Switzerland's secret to global innovation: insights from tech & innovation day

The Philippine Blockchain Report 2025, developed by Gorriceta Africa Cauton & Saavedra | GorricetaLaw, the Blockchain Council of the Philippines, Gobi Partners, Gobi-Core Philippine Fund, and Tether.io, highlights how the Philippines is building the foundations of its crypto future. With the BSP and SEC leading new frameworks and regulatory sandboxes, the country is moving toward a more secure and innovation-friendly digital finance ecosystem. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/d5PRkn-f #PhilippineBlockchain2025 #BlockchainPH #Crypto #Web3 #Fintech #DigitalEconomy #Innovation #Philippines #ASEAN #e27

Breaking news: Bitcoin World Disrupt 2025 Day 2 just wrapped, and the buzz isn’t about price swings – it’s about startup velocity and AI breakthroughs 🚀 Here’s why it matters 👇 The summit gathered 300+ founders, investors, and AI labs under one roof. Over 40 demo slots showcased AI‑powered protocols that cut blockchain transaction latency by up to 70 % – a metric that directly translates to faster product cycles for crypto‑native startups. Key takeaways for founders: - Funding acceleration – 12 % of attending startups secured seed rounds on the spot, with an average ticket size of $1.2 M, driven by the event’s “AI‑first” pitch track. - Talent pipeline – 25 AI researchers announced open‑source collaborations, offering early‑stage teams access to pre‑trained models for fraud detection and smart‑contract optimization. - Regulatory insight – A panel with global regulators clarified sandbox pathways, reducing compliance lead‑time from months to weeks for AI‑driven DeFi products. What this means for you: embed AI‑enhanced analytics into your blockchain stack now, or risk being outpaced by peers who are already shaving weeks off development and compliance. Ready to test an AI model on your protocol? Reach out, share your challenges, and let’s turn this momentum into a concrete roadmap. #BitcoinWorldDisrupt #AIinCrypto #StartupGrowth #BlockchainInnovation #CryptoRank

McKinsey reports that 70% of AI pilots fail to scale. At the same time, PwC highlights that VC deployment in the GCC has grown at around 19 percent CAGR since 2020, reaching 1.7 billion dollars, reflecting a strong appetite to back regional startups with scalable potential. This raises an important question for founders: How do we balance the GCC’s ambition for rapid scale with reducing the failure rate of AI ventures? I will be addressing this in an upcoming workshop with #MicrosoftforStartups UAE, where I will share practical strategies on moving from pilot to scalable product, and why trust, safety and purpose must sit at the core of AI growth. Because scaling is not only about growing bigger. It is about becoming better, safer and more impactful. I will be sharing the key outcomes from the workshop in a separate post, so stay tuned.

Startups build products. We’re building economies of intelligence. As AI ventures evolve, they won’t compete on apps, they’ll compete on ecosystems that think, trade, and grow autonomously. At Pixelette Holdings, we partner with founders, investors, and governments to co-build these AI-native economies, where digital labour, data, and capital flow seamlessly across borders. From hybrid sweat equity to hybrid sovereignty, this is how innovation scales responsibly. #AI #Blockchain #AgenticAI #VentureBuilding #PixeletteHoldings

▷ Technology in competition mode: The Three Challenges Fintechs must Overcome. Just like in high-performance sport, success in fintech isn’t about vision alone... it’s about execution under pressure. At Tenity, we see this play out in every masterclass. Start-ups enter the race full of ambition, but the real winners are those who build resilient, compliant, and scalable tech foundations early on. Our innovation partner Ergon Informatik AG has been on the front lines with our start-ups spotting their weak points early, turning them into strengths, and helping teams transform great ideas into market-ready solutions. ⚡︎ In our latest joint blog we highlight three recurring tech challenges every fintech founder should master: ⤷ AI from demo to production: Build clean data models and tested pipelines before scaling. ⤷ Blockchain/Web3 acceptance over hype: Focus on real use cases, not buzzwords. ⤷ Compliance by design embed it early: Trust and time-to-market depend on it. Overcoming these hurdles is what could separate good fintechs from great ones. 👉 Read the full story here: https://hubs.li/Q03NTzW60 #Fintech #Innovation #Tenity #Ergon #AI #Web3 #Compliance #Startups #SwissFintech

Man Raises $4 Million Pre-Idea Round After Convincing Investors He’ll Think of Something In a record-breaking seed announcement, 27-year-old founder Eli Sparks closed a $4M pre-idea round to “ideate without distraction.” “Most founders waste months pretending to have traction,” said Sparks. “I’m skipping straight to pretending I have direction.” Investors cite “the confidence to say nothing with conviction” as the key differentiator. The startup’s category remains undecided, but the deck reportedly used the words AI, climate, and blockchain in a circle diagram.

