Feng Dagang, CEO of 36Kr: From Technological Carnival to the Deep End of Value | 2026 AI Partner · Beijing Yizhuang AI + Industry Conference

 

AI storytelling is no longer about overturning everything. What truly deserves attention is whether the silent industry barriers and experiences can be illuminated by intelligence.

 

Over the past four years, this conference has evolved from trend observation to practical implementation. 36Kr has also transformed from an observer of AI to a promoter. At the opening of the 2026 Beijing Yizhuang AI + Industry Conference, Feng Dagang, the CEO of 36Kr, offered a solution to the anxious business world. AI is not an opportunity for a single company but for all industries.

With a two - day schedule, six or seven dozen hands - on guests, and a stage for the supply and demand sides to interact face - to - face, we don't talk about empty concepts here, only about whether things have been accomplished. We recorded this calm and determined opening speech to regain business common sense and the essence in the technological frenzy.

The following is the content of the opening speech, edited by 36Kr:

Feng Dagang | CEO of 36Kr

Distinguished leaders of the Beijing Economic - Technological Development Area Management Committee, dear guests, and friends both old and new:

Hello, everyone. Welcome to the 2026 AI Partner · Beijing Yizhuang. I'm Feng Dagang from 36Kr.

Among those present today are friends from various industries such as finance, healthcare, manufacturing, education, and consumption. I guess most of you came to the Tongminghu Convention and Exhibition Center with the same thought in mind - not to hear how powerful AI is, but to see whether AI can be used, how to use it, how much it costs to use, and how much value it can create.

This is why we set the theme of this year's conference as "Taking AI to the Frontline".

I. I recently discussed a question with my team

Let me share an internal conversation with you.

Recently, I talked with the teachers in our content team about a question: How should we view Alibaba's progress in the AI era?

This question is interesting. Some people say that if judged purely from the perspective of AI, compared with pure AI companies focusing on large - scale models, Alibaba seems to have missed this wave. There is some truth to this statement.

But my answer is: This evaluation framework itself is wrong.

Will all companies in the future become AI companies? No.

What should we really look at when it comes to Alibaba? It's its absolute advantage in e - commerce scenarios. It's the consumer data accumulated by Taobao and Tmall over the past 20 years. It's the ecosystem of Alibaba Cloud, Alipay, Cainiao, and DingTalk that covers the entire industrial chain. None of the pure AI companies have these things, and it's difficult for them to have them within ten years.

When the capabilities of AI are injected into this ecosystem, what happens is not "AI replaces Alibaba", but "Alibaba becomes a stronger Alibaba with the help of AI".

The integration of AI and industry is the greatest value.

This judgment applies not only to Alibaba but to every enterprise present here today.

In the past few years, the industry has been discussing the "AI track". This statement needs to be updated. When the influence of a technology surpasses that of the Internet and mobile Internet, it is no longer a track but an infrastructure.

Therefore, this conference is not just an AI conference from the very beginning. It is an industry conference, with finance, healthcare, manufacturing, consumption, and energy as the protagonists - and AI is their common language.

II. The emergence of AI is not meant to make you anxious

The AI conference organized by 36Kr is different from others. We are not going to hold an AI anxiety conference to tell you that AI will take your job and make you unemployed.

The AI we recognize is to take people and industries to a higher level - to do things that were previously impossible due to insufficient manpower, too high costs, or were simply unfeasible. The value of AI is to make people more useful, not to make them obsolete.

I often ask my colleagues in the company which is more valuable, an AI expert or a scenario - end expert?

The answer is the scenario - end expert who can use AI. This is also the type of talent with the largest shortage in the current market.

So, who are we looking for at this conference?

Not those with fancy titles, not those with a halo, and not those who engage in grand narratives.

We are looking for those who have truly advanced projects to the scene. Those who have experienced setbacks, adjusted processes, and revised plans.

III. Why Yizhuang?

When it comes to real implementation, Beijing Yizhuang is a place that must be taken seriously.

This is the Beijing Economic - Technological Development Area. Here, there are JD.com, BOE, Hollysys, Xiaomi Automobile, Bayer, Johnson & Johnson, Galaxy General, and Ubtech. There is a complete industrial chain from R & D to manufacturing to shipping.

More importantly, the people here are straightforward in speaking and down - to - earth in work. They directly show results.

In the past two years, I have visited a large number of enterprises and many innovation hubs. I found a pattern: The places where AI is most effectively implemented are often not the so - called "Oriental Silicon Valleys", but the places where manufacturing industries are concentrated, the supply chain is complete, workers are willing to learn, and bosses are willing to invest.

Yizhuang is such a place.

IV. This conference is different

The design of this conference is different from previous years. In terms of content, we only talk about actual combat, not trends.

With a two - day agenda and six or seven dozen guests, no one on stage will tell you "what the future of AI will be like". Everyone will talk about: In which industry, in which scenario, what they have done with AI, how long it took, and whether they succeeded.

In terms of form, we added a "matchmaking conference".

This time, we also held the World Coffee · AI + Industry Matching Meeting. On one side are enterprises with scenario requirements, and on the other side are companies with technical solutions to sell. We set up a mechanism to let the supply and demand sides sit down and talk.

More than fifty companies have signed up, including those with scenario requirements and those providing technical solutions.

What does this indicate? It shows that there are really people in the market looking, waiting, and being anxious - it's just that no one has brought these two groups of people together in the same room before.

We made it happen this time.

V. Let the two ends collide here

Today, there is still too much AI innovation stuck at the technology end. And there are still too many real industrial needs trapped at the scenario end.

Today, we want to let the two ends collide here. Together, we will turn AI from "imaginable" to "feasible". From "future trend" to "real - world ability".

36Kr has held the AI Partner conference for four sessions. From "I am empowered by AI" to "Chinese - style solutions", up to now, we have finally made one thing clear - what is lacking is never a technology press conference, but someone telling you: how they did it, how long it took, what setbacks they encountered, and whether they finally succeeded.

This is the meaning of the three words "to the frontline". This is also the role that 36Kr will play this time - from "observer" to "promoter".

In the next two days, let's turn on the lights, invite people to the stage, and make things clear.

Thank you all.