Beyond Expo 2025 edition shapes up to be the biggest and best yet

In its fifth edition this year, the Beyond Expo promised to continue bringing technology and innovation to center stage in Macau, and it did not disappoint.

For three days (May 22–24), over 800 companies showcased their products, services, and innovative proposals across various sectors, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), HealthTech, Clean Energy, Robotics, Lifestyle, Sports, and Financial Technology.

The expo also hosted over 800 investors and 300 speakers from around the world, attracting approximately 30,000 attendees at the Venetian Macao’s Cotai Expo, as well as the Parisian Theatre.

Among the most highlighted figures who took part in this year’s event were names such as Dr. Jian Wang, president of Zhejiang Lab and founder of Alibaba Cloud; Carl Pei, co-founder & CEO of Nothing; Dr. Burt Guo, CEO & chief scientist of Sichuan Aerofugia Technology Development Co., Ltd; Zhaopeng Chen, CEO & founder of Agile Robots SE; and Jingkang Liu, founder of Insta360.

At the opening ceremony, Beyond Expo co-founder Dr. Lu Gang explained, “When we first established Beyond Expo in 2021, we wanted to showcase the technological advancement of Asia. This global convergence of the best minds, where groundbreaking ideas meet transformative technologies, brings our vision to life: ‘Empowering Asia, Bridging the World.’ We are delighted to be celebrating our fifth year with over 800 companies – the largest number of participants to date from all over the world.”

Another Beyond Expo co-founder, Jason Ho, said, “We are committed to bringing successful tech visionaries together to share their knowledge and inspire others,” while launching the Beyond Founders Club (BFC), a selective group of tech minds that aims to connect key tech influencers, visionary entrepreneurs, and pioneering innovators to explore global tech trends.

As Ho remarked, “The founding members are driven by the mission to guide the next generation in the pursuit of sustainable technological solutions to tackle global challenges.”

The expo program was jam-packed with events featuring key panel sessions, including the Global Investment Summit, AI Summit, Wealth Summit, BGlobal Summit, Asia-Europe Tech Forum, Japan Tech Forum, Asia-Latam Tech Forum, Fashion Tech Forum, Global Cross-Border E-commerce Ecosystem, Gen-Z Founder Forum, International Industrial Design Forum, ORIGIN Southeast Asia Summit, SHETECH Summit, WEB3+AI Forum, Sports Tech, and Zayed Sustainability Prize China Forum.

Most of these sessions took place concurrently, leading attendees and visitors to navigate the program based on their specific interests.

One of the most highly anticipated events from the program was the “Fund at First Pitch,” a live competition that provided entrepreneurs with the opportunity to engage directly with potential investors and pitch their ideas for immediate funding.
According to organizers, the event drew over 150 companies and more than 100 investors, culminating in funding for the winners.

AI to force humans to reflect on humanity
In one of the most attended sessions, Zack Kass addressed how AI is redefining people’s understanding of humanity and themselves. He said that soon, technology will likely make brains “feel insignificant on any relative computational basis.”

For Kass, the most incredible thing that will happen regarding AI development over the next 10 years is that “we [humans] are going to rediscover what it (really) means to be human,” noting that unique human qualities such as empathy, creativity, humor, and adaptability will never be replaced by AI and will continue to be essential for the progress of humanity. Still, he predicts that these skills and qualities will likely need to evolve, just as technological advances progress.

Kass noted that machine learning is at a peak point, with machines learning rapidly and improving “twice as much every seven months,” forecasting that the first phase of AI implementation – putting the technology in the hands of people – will continue until 2027.

He also stated that, by the end of this period, the productivity of those using this technology is expected to increase by up to 40%. In the second phase, which focuses on AI autonomy, he expects productivity results to reach between 100% and 200%. The expert claims this stage could be reached around 2035.

Meeting backers’ expectations crucial for crowdfunding success
In a different talk titled “Crowdfunding for Asian Companies’ Global Expansion,” several experts debated the most important aspects of a crowdfunded project.

During the debate, Cheryl Tang, head of the Asia-Pacific region at Indiegogo, emphasized the importance of product quality and meeting – or exceeding – backers’ expectations.
Tang noted that backers are the customer base at the early stages of every project, when the brand has not yet established an image.

Disappointing them can result in irreparable damage to the brand.