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The session provides practical playbooks for founders and investors to identify high-potential local opportunities, design globally adaptable solutions, and scale with purpose through strategic partnerships, ecosystem building, and regulatory navigation. Attendees will leave with actionable frameworks on cross-border go-to-market strategies, risk management, and sustained competitive advantage in a rapidly evolving global tech arena.
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Artificial intelligence is transforming the global tech landscape as the US and China battle for supremacy, while a new breed of lean, innovative startups challenge old funding norms. Investors are rethinking valuations, and global corporations race to turn AI breakthroughs into real-world profits. Europe is setting the standard on safety regulations, while opensource platforms and agentic AI accelerate the next wave. How close are we to artificial superintelligence, and in what way do we truly want it?
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The Middle East is quickly becoming a vibrant global innovation hub, powered by strong government support, abundant capital, and rapid digital adoption. Startups benefit from unique advantages such as strategic location, favorable policies, and growing markets to scale quickly. As the region emerges as a new sweet spot for Hong Kong startups aiming to expand internationally and make a global impact, this panel explores how founders and funders are navigating the robust landscape of AI governance, fund diversification, smart city growth, green initiatives, talent, geo-economics, and more to unlock scalable opportunities.
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Real-world assets are rapidly transitioning on-chain, yet remains room for improvement: evolving regulatory frameworks, security concerns, and the data availability meeting institutional standards. This panel brings together industry pioneers who have been at the forefront of curating and developing RWA products in the market. These practitioners will share firsthand insights into the obstacles and challenges they encountered during their journey—from navigating complex compliance requirements to building institutional trust. The speakers will also share their visions for the future development of the field.
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This panel examines how venture capital is shaping Hong Kong’s innovation ecosystem, supported by strong government initiatives and growing global investor participation. As general partners from Mainland China, Southeast Asia, and beyond source and execute deals through Hong Kong, as Chinese tech scale-ups expand globally or pursue listings in the city. the discussion explores how policy initiatives and cross-border capital flows are shaping a more dynamic and competitive environment for entrepreneurs and investors alike. The session also highlights how these developments are accelerating startup growth and opening new opportunities across the region for entrepreneurs and investors.
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Corporate venture arms are more than strategic investors—they drive innovation, accelerate disruptive technologies, and create impact across mobility, urban development, consumer markets, and sustainability. This session explores how corporate VCs gain an edge in the AI and tech ecosystem, align strategic priorities with venture growth, and collaborate with startups and traditional VCs to transform industries.
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Hong Kong’s universities are not only educating talent but also funding and accelerating the next wave of entrepreneurs. Their initiatives and partnerships provide crucial support that bridges the financing gap between early and institutional rounds, giving founders the runway to prove their models. Supported by government co-investment and innovation infrastructure, this panel explores how capital, mentorship, and collaboration are shaping Hong Kong’s innovation economy.
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As companies move from early traction to institutional rounds, they must demonstrate growth, mature governance, and a clear market strategy. AI’s rise adds urgency to investment assessments. This panel explores what makes high-growth ventures investable, how funds collaborate to build confidence, and how shared insights improve returns. Entrepreneurs gain insight into institutional expectations, while investors connect on evolving collaborative deal-making.
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As China’s leading AI ventures and star projects expand beyond their home market, Hong Kong is emerging as a bridge to global growth. Its unique position provides access to international investors, a platform for raising cross‑border capital, and a pathway to overseas IPOs. This panel explores what it takes for scale-ups to become global players, covering international expansion, governance readiness, financing structures, and market entry strategies. It provides insights for asset managers, family offices, and PE funds to engage in this pivotal growth phase.
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This panel brings together top investors to discuss how startups can accelerate their path from early success to unicorn status. Drawing on deep experience in private equity and venture capital, panelists will share insights on scaling strategy, market expansion, funding approaches, and navigating challenges unique to high-growth companies. The conversation will spotlight how founders and investors can align to build globally competitive, category-defining businesses.
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Fostering strong relationships between investors and investees is vital for mutual success. This session will feature insights from successful fundraising experiences, highlighting strategies for achieving fruitful alignment, nurturing collaborative partnerships and uncover success formulas that drive new growth through effective funding.
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This panel provides a focused look at exit strategies for high-growth companies, covering mergers, acquisitions, and IPOs. It will address how to plan timing and valuation, prepare operationally and financially, and navigate regulatory and market complexities. Drawing on expert insights and case studies, the discussion will offer practical guidance on maximizing value, managing stakeholder expectations, and ensuring smooth transitions to public markets or strategic buyers.
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The AI Projects Demo features game-changing startups showcasing their innovative artificial intelligence solutions. Aspiring entrepreneurs will present cutting-edge projects that highlight AI's transformative potential across various sectors. Network with visionary founders, explore collaboration opportunities, and discover exciting investment prospects in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.
