2026 agenda

Join the conversations shaping the future of technology – from new opportunities for growth to the partnerships and innovations driving what’s next.

EXPLORE TICKETS

Day 1 - 8th July

10:00

MC Welcome

DeepFest - LEAP East
July 8, 2026
10:00 to 10:05

Yamilette Cano

Founder, Speaker & Author

Louder Global

Opening Ceremony

Main Stage - LEAP East
July 8, 2026
10:00 to 10:15

Opening Remarks

Orbital Stage - LEAP East
July 8, 2026
10:00 to 10:10

Elliott Gotkine

Emmy Award-winning

TV news correspondent

10:05

How AI Is Reshaping the Real Economy

DeepFest - LEAP East
July 8, 2026
10:05 to 10:20

As AI becomes a foundational layer of the digital economy, its impact is extending far beyond technology companies into sectors that underpin economic growth and societal development. From transforming financial services and enabling smarter healthcare delivery to accelerating innovation in new energy systems, this keynote explores how AI is being applied across industries to improve efficiency, unlock new business models, and create real-world value at scale.

Leo Li

President of International Business

Ant Digital Technologies

10:10

Building a Financial Hub for the Next Era of Global Finance

Orbital Stage - LEAP East
July 8, 2026
10:10 to 10:30

As global finance undergoes structural change driven by technology, geopolitics, and shifting capital flows, financial centres must evolve beyond traditional strengths to remain competitive. In this fireside conversation, Joseph H. L. Chan, Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury of the Government of Hong Kong SAR, explores how leading jurisdictions are redefining what it means to be a global financial hub in a digital and multipolar world.The discussion examines how policy, infrastructure, and regulatory innovation work together to attract capital, support emerging financial technologies, and enable cross-border connectivity. From digital assets and real-time payments to market infrastructure and talent development, this session provides a strategic perspective on how governments can position their economies at the centre of the next era of global finance.

Elliott Gotkine

Emmy Award-winning

TV news correspondent

10:15

Welcome Remarks

Main Stage - LEAP East
July 8, 2026
10:15 to 10:25

H.E. Abdullah Alswaha

Minister of Communication & Information Technology

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

10:20

What Does It Take to Move AI from the Lab to the Real World?

DeepFest - LEAP East
July 8, 2026
10:20 to 10:40

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.

Michael Spranger

President

Sony AI

Where Startups and Corporates Actually Get Stuff Done

Ecosystem Xchange - LEAP East
July 8, 2026
10:20 to 11:00

Most corporate-startup collaborations die in the pilot. The press release gets written, the innovation theatre plays out, and eighteen months later nothing has shipped. This session is for the ones that didn't.Three practitioners: a corporate that committed, a startup that survived the procurement process, and the ecosystem builder who's watched hundreds of both, unpack what real collaboration actually requires: honest problem statements, decision-makers in the room, and the willingness to move past proof-of-concept into something that changes how a business operates.No case studies dressed up as strategy. No innovation for the annual report. Just the unfiltered playbook for making corporate-startup partnerships work across the APAC-Middle East corridor and the hard lessons from the ones that didn’t.

Ted Howland

Senior Director, Group Sustainability

CapitaLand Investment

Johannes Jaeger

Vice President of Enterprise

Agorize

Ashish Jerry Justin

Co-Founder and CEO

Carnot Innovations

Dr. Ali AlHasan

Founder & CEO

NanoPalm

10:25

Welcome Remarks

Main Stage - LEAP East
July 8, 2026
10:25 to 10:35

Prof. Sun Dong

Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry

Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

10:30

The Fintech Gateway to Global: From Local Excellence to Overseas Success

Orbital Stage - LEAP East
July 8, 2026
10:30 to 10:50

This session will explore how fintech companies can leverage their local strengths and proven business models to overcome market entry challenges and achieve global expansion.

Syed Musheer Ahmed

Founder

FinStep Asia

Dr. Miles Wen

CEO & Co-founder

Fano Labs Limited

JiaoJiao Zhang

Head of Portfolio Coverage, Hong Kong

HSBC Innovation Banking

10:35

Flagship Keynote

Main Stage - LEAP East
July 8, 2026
10:35 to 10:45

Dr. Li Xu

Co-Founder, Executive Chairman of the Board, Executive Director, Chief Executive Officer

SenseTime

10:40

The AI Inference is coming ... Are you ready?

DeepFest - LEAP East
July 8, 2026
10:40 to 11:00

The advancement of foundation models and LLMs is rapid, and their lifecycle is short. Therefore, it is natural for enterprises to focus on leveraging model availability to build AI inference and reasoning capabilities. This session examines whether you are ready for the next generation of inference driven AI applications.

