2026 agenda

What does it take to move AI from the lab into the real world? In this visually driven keynote, explore how Sony AI is transforming breakthrough research into real-world systems across gaming, robotics, and consumer products. From the Gran Turismo Sophy racing agent to advances in sensory and motor intelligence, discover how AI is being trained, tested, and deployed in dynamic environments. This session reveals what it truly takes to bridge research, performance, and productization at scale.

From intelligent product discovery, conversational commerce to transaction-grade execution, emerging agentic AI systems are transforming merchant processes and shopper interactions across customer journeys. [What are the implications for retailers and consumers, and how should we prepare for an agentic commerce world].

For three years, venture capital endured its longest liquidity drought in a decade — leaving LPs staring down nearly $200 billion in negative cash flow and 59,400 VC SG Analytics-backed private companies competing against just 4,386 public US companies for a way out. Now 2026 is being billed as the year the door swings open: SpaceX has filed for a June Nasdaq listing at a $1.75 trillion valuation TECHi®, OpenAI is preparing a Q4 2026 IPO targeting $1 trillion IndexBox, and M&A deal value has surged past pre-pandemic peaks.But is the window really open — or just cracked open for a privileged few?

Most APAC and MENA founders treat equity as the only option. It isn't. Venture debt, revenue-based financing, Shariah-compliant structures, and blended instruments are reshaping how the most capital-efficient founders in emerging markets grow — without giving away the company to do it. Two investors who deploy across the corridors that matter most share when debt beats equity, how to structure a round that doesn't haunt you at Series B, and why the founders who understand their full capital toolkit consistently outperform those who don't.

As AI moves from digital to physical environments, a new paradigm is emerging called Physical AI. Drawing on large scale deployments across industries, this session explores how real-world intelligence is transforming manufacturing, logistics, retail and healthcare. From operational data to AI alignment and human in the loop systems, discover what it takes to scale AI in mission critical environments and how this shift will redefine industries and economies.

This real-world case study examines how AI is being deployed in healthcare environments to improve diagnostics, clinical decision-making, and patient outcomes.

As fintech matures, capital alone is no longer enough. The next generation of financial innovation is being shaped by co-creation, deep, long-term partnerships between banks, investors, and institutions that can take technology from pilot to global scale.In this fireside chat, we will unpack how institutions are redefining their role in fintech growth.The conversation explores how banks and long-duration capital providers evaluate innovation beyond valuation and hype, focusing instead on strategic fit, governance, regulatory readiness, and real commercial pathways. From venture to private equity to bank-led co-creation, the speakers share what it takes for startups to move from experimentation to integration inside complex financial systems.This session offers founders, investors, and operators a rare look at how institutional capital actually works, what separates investable fintech from scalable fintech, and why collaboration, not disruption alone, will define the next phase of financial innovation.

AI is becoming critical infrastructure for the space economy, enabling autonomous satellites, real-time orbital decision-making, and large-scale data analysis. As commercial activity in space accelerates, AI is unlocking new opportunities across telecom, climate intelligence, and defense, transforming space into a scalable, data-driven industry.

This keynote explores how organisations can scale AI across markets while meeting rising requirements on data residency, security, compliance, and national cloud policies.

Adobe's JAPAC President on how AI is rewiring creative production and why creative intelligence is the next competitive moat.

Three operators reshaping how goods, data and capital move across borders- and why the biggest logistics revolution is still mostly invisible.