the northeastern region has improved overall but exhibits insufficient stability. Regional disparities have widened, primarily owing to interregional differences; third, the development of the intelligent economy displays clear upward mobility and path dependence. Low-level regions tend to transition to adjacent levels, whereas high-level regions exhibit a strong locking effect. Moreover, the development level of neighboring regions affects local state transitions. Accordingly, differentiated policies, multidimensional coordination, and cross-regional linkage should be advanced to promote the coordinated development of the intelligent economy across regions.

Key words: intelligent economy, intelligent factors, intelligent industry, intelligent application integration, intelligent collaborative ecosystem