The Beyond Expo 2024 kicked off with a stunning opening ceremony on May 22 at the Venetian Theatre in the Venetian Macao. The ceremony, themed "What's Next?" brought together global leaders in technological innovation, providing significant insights and unique perspectives to kick off this year's tech event.

The opening ceremony, hosted and moderated by Jason Ho, co-founder of BEYOND Expo, featured an extraordinary lineup of distinguished guests. Through fireside chats and panel discussions, these leaders shared their visionary insights and groundbreaking work in various fields. Jason HO inaugurated the 4th BEYOND Expo by highlighting the current global uncertainties, economic downturns, and the transformative impact of AI on industries and the workforce. Despite these challenges, he expressed confidence that, with the right mindset, partnerships, and strategic platforms like BEYOND, the community can collectively embrace and navigate these uncertainties.

Stepping Beyond in the Fourth Year

This year, the expo seemed bigger than ever, with prominent keynote speakers and special guests, including David Beckham (international celebrity and Sands Global Ambassador), Robin ZENG (Chairperson of CATL), DENG Yaping (Olympic champion and table tennis grand slam winner), GUO Guangchang (Chairman of Fosun International), and Jackson WANG (creator and founder of TEAM WANG).

Dr. Lu Gang, co-founder of BEYOND Expo, revealed his perspective with Techsauce, saying that their ultimate goal is to leverage BEYOND Expo to the next level. 

Hopefully, we can be like the Asian version of CES. We can be your second stop if you are interested in the Asian market.

"We are delighted to have notable speakers across various industries. We position them as the founders; even though some of them are not well-known in the tech sector, they are founders in other industries. We hope they can share their knowledge and training with our community through our open platform like Beyond."

"If you look at the industry, everyone is talking about AI's impact on jobs or even beating human beings. But AI is also bringing us lots of alternatives. Some people don't believe in its hype. There's a lot of uncertainty, which means all the industries are facing uncertainties. Thus, we have to learn how to use AI to redefine their business model."

From Climate to a Planetary Crisis

The panel discussion on ClimateTech featured two leaders in the field: Siddharth Chatterjee, UN Resident Coordinator in China, highlighted: "We've seen a crisis of health with the COVID pandemic, which showed the fragility of human health and health systems. 

The second is a climate crisis, which has upended lives and livelihoods. I think what we need to do now is find a new multilateral space, bringing together nation states and not just nation states but also public-private partnerships, to give velocity to the climate agenda. Because quite clearly, that 1.5°C rise may become completely unachievable unless we get together to deal with it."

Jon Creyts, CEO of RMI, added, "We have to accelerate innovation, especially in hard-to-abate sectors such as steel, cement, aluminum, heavy freight, shipping, etc. These ideas are going to come from all over the world, and we need to ensure that there is alignment between venture capital, equity investment, and bank financing to support these innovations. We also have to scale existing solutions. This is the area where significant reform needs to happen so that we can mitigate the risk associated with project pipelines."

AI Impact: The Gap Between China and the U.S.

During the next panel discussion, LIU Qingfeng, Chairman of iFLYTEK, shared his perspective with XU Bing, Co-Founder of SenseTime, and ZHANG Wen, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Biren Technology.

The panel offered deep insights into the future of AI. LIU Qingfeng underscored a fundamental principle in AI development, stating, "The focus of AI development should be on building a better world, not merely changing it. The future belongs to those who master AI, rather than to AI itself." He addressed concerns about AI's impact on employment, adding, "AI should evolve with humanity, empowering individuals to become better versions of themselves."

XU Bing highlighted AI's pivotal role across industries and the necessity for a diverse global AI market. He emphasized, "AI's development has a profound global impact, creating substantial value across economic and labor sectors. This growth will foster numerous new enterprises valued from hundreds of billions to trillions of dollars, bringing disruptive innovations to education, healthcare, social interaction, gaming, and entertainment."

ZHANG Wen added, "The gap in AI capabilities between China and the US is likely to narrow in the long term." He further elaborated, "Contrary to concerns about AI development being too fast, I think the progress has been too slow. The impact of the internet is far greater than that of AI. I believe AI will have a huge impact on humanity in 5 to 10 years, but in the short term, the impact won't be as significant."

Fireside Chat: Neil Shen, Founding and Managing Partner of HongShan Capital

Neil Shen shared his insights on embracing uncertainties, which is also the theme of Beyond Expo 2024. "As investors, particularly in venture capital, dealing with uncertainties is a constant reality. These uncertainties arise from multiple sources. Our portfolio companies face inherent business uncertainties, but broader challenges also play a significant role. Financial market fluctuations can impact even early-stage companies, affecting capital availability and venture funding."

Shen further elaborated, "Disruptive technologies add another layer of uncertainty. For our portfolio CEOs, the key is to anticipate and strategically position for such uncertainties. Much like adjusting speed to navigate potential hazards on a highway, being proactive, staying ahead of trends, and planning strategically are crucial."

He emphasized, "For companies aiming to establish their differentiation, it is crucial to delve deeply into one area to develop expertise. The first essential step is to become a dominant leader in a specific field before considering expansion."

The Beyond Expo 2024 set the stage for an inspiring and thought-provoking event, driving forward the conversation on what's next in technology and innovation. The expo is anticipated to attract industry leaders, innovators, investors, and professionals from various sectors to explore and discuss the latest advancements in technology. This diverse gathering promises to foster collaboration and inspire groundbreaking innovations that will shape the future.

"We have a SheTech summit to focus on female talents and their power. This is not new in the international landscape, but it's actually new in China, including in some Asian countries  as well. So we really want to highlight what they are doing. The female power", Dr. Lu Gang added.