WAIC Side Event Observation: Over seventy events, and a glimpse of the future arriving early

Original Title: "Observation of Side Events During WAIC: Over Seventy Events and an Early Arrival of the Future"
Original Author: LookoutBeating

During this visit to WAIC, I spent more time at the Side Events.

The main venue felt more like a display suite. Robots moved between booths, screens displayed evidence of the impending redefinition of humanity. Each company showcased its most impressive aspects, discussing model capabilities, strategic layouts, and ecosystem partnerships. The audience lined up to touch the robots, try on glasses, take photos for social media, as if touring a completed future city.

The vibe of the Side Events was quite different.

They were scattered in coffee shops, bars, Hacker Houses, and coworking spaces. There were always people crowding at the entrance, squeezing sideways through the door frame and between others' shoulders. Here, there were usually no robots, only humans. People stood on stage presenting products, while others sat below listening, and after the event, they huddled in the corridors continuing their product discussions.

I was more eager to see these places.

The main venue showcased what AI has already become. At the Side Events, people's faces were closer, and the words spoken were not as polished.

Last year, there were only around twenty Side Events during WAIC. This year, there were over seventy, tripling the number. Some popular events received thousands of sign-ups, but only a few hundred could attend in the end.

This scene reminded me of F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby."

On Nick's first visit to Gatsby's house, he realized he was one of the few genuinely invited guests. The other guests in the house were uninvited, yet they drove to Long Island, entered, drank, danced, gossiped about the host's identity. People came and went all evening, without even seeing Gatsby himself.

The Side Events at WAIC didn't have Gatsby's mansion or the sea breeze. Inside, there was only slightly warm beer, a screen showing the event schedule, and a group of people sitting around a branded table.

Users Elsewhere

The two most consistent types of people at Side Events are VCs and entrepreneurs.

The ratio varies slightly between different events, with some having more investors and others more entrepreneurs, but these two categories almost always dominate the top positions. Following them are AI business executives from big companies, product managers, algorithm engineers, innovation and strategy departments. Then come the media.

Mainstream users are rarely seen.

They likely went to the main venue, as the scalped tickets for the main venue once surged tenfold.

The Side Event was not a consumer expo to begin with. It was more like a temporary lounge set up by the industry, allowing funds, projects, talent, and information to quickly converge in a few hours. After attending several sessions in a row, I began to notice that the people here had already formed a fairly complete internal order.

The event's barrier to entry is not about buying tickets, but about first proving that you belong to the industry chain. You have to be an entrepreneur, an investor, a practitioner, or at the very least, look like someone ready to start a business at any time.

Everyone exchanges business cards, adds each other on WeChat, shares a "What are you working on now?" followed by "What recent trends have caught your eye?"

Many events arrange for entrepreneurs to present their products. Some are called open mics, some are called roadshows, with different names but similar formats. A person takes the stage with a PPT, talks about what problem they want to solve, what model they have adopted, what process they have run through, and how they plan to serve which type of people in the future.

Those sitting in the audience are mostly entrepreneurs too.

They are also developing products, seeking directions, and figuring out how to fit a new capability into an old demand. Some listen attentively, and peers can always spot flaws in others' PPTs. Some chat, drift off, because many VCs are not as enthusiastic about AI applications as they claim to be. Foundational models, computing power, embodied intelligence, or a story that sounds like it could be worth tens of billions of dollars when someone starts talking – these typically grab their attention more.

Products may die, but people must survive

The Social value of Side Events is probably greater than the product sharing on stage.

On stage for ten minutes, they talk about what they are doing now. Offstage for two hours, they discuss what they can do together in the future.

AI has shortened the lifespan of products significantly. A feature that has just been developed can be replaced by the next model update. Something considered a viable entrepreneurial direction today may become a checkbox in a big model configuration page within a few months.

As a result, people move quickly too.

Entrepreneurs will move on to the next product, join big companies, or venture into funds. Young professionals in investment firms will switch platforms, work in corporate strategy, then leave the company to start their own ventures. Today they are a Founder, tomorrow a product lead, and the day after tomorrow they will be on the investor side, asking another Founder where their moat truly lies.

In the past, people used to talk about long-termism, meaning a company had to survive for ten years. Now, many people's idea of long-termism is to make themselves more resilient.