AI Startup Ecosystem Sponsor: 
Projects:
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The Web3.0 Projects Demo Day features innovative startups at the forefront of the Web3.0 revolution. Aspiring entrepreneurs will showcase their cutting-edge projects, highlighting the transformative potential of Web3.0 technologies in attracting funding and enabling real-world applications. Attendees will have the opportunity to engage with founders, explore collaborations, and discover exciting investment prospects.
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Cyberport’s Web3.0 Innovation Expo returns in 2025 to catalyze the next wave of blockchain-enabled innovation and digital asset adoption. Building on the momentum of 2024, this year’s Expo convenes policymakers, founders, investors, corporates, and ecosystem enablers to translate Web3 breakthroughs into scalable, compliant, and investable solutions.
Morning Session — Cyberport Blockchain and Digital Asset Pilot Subsidy Scheme:
The morning program centers on Cyberport’s Blockchain and Digital Asset Pilot Subsidy Scheme, spotlighting Hong Kong’s commitment to responsible innovation. Attendees will hear policy updates, eligibility and application guidance, and impact metrics from the first cohort. Case studies will demonstrate how pilots are accelerating real-world use cases across tokenized assets, payment, RegTech, creator economy and more.
Afternoon Session — Global Digital Asset Trends: Landscape, Investment, and Ecosystem:
The afternoon focuses on the global state of digital assets and where capital and talent are heading next. Expert panels and fireside chats will unpack macro drivers, regulatory harmonization, tokenization of real-world assets (RWA), institutional market structure, and infrastructure readiness. Investors and founders will be highlighting their views on what’s investable now and what’s next.
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Blockchains are evolving from experimental infrastructure into foundational platforms for next-generation applications. This keynote will discuss how their ecosystems are driving real-world adoption across verticals such as tokenised Real-World Assets (RWAs), payment, gaming and AI integration.
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As regulators around the world, including the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, move toward creating clear and robust frameworks on stablecoin, the industry is entering a new era of regulated, interoperable, and trusted stablecoin models. This panel will examine how stablecoins enable new use cases, transform cross-border payment and more, as well as the challenges ahead to move towards mass adoption.
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The tokenisation of financial instruments including private credit and money market funds is entering into a new wave, while there are also lots of discussions on tokenisation of revenue streams, real estate, IPs and more. In this panel, we will examine from current market landscape, legal and operational perspectives on the opportunities and limitations of tokenisation of different underlying assets and what are the potential catalysts for future opportunities.
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As institutional frameworks solidify and tokenization scales, capital is shifting from speculative cycles to durable value. This panel unpacks where professional investors see asymmetric upside over the next 24–36 months—RWA tokenization, stablecoin rails, on-chain funds, decentralized data, gaming, and identity. Speakers will discuss diligence playbooks, liquidity pathways, valuation metrics, and how compliance and custody are reshaping portfolio construction.
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Web3 is reshaping the asset management landscape, offering greater transparency, enhanced autonomy, and innovative strategies through on-chain investments, tokenized assets, and decentralized governance. This panel will focus on the practices and future trends in digital asset management, exploring how Web3 empowers its evolution.
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As machines become more autonomous – from EVs and drones to smart meters and supply chain robots – the need for frictionless, programmable payments grow. Web3 infrastructure offers a decentralised and secure foundation for machine-to-machine payments using stablecoins and smart contracts, also better enable micropayments. This panel explores how decentralised payment rails, digital identities and IoT integrations are enabling a new era of value exchange – not just between people, but also between devices. We will examine real-world use cases, infrastructure challenges, and the regulatory landscape shaping this next frontier.
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Interactive workshops provide actionable advice for starting and managing startups, offering essential insights and tools for entrepreneurs. These focused sessions cover effective foundations and ongoing business management, equipping participants with practical knowledge to build, launch, and run successful ventures with confidence and competence. Valuable networking with investors.
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As AI and Web3 reshape how value is created and captured, early-stage founders face a new kind of challenge: investors are more selective, technology cycles are faster, and hype often clouds substance. This workshop unpacks how start-ups can raise smart capital and scale sustainably in this shifting landscape.
Through real-world case studies and interactive discussions, we’ll explore:
Whether you’re gearing up to fundraise, assessing your investment readiness, or pursuing your next funding round, this session delivers practical insights to align your vision, technology, and capital strategy for sustainable growth.
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As AI reshapes every sector, founders and investors alike are racing to capture opportunities in a fast-evolving and increasingly competitive landscape. VC industry veteran Alyssa Lee, drawing on hands-on experience backing and working with AI-native founders in Silicon Valley and Asia, will discuss what real defensibility looks like in today’s market.
*Programme is subject to change without prior notice
*All programme are conducted at GMT + 8
