Discus Fish of Cobo and Samuel Tse of Animoca Brands discuss how AI agents, digital identity and blockchain could change the way money moves.
Updated
November 2, 2026 12:03 PM
The Agentic Economy Summit at CVCF 2026 explores how AI agents and digital assets could shape the future of business and finance. IMAGE: CYBERPORT
For an AI agent to manage money on someone’s behalf, it needs more than the ability to follow instructions. It must be able to establish whom it represents, access funds and transact within agreed limits.
These are among the questions informing the discussion of AI and digital assets at Cyberport Venture Capital Forum (CVCF) 2026. Ahead of the forum, Discus Fish, CEO and Co-founder of Cobo, and Samuel Tse, Head of Investment and Corporate Finance at Animoca Brands, shared their views on how this convergence could develop—and where they see opportunities for businesses.
Discus Fish points to a longstanding challenge: blockchain can be difficult for everyday users to navigate, but AI agents may find it easier to interact with these networks.
“Blockchains have always been hard for ordinary people to use. AI agents may be better users: the chain is fully transparent and every record is traceable, which suits agents well.”
His outlook comes with a qualification. Both the agents and the networks they would use still need to develop.
“Agents aren’t capable enough yet, and chains are still adapting. But once agents truly run on-chain, the number of users and what’s possible will grow by an order of magnitude.”
Discus Fish says blockchain could reshape how financial assets are issued, traded and settled over the next five years. He also notes that institutional adoption has progressed faster than Cobo initially expected, with individual users no longer leading the shift. “Since 2017, we have believed blockchain will become part of the financial infrastructure of the future. We expected individual users to lead, but institutions moved faster.”
For Fish, the next stage involves a broader range of assets and financial clients.
“What gets redefined next is how assets are issued, traded, and settled. As traditional assets like US equities come on-chain, a much wider range of financial clients will follow.”
Samuel Tse, Head of Investment and Corporate Finance at Animoca Brands, focuses on investment opportunities across digital assets and agentic AI. He sees digital identity as essential to allowing AI agents to act on behalf of people while keeping transactions within the permissions they set.
He believes users should set clear rules for what an AI agent can do, allowing it to complete transactions without requiring approval for each one.
“Once agents can prove who they represent, hold digital assets, and move value under clear rules, the economy stops being click-by-click. You set the policy once—who, how much, for what—and the agent transacts inside it.”
He describes applications ranging from everyday payments and transfers to subscriptions, swaps and earning returns on idle funds. “That’s agentic transactions: payments, transfers, subscriptions, swaps, even chasing a better rate on idle cash. Identity is the trust layer. Assets and credentials are the spending authority—always accountable to the human who granted permission.”
In Tse’s account, the human remains the source of that authority. The agent acts within the permissions granted to it.
To illustrate how AI agents, digital identity and digital assets might work together, Tse offers a hypothetical Hong Kong parent's weekday.
“A Hong Kong parent’s weekday: top up the child’s Octopus, book a weekend football slot, translate a school notice for the helper, check weather before pickup, restock milk at the member price, and keep leftover budget earning until tomorrow.”
At present, he says, completing these tasks requires navigating services that often operate separately.
“Today that means many apps that don't talk to each other, and rails that struggle with micro payments.”
His proposed alternative brings the tasks together under instructions established by the user.
“With an agent, they set the rules once and let it decide what to do. Identity unlocks trust and member prices without oversharing. Digital assets fit the money—per-use fees, hard limits, yield until spend.”
For Tse, this combination could create opportunities across payments, merchants, identity providers and digital-asset platforms. He compares the potential scale of agentic commerce to an earlier change in how consumers accessed services.
“The iPhone in 2007 rewired how people buy and use services for 20 years. We are just at the beginning of a similar paradigm shift, with outcomes we can barely imagine.”
Discus Fish and Samuel Tse offer two perspectives on the emerging agentic economy, from the blockchain infrastructure enabling transactions to the digital identity and permissions that allow AI agents to act on people's behalf. At CVCF 2026, these ideas will become part of a wider conversation with the leaders building and investing in this evolving space.
Be part of the conversation. Join industry leaders, founders and investors at CVCF 2026 on 4–5 November and explore the technologies and opportunities shaping the next phase of business.
Exclusive for Ventureport readers: Use code cvcf26vp to access a Full Access Pass for HK$300, subject to confirmation by the organiser.
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With Phia’s AI, the new luxury is knowing what’s worth buying
Updated
February 10, 2026 12:56 PM
Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni, founders of Phia. PHOTO: PHIA
AI has transformed how we shop—predicting trends, powering virtual try-ons and streamlining fashion logistics. Yet some of the biggest pain points remain: endless scrolling, too many tabs and never knowing if you’ve overpaid. That’s the gap Phia aims to close.
Co-founded by Phoebe Gates, daughter of Bill Gates, and climate activist Sophia Kianni, Phia was born in a Stanford dorm room and launched in April 2025. The app, available on mobile and as a browser extension, compares prices across over 40,000 retailers and thrift platforms to show what an item really costs. Its hallmark feature, “Should I Buy This?”, instantly flags whether something is overpriced, fair or a genuine deal.
The mission is simple: make shopping smarter, fairer and more sustainable. In just five months, Phia has attracted more than 500,000 users, indexed billions of products and built over 5,000 brand partnerships. It also secured a US$8 million seed round led by Kleiner Perkins, joined by Hailey Bieber, Kris Jenner, Sara Blakely and Sheryl Sandberg—investors who bridge tech, retail and culture. “Phia is redefining how people make purchase decisions,” said Annie Case, partner at Kleiner Perkins.
Phia’s AI engine scans real-time data from more than 250 million products across its network, including Vestiaire Collective, StockX, eBay and Poshmark. Beyond comparing prices, the app helps users discover cheaper or more sustainable options by displaying pre-owned items next to new ones—helping users see the full spectrum of choices before they buy. It also evaluates how different brands perform over time, analysing how well their products hold resale value. This insight helps shoppers judge whether a purchase is likely to last in value or if opting for a second-hand version makes more sense. The result is a platform that naturally encourages circular shopping—keeping items in use longer through resale, repair or recycling—and resonates strongly with Gen Z and millennial values of sustainability and mindful spending.
By encouraging transparency and smarter choices, Phia signals a broader shift in consumer technology: one where AI doesn’t just automate decisions but empowers users to understand them. Instead of merely digitizing the act of shopping, Phia embodies data-driven accountability—using intelligent search to help consumers make informed and ethical choices in markets long clouded by complexity. Retail analysts believe this level of visibility could push brands to maintain accurate and competitive pricing. Skeptics, however, argue that Phia must evolve beyond comparison to create emotional connection and loyalty. Still, one fact stands out: algorithms are no longer just recommending what we buy—they’re rewriting how we decide.
With new funding powering GPU expansion and advanced personalization tools, Phia’s next step is to build a true AI shopping agent—one that helps people buy better, live smarter and rethink what it means to shop with purpose.