Hong Kong, January 16, 2026 – As the annual spotlight and closing occasion of the World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC), the “WAIC UP! Global Year – End Gala” was held at the moment at the Hong Kong Science Park. Thousands of audiences all through the day gathered with AI consultants, students, entrepreneurs, traders from world wide, the Chinese mainland, and Hong Kong, in addition to Hong Kong Legislative Council members.
This gala is of nice significance. Its core theme “WAKE UP MORE!” symbolizes a complete awakening from cognition to motion, and from people to the ecosystem. This is just not solely the primary time that the WAIC has held its annual flagship occasion in Hong Kong, but additionally marks a historic strategic handshake between the slicing – edge AI business practices within the Chinese mainland, represented by Shanghai, and Hong Kong’s worldwide hub operate, collectively inspiring broader technological prospects, deeper industrial integration, and a extra globally influential innovation ecosystem.
Top – notch political, enterprise, and tutorial lineup builds a global mental excessive – floor
The convention has acquired excessive consideration and assist from all sectors in Hong Kong. The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Mr. Li Jiachao, specifically delivered a gap speech through video. He mentioned that this yr’s gala is held in Hong Kong for the primary time, with the theme of “WAKE UP MORE!”, which demonstrates the infinite potentialities of synthetic intelligence. We ought to leverage AI to drive innovation and use it to construct an inclusive financial system, extra resilient communities, and create a future for all in a extra sustainable method. He additionally clarified Hong Kong’s strategic place within the international AI panorama and despatched a coverage sign of full assist for the event of the innovation and expertise business. Professor Sun Dong, the Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, JP, Mr. Huang Bingxiu, the Chief Executive Officer of the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, and Mr. Qiu Dagen, a member of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Legislative Council and the President of the Hong Kong Information Technology Federation attended the occasion in particular person to ship speeches. Notably, Mr. Xian Handi, a consultant of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to the 14th National People’s Congress, JP, MH, additionally attended the convention and delivered a speech. He and Ms. Qiu Haoming, the Vice – President of Donghao Lansheng Exhibition Group Co., Ltd., the occasion organizer, collectively launched this annual mental gala within the worldwide AI neighborhood.
This lineup, along with greater than 40 international prime AI expertise and business giants at the convention, varieties a golden triangle of “government strategy + academic frontier + industrial practice”, marking that an innovation closed – loop connecting the Yangtze River Delta and the Greater Bay Area, and integrating prime – notch applied sciences with the worldwide market is accelerating its formation on the WAIC platform.
Three – act progressive discussion board exactly matches mental worth
The agenda design breaks by means of the normal mannequin. For the primary time, the 5 main ecological manufacturers below WAIC are introduced in parallel in Hong Kong, with the primary line of “Intellectual Awakening – Dimensional Upgrade – Inspiration Burst” to create a differentiated expertise.
Morning Session [WAKE Intellectual Awakening]
Focus on new – wave concepts and anchor the longer term coordinates
In the morning, based mostly on the worldwide frontier, WAIC UP! New – wave Ideas broadens our horizons and permits us to see the true define of the longer term.
Piero Scaruffi, the founder and dean of the Silicon Valley Artificial Intelligence Research Institute delivered the opening keynote speech. With the framework of “70·40·10 – The Past, Present, and Future of Artificial Intelligence and Silicon Valley”, he comprehensively sorted out the 70 – yr technological evolution of AI, the 40 – yr innovation ecosystem in Silicon Valley, and the unknowns and hopes within the subsequent decade.
Professor Guo Yike, a international academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and the Chief Vice – Chancellor of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology concretized the grand idea of AI sovereignty right into a collection of in – depth localized functions similar to “HKChat”, demonstrating how AI expertise can take root within the cloth of Hong Kong society and the strategic worth of Hong Kong as an AI hub between the East and the West.
Ma Weiying, the Chief AI Director of the City University of Hong Kong and the Dean of the Hong Kong Artificial Intelligence and Science Research Institute elaborated on the imaginative and prescient of an “AI scientist” and proposed the FLEX (Forward Learning From Experiences) framework mixed with a hierarchical reminiscence system to attain a closed – loop co – evolution of intelligence and expertise, outlining the longer term state of affairs of AI reshaping the paradigm of scientific discovery and the college analysis and schooling system.
