On August 17, Alipay convened its inaugural AI Ecosystem Conference in Hangzhou. This event marked China's first industry gathering dedicated to the commercial deployment of AI agents. Attendees encompassed a diverse array of stakeholders, including merchants, financial institutions, trading platforms, hardware terminal manufacturers (spanning mobile phones, car infotainment systems, AI glasses, and smartwatches), automotive firms, and providers of large-scale AI models. The central theme revolved around fostering industrial collaboration in the burgeoning era of AI agent commerce. During the conference, Ant Group CEO Han Xinyi predicted that the AI agent commerce era would experience explosive growth within the forthcoming 6 to 12 months. He attributed this imminent surge to the concurrent maturation of three pivotal factors: advancements in AI capabilities, shifting user demands, and the establishment of a self-sustaining value closed loop. Furthermore, Han Xinyi underscored the necessity for enhanced cross-industry cooperation to fully capitalize on this transformative phase.