Products can fail, directions can change, and identities can be reset. Someone who has seen users walk away, funding fall through, and partners suddenly go silent in the group chat is probably more reliable in getting things done than someone who only knows how to tell a growth story.

So when attending a Side Event, what people usually remember in the end is the person. Is this person only good at storytelling? Have they experienced failure? Do they genuinely believe in "user needs"? And if you were to switch to another company, is it worth collaborating with them again?

The product presentation session is like dumplings hastily wrapped to go with a plate of vinegar. What truly matters to everyone is connections and track record.

A Room Full of People Anticipating the Future

Later, I joined a Side Event group. In a group of hundreds of people, many were using NFT avatars. Among them were six Pudgy Penguins, four Miladys, and two Little Ghosts.

Professionals from various industries are all turning to AI. I met many old friends from the Web3 industry, who are now diving into AI VC, community building, and developer ecosystems. Several Web3 public chain ecosystems are also preparing to establish AI startup accelerators using their own funds and overseas resources.

Everyone has left the previous table and quickly sat down at the next one.

Elevator entrance to a side event in Xuhui District

In mid-July in Shanghai, the buzz around AI is not the kind of abstract buzz you see in the news. AI is everywhere: by the overpass, on airport billboards, in ride-sharing car radios, and in high-speed rail announcements.

AI itself is certainly not a bubble.

The capability of models is real, the investment in computing power is real, and the anxiety of tech giants and startups is also real. What used to take weeks to accomplish can now be done in a matter of hours. What was once a capability only large companies had is beginning to fall into the hands of smaller and smaller teams.

No one can pretend that none of this is happening.

Yet, in the Side Event, another kind of sensation feels equally real. Industry social relationships are developing faster than product maturity.

The product is still looking for users, but the ecosystem around it has already been established. There are tickets and screenings, where one must first show their identity and title. Forums, networking events, roadshows, accelerators, funds, and media have each found their place, with everyone able to adeptly discuss where the next opportunity will be and how to divide the next piece of the pie.

The future has not yet arrived, but the way we talk about it has become very sophisticated.

This kind of gathering is certainly valuable.

Capital, talent, technology, and information all need to meet each other first for collaboration to happen. Many truly useful relationships may have started with just a casual "let's catch up" in the hallway. If a new industry doesn't even have such spaces, it is hard for real progress to take root.

The sense of a bubble comes from a temporal dislocation.

An industry's readiness for the future has raced far ahead of its validation by reality. There are not many users for the product yet, but there are already many words describing these users. The demand is still uncertain, but the PowerPoint presentations about it are already well-crafted. A company might pivot next month, but tonight people are already discussing what kind of platform it will become.

The language in the room is becoming increasingly professional. Discussions revolve around multimodality versus unimodality, how to design workflows, how agents should collaborate, how low the token cost can be pushed, who comes from which tech giant, and which fund is backing them.

When real users finally appear, the problems will suddenly seem very small.

What can all this actually do for me? Can it save me some time? Can it save me some money? Will I even bother to open it again tomorrow when I wake up?

These questions are so basic that they are somewhat disheartening. Yet, precisely because of their simplicity, they ultimately determine how much of those grand narratives will endure.

After the Lights Come On

A Gatsby-esque party always ends.

The music stops, the lights come on, people get into their cars, leave the house, and return to their work, homes, and the next phase of their relationships. No one walks away from a night of revelry with an immediately better future.

The side events during WAIC are no different.

Some are seeking investors, some are looking for partners, some are no longer sure if their current product can sustain or if they are willing to expand their network. Business cards are exchanged, QR codes are scanned, and appointments to "chat again next week" are made.

Of course, genuine collaborations will emerge from such interactions. Some will also find themselves stepping into the next company, the next round of funding, or the next entrepreneurial endeavor because of a chance meeting.

More relationships, probably there will be no follow-up.

Excitement is not a relationship, and applause is not either.

After the next model update, many products will suddenly look like an old TV with a big butt. Many communities will gradually decline. The person standing on the stage today may have changed companies, changed direction, and changed identity by next year. Most of the people who say "let's catch up later" today may not actually catch up later.

In the AGI Bar, there is a signature drink with a thick layer of foam floating on top, occupying about 90% of the whole glass.

I stood in the room holding it, watching the people around me continue to exchange WeChat accounts, directions, and futures.

The foam is light, but it fills the glass first.

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