Insight

What CVCF 2026 Has in Store for Startups, Investors and AI Innovators

Join us at CVCF 2026 to explore how startups can scale and win in the age of AI.

Updated

October 29, 2026 11:39 PM

CVCF 2026 takes place on 4–5 November at Cyberport, Hong Kong. IMAGE: CYBERPORT

AI can help you build a startup, but it won’t automatically make you stand out. When everyone has access to similar tools, you need to give customers a reason to choose you and investors a reason to back you. So, how do you turn innovation into a competitive edge?

That question sits at the heart of Cyberport Venture & Capital Forum (CVCF) 2026, taking place on 4–5 November under the theme “Scaling in a Changing World: Winning the Next Competitive Cycle” and the message “Scale Up & Win.”

The two-day forum will feature more than 80 speakers discussing venture investment, AI-driven growth, emerging technologies and expansion into new markets. Day 1 will explore global investment trends and the next wave of innovation. Day 2 will feature CVCF 2026’s spotlight event, the Agentic Economy Summit, examining how agentic AI and digital assets could reshape business and finance. The wider programme will also include investor matching, founder pitches, 100+ Innovator Showcase, startup workshops and clinics.

With founders and investors navigating a fast-changing technology landscape, CVCF 2026 will explore what it takes to stay competitive, scale into new markets and turn emerging opportunities into business growth. Here’s a look at the key programmes lined up for this year’s forum.

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CVCF 2026 will explore investment trends, global expansion, AI and digital assets. IMAGE: CYBERPORT

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nside CVCF 2026: Meet Investors, Discover Startups and Explore What’s Next

Keynotes and Panels: Finding the Next Big Opportunity

Taara founder and CEO Mahesh Krishnaswamy will deliver the keynote The Innovation Playbook: Capitalizing on Moonshots and Faster Cycles in the Age of AI. The wider Day 1 programme will cover global investment trends, expansion into new markets, agentic AI and one-person companies.

For startups navigating the AI market, the panel Mastering the AI Bubble: Capital Rerouting and How Global Champions Stand Out will bring together panellists from Quona Capital, Alumni Ventures, FOV Ventures and Capital6 to discuss how investors assess startups and distinguish commercial potential from market hype. Other sessions will explore emerging technologies beyond AI software, including embodied AI, advanced computing and commercial aerospace.

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CVCF 2026 features investor matching, founder pitch, innovator showcases, workshops and networking. IMAGE: CYBERPORT

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Investor Matching and Networking: Connecting with Capital

Away from the conference sessions, MatchEasy will help founders and investors arrange one-to-one meetings, either onsite or online. Confirmed participants will receive access to the platform to explore potential matches and schedule meetings.

Investors can also discover local and international startups through the Founder Pitch programme, where entrepreneurs present their projects and ventures. Meanwhile, the Innovator Showcase offers a separate opportunity to explore emerging technology solutions through a virtual platform and selected on-site exhibits.  

For founders seeking more tailored guidance, the Startup Clinics will offer one-to-one discussions with industry experts and experienced entrepreneurs on business challenges, fundraising and growth. Advance registration is required.

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Hands-On Workshops: Strengthening Your Investment Pitch

Turning an innovative idea into a business that investors can back takes more than a strong pitch. CVCF 2026 will host practical workshops to help founders strengthen their fundraising strategies and make a stronger case to investors.

Led by Capital6 advisor Christine Keung, one workshop will explore how founders can align technical innovation with business goals, communicate their product’s value and prepare for fundraising. Another, led by Jeremy Dalton, advisor at FOV Ventures and SXSW Pitch, will help founders understand how investors assess startups, with opportunities to pitch live and receive direct feedback.

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Day 2 workshops feature Christine Keung and Jeremy Dalton on investor backing and startup pitching. IMAGE: CYBERPORT

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Spotlight Event: Agentic Economy Summit
The Agentic Economy Summit will explore agentic AI and digital assets on 5 November 2026. IMAGE: CYBERPORT

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CVCF 2026’s spotlight event, the Agentic Economy Summit, will take place on 5 November under the theme “Intelligent Frontiers, Tokenised Horizons: Where Agentic AI Reshapes Business and Digital Assets Redefine How Value Moves.”

The summit will bring together technology and finance leaders to explore how agentic AI and digital assets could change the way businesses operate. Wolf Ruzicka, chief commercial officer at Unlimit, a global payments company, will discuss building and scaling agentic AI applications. Dr Feng Xiao, chairman and CEO of HashKey Group, will examine how digital identity, tokenised assets and money connect on-chain.

The discussions will also look at agent-led commerce, including how AI agents could help customers choose products and make purchases, and the payment systems needed to support these transactions. Other topics include Hong Kong dollar stablecoins and their potential role in payments and settlement, as well as the rise of one-person companies. The summit will also explore how founders can use AI agents to run their businesses with smaller teams, find customers and generate recurring revenue.

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Secure Your Pass to CVCF 2026!  

From AI-driven growth and cross-border investment to agentic AI and digital assets, CVCF 2026 brings together the people and ideas shaping the next phase of business. Whether you're preparing to raise capital, exploring new markets or assessing emerging technologies, the forum offers an opportunity to gain fresh perspectives and connect with investors, founders and industry leaders.

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Exclusive for Ventureport readers: Use the promotional code cvcf26vp to access a Full Access Pass for HK$300, subject to confirmation of the offer by the organiser.

Date: 4–5 November 2026  
Function Rooms, Level 3, Core E, Cyberport 3, Hong Kong

Register for CVCF 2026

Keep Reading

Artificial Intelligence

How KIOXIA’s Memory-Centric AI Tackles Growing Challenges in Logistics

Where smarter storage meets smarter logistics.

Updated

January 8, 2026 6:32 PM

Kioxia's flagship building at Yokohama Technology Campus. PHOTO: KIOXIA

E-commerce keeps growing and with it, the number of products moving through warehouses every day. Items vary more than ever — different shapes, seasonal packaging, limited editions and constantly updated designs. At the same time, many logistics centers are dealing with labour shortages and rising pressure to automate.

But today’s image-recognition AI isn’t built for this level of change. Most systems rely on deep-learning models that need to be adjusted or retrained whenever new products appear. Every update — whether it’s a new item or a packaging change — adds extra time, energy use and operational cost. And for warehouses handling huge product catalogs, these retraining cycles can slow everything down.

KIOXIA, a company known for its memory and storage technologies, is working on a different approach. In a new collaboration with Tsubakimoto Chain and EAGLYS, the team has developed an AI-based image recognition system that is designed to adapt more easily as product lines grow and shift. The idea is to help logistics sites automatically identify items moving through their workflows without constantly reworking the core AI model.

At the center of the system is KIOXIA’s AiSAQ software paired with its Memory-Centric AI technology. Instead of retraining the model each time new products appear, the system stores new product data — images, labels and feature information — directly in high-capacity storage. This allows warehouses to add new items quickly without altering the original AI model.

Because storing more data can lead to longer search times, the system also indexes the stored product information and transfers the index into SSD storage. This makes it easier for the AI to retrieve relevant features fast, using a Retrieval-Augmented Generation–style method adapted for image recognition.

The collaboration will be showcased at the 2025 International Robot Exhibition in Tokyo. Visitors will see the system classify items in real time as they move along a conveyor, drawing on stored product features to identify them instantly. The demonstration aims to illustrate how logistics sites can handle continuously changing inventories with greater accuracy and reduced friction.

Overall, as logistics networks become increasingly busy and product lines evolve faster than ever, this memory-driven approach provides a practical way to keep automation adaptable and less fragile.