Afternoon Session [UP Dimensional Upgrade]
Parallel presentation of the WAIC matrix, concentrating on sensible functions and the ecosystem
In the afternoon, it enters a excessive – density, segmented sensible docking session.
n WAIC CONNECT Practical Cases
Mr. Steve Hoffman, the Chairman and CEO of Founders Space began his speech with “AI is Eating Everything”. Using the vivid metaphor of “eating” and intuitive illustrations, he macroscopically outlined the worldwide image of the technological explosion and the competitors state of affairs between China and the United States, finally triggering an pressing and profound reflection on “whether AI will replace human jobs”.
The views of 4 events from scientific analysis, computing energy, capital, and the market converge into the “Business and Industry Round – Table”, comprehensively discussing the closed – loop from expertise R & D to industrial implementation. Special consideration is paid to the right way to rework laboratory outcomes into steady merchandise, the right way to break by means of the bottleneck of huge – scale income, and the right way to construct an open and collaborative AI ecosystem, offering a transparent and sensible improvement path for the industrialization of AI.
n WAIC YOUNG Educational and Scientific Trends
The vice – chancellor – degree scientific leaders from the University of Hong Kong, the City University of Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University gathered at the “Presidents’ Round – Table”. They not solely analyzed the bottlenecks such because the schooling analysis system and the disconnection between business, academia, and analysis, but additionally proposed particular paths for deepening the combination of the Guangdong – Hong Kong – Macao Greater Bay Area and constructing a parallel “research – industry” cooperation community, offering systematic pondering and motion instructions for strengthening the scientific and technological basis within the AI period.
In the cross – border dialogue of the “Youth Observers” specializing in the subsequent technology, cosmologists, artists, educators, and ecosystem builders carried out in – depth discussions from a number of dimensions such because the interstellar scale, the essence of artwork, early childhood schooling, and the worth of civilization, exploring the basic collisions between AI as a “new form of life” and people when it comes to the rhythm of evolution, the topic of creation, and the definition of worth.
n WAIC FUTURE TECH Track Opportunities
Professor Lu Cewu, the co – founding father of Qiongche Intelligence, the co – founding father of Feixi Robotics, the deputy dean of the School of Artificial Intelligence at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, and the deputy dean of the Shanghai Chuangzhi Institute targeted on embodied intelligence and proposed the “real – world foundation – imagination expansion – subconscious learning” strategy. He pioneered the gang – sourcing (RoboPocket) paradigm, constructed a “digital gene” world mannequin, and emphasised the total data fusion of power and place to interrupt by means of the Scaling Law dilemma.
The “Quantum Round – Table” invited a number of representatives of various expertise routes and business observers, together with Zhu Xiaobo, the chief engineer of the “Zuchongzhi” quantum pc, to have a face – to – face alternate. The subjects lined the combination of quantum computing and AI, the competitors and prospects of various expertise routes, and the leap of quantum computing from “superiority” to “practicality”, presenting a slicing – edge scientific and technological dialogue that’s each ahead – trying, crucial, and constructive.
n AI GRAVITY Connecting the World
Mr. Fu Sheng, the Chairman and CEO of Cheetah Mobile and the Chairman of Orion Star used his firm’s “AI – enabled” transformation for instance and proposed a 3 – step enterprise transformation plan of “leadership demonstration, full – staff revolution, and tool implementation”. He confirmed with vivid circumstances how a longtime firm can embrace AI with an all – in angle.
The “Going – Global Strategy Round – Table” introduced collectively practitioners within the fields of primary fashions, automotive finance, industrial Internet, and clever logistics who’re going international. Together with representatives of the Greater Bay Area assets, specifically the Hong Kong Investment Promotion Agency and the Hong Kong Productivity Council, they actively explored the improve path from single – level going – international to systematic “fleet – style” improvement by means of expertise empowerment, ecological cooperation, and platform collaboration.
Evening Session [Inspiration Burst]
Break by means of circles and stimulate “Inspiration Burst”
When the lights of Victoria Harbour are lit up, this all – day mental feast reaches one other climax within the night session.
The Free Talk Zone led by the 5 main ecological manufacturers of WAIC gives a seamless communication platform, permitting probably the most worthwhile assets, alternatives, and inspirations to circulate naturally in casual conversations. ZhiHu content material creators, geeks from the WAYtoAGI and RTE developer communities, younger BIM scientists, and prime AI expertise bloggers have equal – footing conversations with the large names who took the stage through the day. Steve Hoffman delivered a particular interactive speech on “SimCity: The Future Created by AI”. Dr. Allen Yang, the founding govt director of the VIVE Augmented Reality Center at the University of California, Berkeley revealed the true ambition of Physical AI for the primary time on – website. A member of the Hong Kong Legislative Council, a