Dr. Charleston Sin

Head of AI and Data

Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP)

10:50

Re-engineering Global Money Rails: APAC, Interoperability & Scale

Orbital Stage - LEAP East
July 8, 2026
10:50 to 11:30

As global finance fragments and real-time money movement becomes a strategic imperative, the future of financial infrastructure is being redesigned, rail by rail. Nowhere is this transformation more visible, or more complex, than in Asia-Pacific, where scale, regulation, and innovation intersect at speed.This panel brings together leaders shaping money movement from every layer of the stack: global banks, payments platforms, ecosystem architects, digital-asset infrastructure providers, and next-generation tokenised networks. We will move beyond vision to execution, examining what scales, where interoperability breaks down, and how APAC is shaping the architecture of global money in an era of real-time finance, regional divergence, and platform-driven growth.

Samuel Ubido

Chairman

Techinnovate Group

Dr. Yanan Wu

Chairman & CEO

Surfin

Nenter Chow

CEO

Bitmart

Colin Payne

Head of Innovation

Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

10:55

Strategic Bridges: How Cross-Border Growth Happens

Main Stage - LEAP East
July 8, 2026
10:55 to 11:05

The most significant economic transformations of our time are no longer happening within borders, but across them. As capital, technology and business networks move more actively between the Middle East and Asia, new growth corridors are taking shape. Through the lens of ewpartners’ experience connecting Asian companies with Middle Eastern opportunities, this session explores how strategic bridges are built in practice, and how trusted partners turn market interest into real commercial outcomes.

Jerry Li

Founder & Managing Partner

ewpartners

11:00

Agentic Commerce and the New Consumer Economy

DeepFest - LEAP East
July 8, 2026
11:00 to 11:30

As AI systems evolve from recommendation engines into autonomous agents capable of discovery, decision-making, and transaction execution, a new era of commerce is emerging. From intelligent shopping assistants and AI-driven retail operations to transaction-grade explainability and consumer trust, this session explores how agentic AI is reshaping customer journeys, merchant ecosystems, and the future of digital commerce. How should retailers, platforms, and consumers prepare for a world where AI agents increasingly act, decide, and transact on our behalf?

Oliver Tan

Co‐founder & CEO

ViSenze (Rezolve AI)

Mei Chen

Global Retail Executive

Jovan Trajceski

Partner, BrightPath Holdings

Board Member, FinTech Association of Hong Kong

First Money In: What VCs Actually Look for Before the Traction Is There

Ecosystem Xchange - LEAP East
July 8, 2026
11:00 to 11:40

The pitch deck is the easy part. This conversation goes inside the head of an early-stage investor: what signals matter before revenue, why most APAC and MENA founders misread what "conviction" actually means, and what separates a fundable company from a fundable founder. One serial entrepreneur who's been on both sides of the table and one seed-stage VC manager get brutally honest. No fundraising folklore - just the real framework.

Guillermo Ginesta

Managing Director

brinc

Cristina Ventura

General Partner & Chief Catalyst Officer

White Star Capital

Ryan Manuel

Founder

Bilby

11:20

Shaping Strategic Industries: How Hong Kong Lands the Next Generation of Global Tech Leaders

Main Stage - LEAP East
July 8, 2026
11:20 to 11:30

Hong Kong is making a clear move for the next generation of global tech champions. In this keynote, Peter Yan will share how the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises (OASES) is bringing strategic enterprises into the city and helping them scale across AI, advanced manufacturing, life sciences and fintech. The session will spotlight how Hong Kong is turning its connectivity, capital and innovation ecosystem into a launchpad for companies building the future.

Peter Yan

Director-General

Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises, the Government of the HKSAR

11:30

Where are Asia's Next AI Unicorns Hiding?

DeepFest - LEAP East
July 8, 2026
11:30 to 12:00

Where are Asia’s next AI unicorns emerging? Investors and founders discuss the sectors attracting capital and the unique innovation models shaping the region.

Harry Man

Founding Partner

MPC

Alex Zhavoronkov

Founder & CEO

Insilico Medicine

Somsubhra GanChoudhuri

Co-founder & CEO

AI Palette

Dr. Christina Yan Zhang

CEO

The Metaverse Institute

AI as the Operating System of Finance

Orbital Stage - LEAP East
July 8, 2026
11:30 to 12:10

Banking, data, and fintech leaders explore how AI is becoming the decision layer of financial systems. From risk and fraud to operations and compliance, this session focuses on what scales inside regulated institutions, and how governance, data, and architecture determine success.

