The Cross-Border Table: AI & Robotics Founder Gathering
An evening of dialogues and networking before China Connect Summit main conference
Two of the world's most active ecosystems in AI and robotics — China and Europe — are moving at different speeds, with different instincts, toward different bets. China is scaling embodied AI and humanoid robotics at a pace and volume few markets can match. Europe is building differentiated, deep-tech approaches with a different relationship to capital, talent, and go-to-market.
This evening isn't about pretending those differences don't exist — it's about treating them as the point. We're bringing founders, investors, and operators from both ecosystems into the same room, because the most interesting conversations happen at the friction: sparks on disagreements and differences, or synergies on capital, technology, or markets.
This isn't a casual mixer. Attendance is reserved for individuals and companies aligned around a simple bar: proven technology, real deployments, and strong ambition to scale globally.
📢 Event Program
5:30 - 6:00 Arrival & Networking
6:00 - 6:05 Event Opening
6:05 - 6:15 Opening Keynote
6:15 - 6:30 Spotlight Intros with Chinese companies
6:30 - 7:00 Fireside chat: how to build a global companies
7:00 - 7:30 VC Panel: cross-border collaborations
7:30 - Drinks & Open Networking
👤 Who You'll Meet
Chinese AI & robotics leaders with live demos
European AI & robotics founders building for global markets
VCs and institutional investors active in cross-border deals
Family offices and allocators exploring the space
🎟️ Participation
Open to China Connect Summit attendees and invited guests. Space is limited. Early RSVP encouraged.
🌏 About the Hosts
Varen Partners is a specialized investment firm dedicated to navigating China's evolving investment landscape, investing directly in Chinese growth-stage companies and next-gen venture funds.
Ellipsis is a Zurich based VC backing visionary teams building defensible AI solutions for the world's hardest problems.
Episode 1 Ventures — A London-based pre-seed/seed VC investing across the software stack.
Some confirmed Chinese AI & Robotics attendees:
Minimax (Shanghai) — Develops multimodal AI foundation models spanning text, voice, image, and video, and listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in early 2026.
Z.ai (Zhipu AI) (Beijing) — Develops foundation models and AI agents, including the GLM family of large language models.
WUJI Technology (Shanghai) — Builds robotic joint actuators and dexterous hands, including the 20–22 DOF Wuji Hand.
AGiBot (Shanghai) — Manufactures general-purpose humanoid robots, having mass-produced and shipped over 15,000 units.
Spirit AI (Hangzhou) — Builds embodied AI and general-purpose humanoid robots for intelligent workforce applications.
Sudo AI (Shanghai) — Develops embodied AI foundation models for manipulations.
GenRobot.AI (Beijing) — Provides embodied AI data infrastructure, running large-scale real-world multimodal data collection and governance for robotics foundation models.
NEOLIX (Beijing) — Operates L4 autonomous delivery robovans, with over 16,000 vehicles deployed across 15 countries.
Even Realities (Shenzhen) — Makes camera-free, display-first smart glasses with a heads-up display for notifications, navigation, and live translation.