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Startupbusiness and Asialize join forces for Startup Mission in China: 5 days at the heart of the ecosystem that is redefining global innovation
Ninety per cent of the world’s companies specialising in embodied AI and humanoid robotics are now based in China. China has long been the world’s leading manufacturer of electric vehicles. The first fully automated ‘dark factories’, operating 24 hours a day, are already an everyday industrial reality in the country.
Continuing to view China through the lens of the Western press, or through the lens of a decade ago, is a strategic mistake for which we are all paying the price. This is the inspiration behind the Startup Mission in China, the business mission that Startupbusiness is co-organising with Asialize from 16 to 20 November 2026.
A format for learning, connecting and exploring further
The idea is simple: to take a select group of Italian entrepreneurs, founders and decision-makers inside the companies that are setting the standard in four sectors – advanced AI, EVs and autonomous driving, humanoid robotics, and eVTOLs – and give them an inside look. Full-scale factory tours, live demos, Q&A sessions with management and technical teams, and test drives in vehicles that cannot yet be tried out in Europe.
There are four stated objectives: to understand the mindset and cultural context that made this surge in innovation possible; to explore the products and factories of the future; to inspire a different way of thinking about business; and to connect participants with Chinese decision-makers, local institutions and a network of Italian entrepreneurs already established in Asia.
The itinerary: five days, four cities, twelve companies
The itinerary will take in Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Hangzhou and Shanghai. Some of the companies to be visited include BYD, the world’s leading manufacturer of electric vehicles; Ubtech Robotics, which has the most advanced commercial humanoid robot prototypes on the market; and Pony.ai, where a ride in a driverless robotaxi through the streets of Shenzhen is planned. Other key highlights will include eVTOL vehicles, commercial flights with autonomous taxis, fully automated hotels, and visits to industry giants such as Alibaba, Hikvision (surveillance cameras and advanced AI), Unitree – the world leader in humanoid robots and robotic dogs – and various other visits, including to the academic sector.
Who is leading the mission?
The group is personally accompanied by Filippo Lubrano, founder of Asialize, a management engineer with over eight years’ experience at the Fiat Group across the Middle East and Far East, who is now also CEO of Metaphora Lab and a lecturer in AI at H-Farm; by Crystal Liao, a Taiwanese local coordinator with many years’ experience in the Greater Bay Area; and by Emil Abirascid, a journalist, founder and editor-in-chief of Startupbusiness, co-founder of Designtech and, for many years, co-organiser of the Italian Innovation Days in Tokyo, Australia and Singapore.
What’s included
Turnkey package: four-star superior hotels in the five cities, all meals, domestic flights and high-speed trains, a private minibus for transfers, business dinners and networking events with local organisations. On return, each participant receives a detailed report containing presentations from the companies visited and full documentation of the sessions. Intercontinental flights from Italy are not included, but are available on request.
Membership and prices
Places are limited to ensure the confidential nature of corporate access. Click here for the form to get all the information and sign up for the trip; please note that you must state you heard about it through Startupbusiness in order to benefit from all the special offers. Those who register by 20 July will benefit from the discounted ‘early bird’ rate. (The opening photo shows a street scene in Shenzhen, photo by ダモ リ on Unsplash)
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