"BEYOND Expo 's thesis for 2026 is more specific, and honestly more timely: AI has spent years proving itself in software, and the interesting question now is what happens when it leaves the screen. The official theme, "AI: Digital to Physical," takes over from last year's theme of Transforming Uncertainty into a Trigger for Innovation. Timed perfectly around the global speculation that AI's a bubble, it's a genuine reflection of where the most consequential AI work is actually happening right now, in robotics labs, automotive platforms, wearables, and manufacturing floors across the Greater Bay Area."
"BEYOND has been building toward this moment since Dr. Lu Gang launched it during a global lockdown in 2021, a decision he's called delusional in hindsight during an interview with Yanko Design, but with the kind of grin that says he'd do it again. The original problem he was solving was simpler than people realize: Asia's most interesting founders kept showing up at CES and Web Summit as attendees rather than headliners. A hardware startup out of Shenzhen with genuinely world-class AI chops would get a 3×3 booth on a back wall while the stage went to the usual suspects."
"The 2026 edition is aiming for 30,000 attendees, a significant jump from 2024's 20,000, and the programming reflects a maturing event that knows its own strengths. The summit lineup spans Humanoid Robotics and Embodied AI, Enterprise Agentic Workflows, Autonomous Driving, AI-Integrated Wearables, and a PayFi and Decentralized AI track that will either feel prescient or premature depending on your priors. What ties all of it together is the through-line of AI becoming something you interact with physically, no"
BEYOND Expo 2026 centers on “AI: Digital to Physical,” shifting from transforming uncertainty into innovation. The event aligns with current speculation about AI’s future by focusing on where consequential AI work is happening now, including robotics labs, automotive platforms, wearables, and manufacturing floors in the Greater Bay Area. The expo was launched in 2021 by Dr. Lu Gang to address an imbalance where hardware founders with strong AI capabilities often appeared as attendees rather than headline speakers at major conferences. The 2026 edition targets 30,000 attendees, up from 20,000 in 2024, and features tracks spanning humanoid robotics, embodied AI, enterprise agentic workflows, autonomous driving, AI-integrated wearables, and PayFi and decentralized AI.
#ai-in-robotics #physical-ai-and-wearables #autonomous-driving #enterprise-agentic-workflows #hardware-startup-ecosystems
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