Representing Greenwich Consulting Club and the University of Greenwich. I had the opportunity to interview Phil Kwok, co-founder of EasyA , during the EasyA x Algorand Hackathon in London. We discussed the origins of EasyA , how they built a $4 billion developer ecosystem and their mission to empower thousands of builders moving into Web3. It was inspiring to hear Phil’s insights on innovation, startup growth and the challenges that founders face when building in the decentralized space. Events like these show the power of community, creativity and collaboration in tech and remind us why innovation thrives when builders come together. Thank you Phil Kwok and Dom K. for hosting such an incredible hackathon. As my first hackathon experience, it opened my mind to ideas and perspectives I would have never discovered without being here. Also thanks to Narayan Agarwal for helping me record the interview. #EasyA #Algorand #Web3 #Hackathon #Innovation #Consulting #GreenwichConsultingClub #Leadership #Entrepreneurship #Blockchain #AI

In the era of the Fifth Industrial Revolution (#5IR), #decentralizedinnovation takes center stage, driven by #cuttingedge #technologies such as #AI, #blockchain, and #opensourceplatforms. This shift towards #open, #distributed #ecosystems fosters #rapid #iteration and #global #collaboration, epitomized by tools like GitHub and Hugging Face, enabling #communitydriven #progress. Institutions like the OECD - OCDE and European Commission advocate for #policyframeworks that prioritize #distributed #governance and #inclusive #innovation, aligning technological advancements with democratic principles. Industry 5.0 embodies a #humancentric #approach, emphasizing #sustainability, #resilience, and the empowerment of workers for broader societal benefits. Contrasting centralized and decentralized innovation reveals the democratization of tools, enhanced #speed of iteration, and adaptive #resilience inherent in decentralized models. Academic studies highlight the transition from closed R&D structures to #collaborative #innovation #ecosystems, facilitating #cocreation across diverse #networks. The fusion of #AI, #biotech, and #sustainability technologies is revolutionizing industries through #collaborative efforts among #multiple stakeholders. Moreover, democratized access to #AI #resources and #infrastructure is breaking #barriers for #startups and #researchers worldwide, paving the way for a more #inclusive and #innovative #landscape.

The Philippines is fast becoming a standout in Southeast Asia’s crypto ecosystem, driven by strong adoption, progressive regulation, and active developer communities. Retail interest—especially among younger demographics—fuels demand for crypto products and services. In response, regulators have taken a forward-leaning stance, introducing frameworks for token licensing and decentralized finance oversight. Meanwhile, local startups and fintechs are pushing innovation in payments infrastructure, wallets, and liquidity platforms to support both domestic and cross-border use cases. Though challenges remain—such as financial literacy, exchange security, regulatory consistency, and scalable infrastructure—the country’s vibrant mix of consumer enthusiasm, talent, and policy development positions it to play a pivotal role in the region’s Web3 future. https://lnkd.in/gDvGsEw7

It was a pleasure to attend Neil DeSilva’s event at Cornell Tech last week! Part of the launch of the new Future Proof lecture series in NYC. Huge thanks to Neil DeSilva, Michael Jordan (DBA), and Blockchain at Cornell Tech team for an inspiring evening. It was great to see so many founders, builders, and investors come together to talk about what’s next for internet-first investing. Here are a few lessons that really stuck with me: Clear vs. Unclear Opportunities When investors support founders, they look for people who believe strongly in what they’re building and can explain it clearly. If your idea isn’t obvious to everyone yet, keep pushing and keep showing why it matters. Belief and steady effort make the biggest difference. Attention is the Real Currency There’s plenty of money out there. What’s harder to get is people’s attention. Your real job as a founder is to make your story visible. Share what you’re building, be open about your journey, and make others excited to join or invest in what you’re creating. Legal & Compliance as Growth Tools Legal isn’t just paperwork! It’s part of strategy. Having clear legal and structural decisions can actually help you move faster and build trust with investors and partners. Location Doesn’t Matter It doesn’t matter where we are. What matters is making a real difference and being able to explain what makes our work unique. Great ideas can grow from anywhere. Grateful to have been part of this first Future Proof event! An amazing start to what’s shaping up to be a strong series connecting innovation, blockchain, and entrepreneurship at Cornell Tech. #FutureProof #CornellTech #Blockchain #VC #Entrepreneurship #StartupMindset #FounderJourney