FIRST PROMPT {2026}: APAC’s Flagship AI Conference
AI is moving faster than ever. Every day brings new model releases, new benchmarks beaten, new claims of what's possible.
But the gap between hype and reality has never been wider, especially in APAC where overall consensus believes we are still behind while progress happens behind closed doors.
So, we’re gathering APAC’s most influential AI builders, executives, and thinkers to take back the region's narrative, separating signal from noise.
This is a closed door, private forum to define 2026 and the years ahead. Participation is by invitation or approval only.
Who's in the Room
Thomas Jeng, OpenAI: Head of Startups, APAC
Colin Yao, Agora: Head of AI Products
Kuan Li, Moonshot AI: International GTM
Thorsten Schaeff, Google DeepMind: Developer Relations Engineer
Pandurang Nayak, AWS: Head of Startups, SEA
Ken Xu, Alibaba Cloud: Solutions Architecture Director
Andrew McCarthy, Notion: GM of APAC
Tyler Huang, Transfong Ventures: CEO and Co-Founder
Dimitra Taslim, Granite Asia: Managing Director
Pinn Lawjindakul, Lightspeed: Partner
Timothy Wong, Airwallex: Global VP of AI
Robin Li, WIZ.AI: Senior AI Strategy Director
Hongfei Xia, January Capital: AI Specialist and Principal
David Yam, Alibaba Cloud: AI Solutions Architect Lead
Daniel Ong, Menlo Research: CEO and Co-Founder
Daryl Lim, Augmentus Robotics: CEO and Co-Founder
{1} Open vs. Closed Source — Model Reckoning
Chinese open-source models are now matching top proprietary models on key benchmarks. What does this mean for builders choosing their stack? Representatives from OpenAI, Moonshot AI, Alibaba's Qwen, and AWS will discuss the new norm and where this is all heading.
{2} The Great AI-mmigration — The Reality of Borders
The world's best AI is being built behind walls in Silicon Valley and Beijing. Can Southeast Asia play both sides, or is that window closing? Leaders from Notion, top-tier VCs, and those facilitating the Singapore-China corridor will tackle the geopolitical question no one wants to address directly.
{3} Grounding the Bubble — AI Today
70% of enterprise AI projects fail to reach production. We've brought together operators from Airwallex, voice and video AI deploying at scale across APAC, and investors who've seen hundreds of AI pitches to answer: what actually works, and why does so much fail?
{4} The Physical Frontier — When AI Meets Atoms
The AI that changes everything won't live in a chatbox. Robotics researchers, voice infrastructure leaders, and teams building world models will discuss what it takes to go from impressive demos to reliable deployment in the real world.
Agenda
3:00pm: Doors Open
3.30PM : Opening keynote by OpenAI
3:45PM : Panel {1}
4:30PM : Panel {2}
5:15PM : Networking and Dinner
6:30PM : Panel {3}
7:15PM : Panel {4}
8:00PM : Networking and Drinks
What to Expect
No generalist fluff; only honest debates, and grounded discussions with those on the front lines on driving AI’s future beyond the hype. Way more signals packed into half a day than paid conferences deliver in three days.
This will be the first major AI conference of 2026, and we're kicking the year off with a bang.
Brought to you by AI Build Club: Jay Teo, Ryan Thoo, Eugene Teo.