BEYOND Expo drew more than 30,000 visitors to its technology showcase in Macao, featuring nearly 800 companies from across Asia and beyond.
Held over three days at The Venetian Cotai Expo, the event centred on the theme "AI: Digital to Physical". Visitors from more than 120 countries attended, and 400 speakers took part in keynote presentations and panel discussions on technology, startups and investment.
Exhibits included humanoid robots for industrial, retail and home use, alongside products related to aviation, education, food, healthcare, marine technology, sport, smart homes and wearables. The programme also featured a closing ceremony, startup pitching sessions and a day focused on artificial intelligence tools and development.
On the final day, BEYOND AI Day featured Demo Hack Day presentations, followed by the first ClawCon Macao. The event brought together builders, makers and developers, including school-age participants, to apply AI tools to work and everyday life.
The closing ceremony also hosted the final of Fund at First Pitch, a startup competition drawn from more than 300 companies seeking funding. Six finalists presented to a judging panel that included Kun Gao, Founder of Crunchyroll; Cynthia Zhang, Founder of FutureX Capital; Morgan Samet, Managing Partner and Co-Head, Lingotto Innovation Strategy; and Metta World Peace, Chairman at Artest Management Group.
The finalist products reflected the event's broad consumer focus, including smart jewellery, wearables, a smart canoe paddle and an emotion-sensitive hugging bear.
Product launches
A separate BGlobal product launch programme highlighted a broad range of devices and software. Products showcased included an aircraft and eVTOL battery from Aerofugia; smart glasses from iFlyTek and METLEN; a design agent from Look AI Agent; a chair from LiberNovo; video tools from OM AI Ottobox AI Studio Video; a cleaning product from Ocjoy; a startup hub from KISED; an optical beauty device from Ulike; a bone-conduction hearing aid from Zdeer; and the HOVERAir AQUA from Zero Zero Robotics.
The expo also presented its Best of Innovation awards to a large group of companies, reflecting the breadth of categories on the show floor. Winners included AEROFUGIA, AI2 Robotics, Butlr, DEEPRobotics, Engine AI, Even Realities, Galbot, GEMO, iFLYTEK, InfiX.ai, IntBot, LimX Dynamics, Looki, Luka Kids, Makera, Matrix Robotics, Mobvoi, Noematrix, OrcaTech, Plaud, Pudu Robotics, Stepfun, Timekettle, Traini, Wefly, Xbx by XREAL, Zdeer and Zero Zero Robotics.
Startup focus
Speakers addressed the commercial challenges facing founders as competition in AI and hardware intensifies. At the closing ceremony, Kun Gao spoke about the gap between technical innovation and the ability to attract financial backing and strategic partners.
Dr Lu Gang also used the event's close to highlight a shift towards smaller, earlier-stage builders rather than only established names in artificial intelligence.
"BEYOND Expo remains committed to its mission of 'Empowering Asia, Bridging the World' by being at the forefront of technology. We didn't just invite so-called big names in AI. This year, for the first time, we focused on OPCs (one-person companies) and paid more attention to programmers, because they have the potential to become unicorns in the future. The youngest hacker in our AI HACK Day was just nine years old. This is really the future," said Dr Lu Gang, Co-Founder of BEYOND Expo.
That emphasis reflects a wider trend in the technology sector, where the falling cost of software tools and access to AI models has lowered the barrier for individual developers and small teams to launch products. Events that once concentrated on large corporate exhibitors are now making more room for solo founders, student developers and experimental consumer applications.
Media reach
More than 500 international news organisations, trade media outlets and key opinion leaders took part in a media day ahead of the opening. The format was designed to introduce newer companies to journalists and give founders an opportunity to present products before the main exhibition began.
The scale of attendance suggests BEYOND Expo is positioning itself as a regional meeting point for Asian technology companies seeking wider international exposure. Its mix of consumer devices, robotics, AI software, startup financing and developer activity gave the event a broader scope than a traditional trade fair focused on one segment of the industry.
By the close of the exhibition, the event had reached a record number of participants, with visitors moving between product demonstrations, investor sessions and debates on how AI is shifting from digital services into physical devices and machines.