Founded in 2009, Alibaba Group’s Apsara Conference has been a part of the development of digital intelligence and technological innovation in China. It brings together more than 1,000 of the industry’s leaders and stakeholders—top researchers, public service sectors, enterprises, and developers—to share the latest developments in cloud computing, artificial intelligence, quantum computation, AIoT, and more.
At this year’s Apsara Conference, the company announced that the Asia Digital Innovation Zone will be launched at the 2022 edition of the conference. The Asia Digital Innovation Zone will invite tech firms and organizations across Asia to join millions of tech lovers to discuss the latest happenings in cutting-edge spaces such as mobility, robotics, mixed reality, smart life, and 5G. There will be company pitches, speeches, and roundtable discussions. Depending on travel restrictions due to the pandemic, the exhibition will be held either as an in-person event in Yunqi Town, Hangzhou, or as a virtual gathering.
Regional partners such as the Singapore Management University Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SMU IIE) shared their anticipation for seeing the breadth of solutions that will be presented. “We are glad to have this opportunity to work with Alibaba Cloud to encourage more, especially the young, to embark on their innovation journey. We believe the exhibition will be a good platform to showcase innovative solutions to solve many of our real world problems,” said Susan Tan, assistant director at SMU IIE.
Jesse Choi, director of Sunwah Vietnam and CEO of Sunwah Innovations, shared similar sentiments. “I believe the launch marks an important milestone of Alibaba Cloud to kick-start a sharing network for the Asian technology community to keep up with cutting-edge technologies, incubate disruptive solutions, and accelerate innovation in Asia in the digital era.”
The following community partners sent in congratulatory messages to express their support for more Asia-based startups and solutions to be showcased at the Apsara Conference 2022:
- Quest Ventures is one of Asia’s leading VCs that focuses on an overarching “digital commerce” strategy and is one of the largest early-stage technology investors in artificial intelligence, e-commerce and marketplaces, entertainment, finance, food, insurance, logistics, media, property, sports, and the Islamic digital economy.
- RISE is a leading corporate innovation powerhouse based in Southeast Asia.
- ScaleUp Malaysia is an accelerator for Malaysian companies looking to scale and grow.
- StartupIndonesia is a one-stop platform for Indonesian startups that provides a startup directory, online mentoring, product marketplace, and exclusive content.
- Singapore Management University Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SMU IIE) helps aspiring innovators build their foundation and seed the entrepreneurial mindset. Powered by knowledge and driven by heart, it nurtures change makers and founders who aspire to make the world a better place.
- Sunwah Innovation Centre Ho Chi Minh City connects universities, incubators, accelerators, investors, corporations, and other resources in Vietnam, to create an international innovation ecosystem that fuels startups’ growth and success.
- University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City’s Institute of Innovation (UII) is a sci-tech organization that acts as the university’s innovation and entrepreneurship center.