Jessica Liu

Co-founder & Chief Strategy Officer

Planto

Alina Timofeeva

Influence Board Member

BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT

David Walker

Chief Technology and Operations Officer

Mox Bank

Marshall Kim

Group Chief Digital Officer

FWD Group

11:40

Is Venture Exit Window Finally Back?

Ecosystem Xchange - LEAP East
July 8, 2026
11:40 to 12:00

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?

Jed Ng

Founder

Angel School VC

Why Hong Kong: Best Practices & Trends for Founders Ready to Scale

Ecosystem Xchange - LEAP East
July 8, 2026
11:40 to 12:00

Hong Kong is accelerating as Asia’s hub for innovation. In this fireside chat, Jayne Chan from InvestHK and Benjamin Quinlan from Quinlan & Associates will share perspectives on how global lessons, future trends, and practical strategies translate into opportunities for scaleups in Hong Kong. Expect a lively two‐way conversation blending government, corporate, and founder viewpoints with actionable insights on scaling, fundraising, and leveraging Hong Kong’s unique advantages as a launchpad into Asia and beyond.

Jayne Chan

Head of Startups

Invest Hong Kong

Benjamin Quinlan

CEO & Managing Partner

Quinlan & Associates

11:50

Unlocking Asia & Global Growth – HKSTP As the Launchpad for Global Tech

Main Stage - LEAP East
July 8, 2026
11:50 to 12:00

As LEAP East’s exclusive Tech Ecosystem Partner, Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) connects innovators to the Chinese Mainland, Asia, and global markets – accelerating ideas from R&D to commercial success. In this keynote, discover how HKSTP opens doors to world-class infrastructure, talent, and policy support, turning breakthroughs into worldwide impact.

Terry Wong

CEO

Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP)

12:00

Capital Without the Dilution Tax: Venture Debt, Emerging Market Financing, and the Tools Founders Don't Know They Have.

Ecosystem Xchange - LEAP East
July 8, 2026
12:00 to 12:40

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.

Fariha Ansari Javed

Partner, GCC

Stride Ventures

Kyane Kassiri

Solo GP

Delusional Capital

Vishal Harishchandra

Chairman and CEO

Ocean AI. The Valkin Group

Alan Kuan Hsu

Synergy Creator

Synexia Ventures

Ambition At Infrastructure Scale: How Saudi Turns Digital Vision Into Operational Reality

Main Stage - LEAP East
July 8, 2026
12:00 to 12:20

Saudi’s digital transformation is being built at infrastructure scale, combining national ambition, public-sector platforms, global enterprise technology and on-the-ground execution. This fireside chat explores how Saudi is turning digital vision into real operational systems, and how cross-sector partnerships are helping build the infrastructure and capabilities behind long-term transformation.

Juliet Mann

Anchor, CGTN Europe

Majed Al Otaibi

Chief Government Proudest Officer

elm

Lawrence Yu

Chief Strategy and Businesses Development Officer

Lenovo Group Middle East, Türkiye and Africa Region

Scaling Enterprise AI Across Asia

DeepFest - LEAP East
July 8, 2026
12:00 to 12:20

A strategic conversation exploring how enterprises across Asia are moving from AI experimentation to real-world deployment, balancing innovation, operational scale, governance, and measurable business impact.

Madhav Timalsina

Vice President & Group Director - Head of Greater China Markets

Infosys

12:10

Inside the AI-Native Bank: Culture, Infrastructure and Intelligent Finance

Orbital Stage - LEAP East
July 8, 2026
12:10 to 12:30

Tat Lee, CEO of Welab Bank, joins Nicole Sandler of Ubyx to explore how AI is reshaping digital banking from the inside out. From credit and fraud prevention to culture, governance, and next-generation payment infrastructure, this session examines what it takes to build and scale truly AI-native financial institutions.

Alina Timofeeva

Influence Board Member

BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT

Tat Lee

Chief Executive and Board Member

WeLab Bank

12:20

The New Tech Diplomacy: From Tech Exchange to Strategic Advantage

Main Stage - LEAP East
July 8, 2026
12:20 to 12:55

As technology becomes central to national competitiveness, countries are taking a more active role in shaping how innovation moves across borders and translating tech exchange into strategic advantage

Adam Shaw

Multi Award Winning Journalist & Presenter

Sunny Tan

Chairman

Hong Kong Productivity Council

Bing Liu

Deputy Consul-General (Commercial) & Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner, Hong Kong and Macau

Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade)

Chris Woodward

Director General

British Consulate-General Hong Kong

Saud Hamad Algublan

Vice President of Services Exports

Saudi Exports Development Authority

When AI Touches the Physical World

DeepFest - LEAP East
July 8, 2026
12:20 to 12:40

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.

