Valuing Innovation: Venture Capital and New Technologies in the Greater Bay Area
A workshop organised by Capital Vision, a HK government funded academic project on Venture Capital valuation of early-stage startups in blockchain and AI. Co-hosted with the Asia Web3 Association.
Refreshments will be served during the coffee break and after the talk.
A detailed arrival guide will be provided after registration.
New technologies like blockchain and AI have increasingly become key vectors of innovation. Anchored in the Greater Bay Area’s unique innovation ecosystem, this workshop examines how these new technologies are valued and invested in. It looks at how technological development inform investment decisions, how capital allocation shapes technology adoption, and how VC-startup collaboration accelerate commercialization and scale of digital technologies.
The workshop will bring together academics, startup founders, incubators, and venture capital firms to discuss the social dynamics of valuing innovation in the Greater Bay Area. The programme blends data-driven market insights with on-the-ground perspectives, highlighting what drives enterprise value, investor readiness, and impact.
Agenda:
9.45am-10am Reception and Networking
10am-10.15am Introduction
10.15am-10.45am VC Panel: How to Value Early-stage Startups in Blockchain and AI?
Moderator: Prof Alex Preda
Panellists:
Henrique Centieiro, Maverick Capital;
Ray Wong, Asia Web3 Association & Asymmetry Capital;
Syed Musheer Ahmed, FinStep Asia.
This panel gathers experienced investors to discuss frameworks for pricing high-uncertainty ventures where traction is nascent and technical risk is material. Panellists will discuss decision signals such as team quality, founder vision, project design and regulatory environment, and how these map to investment negotiation and the generation of valuation figures.
10.45am-11.15am Founder Panel: How to Build a Good Startup
Moderator: David Chen
Panellists:
Heatherm Huang, Measurable Data Token;
Florin Pustea, sqVal;
Melizza Anievas, OSL.
Founders reflect on building resilient and viable companies from the ground up. How to achieve product-market fit? How to make strategic decisions? What do founders value when talking with investors? The session provides an opportunity for VCs to see things from the other side, and for founders to reflect on their strategies and weaknesses.
11.15am-11.30am Coffee Break
11.30am-12pm Industry Partner Presentation
Presenter: Ray Wong, Asia Web3 Association & Asymmetry Capital
This workshop is hosted in collaboration with the Asia Web3 Association. And in this session, Ray will present Asia Web3 Association’s roles and works in the VC investment space and explain how they might help VCs and founders alike.
12pm-12.30pm Academic Panel: Web 3 and Its Unique Use Cases in GBA
Moderator: Dr Ruowen Xu, Warwick Business School
Panellists:
Prof Tom McDonald, University of Hong Kong;
Dr Holy Shum, Hong Kong Shue Yan University;
Prof June Wang, City University of Hong Kong.
This panel brings together academics in Hong Kong who research different aspects of Web 3. We will cover their respective research projects within the Web 3 space, in areas as wide ranging as artistic creation and digital infrastructure. We ask: what can these use cases and academic insights tell us about the development of Web 3 in the GBA in the future?
12.30pm-1pm Capital Vision Research Results Presentation
Presenters: Prof Alex Preda; David Chen
This presentation will present the results of the Hong Kong government funded academic project Capital Vision, based on 80 interviews with practitioners in Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Singapore, conducted over a two-year period. We will cover the major trends and pain points of VC investment in blockchain and AI. We will give a 20-minute presentation followed by a 10-minute Q&A session.
1pm-1.30pm Light Refreshment and Networking
-Workshop Ends-