As artificial intelligence continues to evolve and proliferate, industry insiders emphasize that AI is reshaping the future of finance and business operations, bringing greater convenience to daily life while unlocking new commercial opportunities. The Hong Kong SAR is actively positioning itself at the forefront of this trend.

From November 4 to 5, the city will host the Cyberport Venture and Capital Forum (CVCF) 2026. Centered on two core themes — AI industry development and capital deployment, as well as how AI agents in the agentic economy are reshaping corporate operations and uncovering new business opportunities — the event will gather over 80 international investors, technology leaders, and key industry decision-makers to discuss global venture capital trends and growth strategies.

The forum will showcase more than 100 innovators across high-growth AI fintech and smart city sectors, providing attendees with aclose look at cutting-edge technological solutions and a platform to explore commercial applications and strategic industry collaborations.

The Agentic Economy Summit will take place on the second day of the event, when panelists will delve into practical applications and market opportunities surrounding AI agents. A dedicated startup workshop will offer entrepreneurs valuable one-on-one mentoring sessions. Featured mentors include Christine Keung, advisor at investment firm Capital6, and Jeremy Dalton, advisor at the venture capital fund FOV Ventures and the US startup showcase SXSW Pitch. Both will provide actionable guidance for founders.

Ahead of the event, several industry leaders slated to speak at the forum shared their perspectives on the real-world deployment of AI agents. Shixing Mao — who is known in the industry as Discus Fish — CEO and co-founder of Cobo, a digital asset custody and infrastructure technology company, highlighted the intersection of AI agents and blockchain.

He said that while blockchain is set to become an integral component of future financial infrastructure, the technology still presents a high barrier to entry for the general public. However, AI agents could change this. Blockchain’s transparent and traceable ledger provides an ideal operating environment for agents, making the technology far more accessible and intuitive for everyday users.

Though current AI agent capabilities still remain limited and their integration with blockchain still requires refinement, “once agents truly run on-chain, the number of users and what’s possible will grow by an order of magnitude,” Fish said. “What gets redefined next is how assets are issued, traded, and settled.”

Beyond foundational infrastructure, AI agents are set to fundamentally transform end-user digital economies and consumer habits, according to Samuel Tse, head of Investment and Corporate Finance at Animoca Brands, a Web3 industry company.

Once AI agents use a verifiable digital identity to hold assets and execute autonomous transactions, consumer payment and shopping behaviors will undergo a profound shift, said Tse.

“The economy stops being click-by-click. You set the policy once — who, how much, for what — and the agent transacts inside it,” Tse explained. “Payments, transfers, subscriptions, swaps, even chasing a better rate on idle cash. That’s agentic transactions.”

For example, when consumers wish to purchase goods at member rates, traditional processes require sharing personal private data with merchants to complete registration. In contrast, an AI agent can utilize digital identity and encrypted credentials to verify membership eligibility directly with the merchant without revealing sensitive personal details.

“AI agents and digital assets together can finish what today’s rails still cannot,” Tse added. “This means many new business opportunities will be opened up for market participants across payments, merchants, identity providers, and digital-asset platforms.”

The forum will also cover topics such as global venture capital dynamics, expansion opportunities across the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and Middle Eastern markets, and frontier technology infrastructure, enabling investors to capture future growth vectors from both macroeconomic and industry-specific angles. China Daily readers can enjoy a discounted rate of HK$300 ($38) for a CVCF 2026 Full Pass by using promo code cvcf26cd. Register at: https://cvcf.cyberport.hk/en/index