Five years ago, launching a tech conference during a global lockdown might\u2019ve seemed delusional. Dr. Lu Gang calls it \u201cstupid enough,\u201d but the result, BEYOND Expo, is anything but. Against a backdrop of shuttered borders and empty exhibition halls, Lu didn\u2019t just push ahead; he built a stage for Asia\u2019s technological identity to finally perform, not as a supporting act, but as the main event.<\/p>\n
BEYOND wasn\u2019t born out of convenience. It was a counter-punch to a persistent imbalance. Asia, rich with innovation in robotics, AI, mobility, and biotech, lacked a unifying platform. USA had CES and SXSW. Europe had Slush and IFA. Asia? Fragmented, regionally siloed, and globally underrepresented. Lu saw this gap firsthand \u2013 founders with world-class ideas were treated as footnotes at global expos, buried among exhibitors, their stories lost in translation, both literally and figuratively.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
He chose Macau. Not because it was a tech hub, but because it wasn\u2019t. Culturally and linguistically neutral ground. Grand hotels. Efficient infrastructure. A place you could sell as Asia\u2019s Vegas. And for Lu, it was more than geographic convenience. It was symbolism. A clean slate for a clean break from foreign legacy formats that never really fit Asia\u2019s voice anyway.<\/p>\n
When we sat down with him, Lu was unfiltered, casually peeling back the layers of his vision like someone who\u2019s spent years explaining why it matters and still hasn\u2019t run out of reasons. \u201cThere\u2019s no platform that reorganizes Asian innovation for a global audience,\u201d he said. \u201cYou go to CES or Web Summit and the most exciting founders from Asia are just\u2026 missing. They\u2019re in the crowd, not on stage.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The ambition isn\u2019t subtle. BEYOND wants to be where the next big thing isn\u2019t just shown off \u2013 it\u2019s unveiled, discussed, and celebrated. A place where Plaud, a rising hardware startup with AI chops, gets more than a 3\u00d73 booth on a back wall. \u201cHe\u2019s a superstar,\u201d Lu said of the founder. \u201cBut if he went to CES, he\u2019d just be another exhibitor.\u201d<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a wild idealism to it all, but it\u2019s grounded in grit. Building a cross-border tech expo in Asia means navigating linguistic hurdles, cultural nuance, and vastly different industrial priorities. Korea, Japan, China, and Southeast Asia don\u2019t naturally sync. Getting them to share a stage, let alone a conversation, takes more than ambition. It takes trust. And Lu has been earning it by showing up consistently for 5 years \u2013 and arguably the toughest 5 years in recent history.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
BEYOND isn\u2019t just a parade of booths. It\u2019s become known for its parties, its loosened-tie vibe, the mingling of founders and media poolside after panels. Lu laughs about it, but there\u2019s strategy here. \u201cPeople come for the day show,\u201d he said, \u201cbut they stay for the experience. The real conversations happen after hours.\u201d<\/p>\n
In its fifth year, BEYOND is growing up fast. International media are taking notice. More exhibitors are treating it as their product launch platform. There\u2019s momentum, and Lu knows what to do with it. He wants BEYOND to become the destination in Asia where new tech gets unveiled first. Think CES, but in a region where hardware is king and software isn\u2019t the only storyline.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The cultural shift is overdue. Silicon Valley has long dictated the pulse of tech, but the future? It\u2019s being prototyped in Shenzhen, Seoul, Tokyo. Asia\u2019s startup scenes aren\u2019t just growing, they\u2019re diverging, forming identities shaped by local needs and global reach. BEYOND is trying to harness that chaos, give it choreography, and let the rest of the world watch.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s already fielding interest from Brazil, Japan, the UAE. Each wants their own BEYOND. Not to copy, but to collaborate. It\u2019s flattering. Overwhelming too. \u201cWe\u2019re still a small team,\u201d Lu said. \u201cBut we\u2019re thinking about it.\u201d There\u2019s no rush. Scale too fast and you lose the soul. But the demand is telling: the world doesn\u2019t want another CES. It wants a fresh script.<\/p>\n
The post Asia\u2019s Tech Renaissance: Our Interview with Dr. Lu Gang on BEYOND Expo\u2019s Global Ambition<\/a> first appeared on Yanko Design<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Five years ago, launching a tech conference during a global lockdown might\u2019ve seemed delusional. Dr. Lu Gang calls it \u201cstupid enough,\u201d but the result, BEYOND Expo, is anything but. Against a backdrop of shuttered borders … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[16],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n