Zhang Yu

JeniZhang13@163.com

THE BEYOND Expo 2026 opened in Macao on Wednesday, gathering nearly 800 tech companies from around the world under the theme “AI: Digital to Physical.” But step inside The Venetian Macao, and one thing stands out: Shenzhen is hard to miss.

From AI-powered design tool to gamified plant sensor, a wave of Shenzhen-based startups and homegrown brands are using the four-day expo as a launchpad — not just to showcase products, but to open global doors.

A standout example is AIRI lab. The company builds AI solutions for architects, landscape designers, and urban planners. It was founded just two years ago as a spin-off from one of Shenzhen’s major design firms.

Behind it is Xavier Travert, a French architect who spent 10 years in Shenzhen working on landmark projects like the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center in Futian District.

“We help designers produce more options, faster,” Travert told Shenzhen Daily. “AI makes communication with decision-makers much easier when architects are presenting their ideas.”

The company is incubated at the AI Model Camp in Nanshan District and already works with over 150 firms, including top Chinese names like MAD, MENG Architects, and CCDI, as well as international players like LSHP and CPG.

Another head-turner at the expo is a plant sensor with a built-in video game.

Luke Tan, a former Huawei product manager, founded the company less than a year ago. His team developed the world’s first gamified plant sensor — a device that tracks moisture, light, temperature, and nutrients, then translates the data into pixel-style game missions.

“We are the translator for the plants,” Tan said. “We make them talk, and we make our users feel what the plants feel.”

According to Tan, the startup launched on Kickstarter six months after the project started and will begin shipping in September. Though the company is young, its ambition is global: first the U.S., then France, Mexico, Japan, and beyond.

“We started as a global company from day one,” Tan said. Days ago, he added, the company’s website was flooded with visitors from Thailand who loved the idea.

This year’s expo, which will run until Saturday, brings well-known companies, startups, entrepreneurs, investors, and family offices, from over 100 countries for dialogue and inspiration about the future of technology across more than 220 sessions.