Yousuke Okada

Founder & CEO

ABEJA

12:30

The Death of Checkout: Embedded Finance & Invisible Payments

Orbital Stage - LEAP East
July 8, 2026
12:30 to 13:10

Finance is disappearing into platforms. This session examines how embedded finance, real-time payments, and platform-native models are reshaping commerce, banking, and inclusion, revealing where value is captured as payments become invisible and financial services integrate directly into digital experiences.

Jayant Kulkarni

Global Product Head Merchant Services

HSBC

Lito Villanueva

Executive Vice President / Chief Innovation & Inclusion officer

Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC)

13:00

What Happens When AI Systems Operate Where Humans Cannot?

DeepFest - LEAP East
July 8, 2026
13:00 to 13:20

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.

Dr. Bidushi Bhattacharya

former NASA scientist-turned-astropreneur. CEO

AstroHub

Gulf Connect X LEAP East

July 8, 2026
13:00 to 18:00

Gulf Connect, initiated by Sina Finance and SuperBridge Council in association with LEAP East, is a strategic platform that strengthens collaboration between Asia and the GCC across investment, technology, industry, and policy. During LEAP East Hong Kong 2026, the invitation-only Gulf Connect Executive Exchange will bring together sovereign wealth funds, investors, policymakers, technology leaders, and industry executives to explore frontier technologies, industrial transformation, investment opportunities, and future regional growth.

13:20

Powering the Next Frontier of Sustainability Intelligence

DeepFest - LEAP East
July 8, 2026
13:20 to 13:40

The future of sustainability is intelligent, predictive, and embedded at the heart of business strategy. This session examines how AI is redefining sustainability - shifting from static reporting to dynamic, data-driven action. By embedding intelligence across operations, enterprises can transform sustainability from a compliance exercise into a strategic lever for resilience and long-term growth.

Farrukh Shad

Head of Sustainability Business for the Asia Pacific, India, Middle East and Africa (APMEA) region

Schneider Electric

13:40

How AI Is Transforming Software Engineering

DeepFest - LEAP East
July 8, 2026
13:40 to 14:00

AI is reshaping the software development lifecycle, from coding assistance and intelligent testing to automated quality assurance and deployment workflows. This session explores how enterprises are integrating AI into engineering operations to improve speed, reliability, scalability, and product delivery.

Ahmad M. Dulli

General Manager of Technology Excellence

Elm

Julia Clyne

Founder

The Co-Intelligence Advisory

Trust Is the New Infrastructure: Security, Identity, Fraud & Regulation at Scale

Orbital Stage - LEAP East
July 8, 2026
13:40 to 14:20

How financial systems embed trust across technology, policy, and real-world use cases.As financial systems become real-time, cross-border, and increasingly embedded, trust is no longer a layer, it is the infrastructure itself. Security, identity, fraud prevention, and regulation now shape how financial products are designed, scaled, and adopted.This session examines how banks, fintechs, infrastructure providers, and regulators are building trust into financial systems by design, rather than treating security and compliance as afterthoughts. It explores how regulatory frameworks, identity models, and fraud controls are converging with technology to enable scale, without sacrificing resilience or user experience.Rather than focusing on threats alone, the discussion centres on practical use cases where trust infrastructure enables growth, interoperability, and inclusion across Asia and global markets

Tianwei Liu

Co-founder & CEO

StraitsX

Petra Janez

Financial Counsellor

Ministry of Finance Slovenia

Takatoshi Shibayama

Head of APAC

Ledger

Yoyee Wang

Head of Business-to-Business

Bybit

13:45

Panel Discussion: "Crack the Code: How to Actually Enter Saudi Arabia (Without a 12-Month Detour)"

July 8, 2026
13:45 to 14:45

Vision 2030 is real money and a real market — but most foreign founders burn 6–18 months learning what insiders already know: who the real decision-makers are, which government programs accelerate vs. stall, and how local partnerships get structured to actually work. This session brings together founders who've successfully landed in KSA and the ecosystem builders who helped them — sharing the exact playbook, the mistakes that cost time, and the shortcuts that don't exist but the workarounds that do.Vision 2030 is real money and a real market — but most foreign founders burn 6–18 months learning what insiders already know: who the real decision-makers are, which government programs accelerate vs. stall, and how local partnerships get structured to actually work. This session brings together founders who've successfully landed in KSA and the ecosystem builders who helped them — sharing the exact playbook, the mistakes that cost time, and the shortcuts that don't exist but the workarounds that do.

Forging New Frontiers: Expanding from Hong Kong to the Middle East and Beyond