GUANGZHOU, China, April 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — At the 139th Canton Fair, Manufacturing category presented a clear view of how industrial equipment is evolving to address efficiency, labor shortages, and sustainability goals. Across power equipment, machinery, automation systems, and industrial robots, exhibitors pointed to a common direction: smarter operation, stronger engineering performance, and deeper integration with digital manufacturing systems.

Industrial equipment is advancing towards intelligence with products emphasizing built-in sensing and automatic adjustment to enhance reliability and efficiency. Silent inverter generators, for example, can detect operating conditions and ambient temperature to regulate cooling for better fuel use and stability. Pumps and cleaning equipment with variable-frequency drives and integrated protection systems follow the same approach, prioritizing smooth operation, longer service life, and consistent output.

Lightweight, high-performance design has also become a priority across categories. Advances in materials and structural engineering are enabling major weight reductions without compromising power or durability. Aluminum-extrusion housings in three-phase asynchronous motors cut weight by up to 40% while improving heat dissipation and installation efficiency. Lightweight permanent-magnet submersible pumps delivered stronger flow stability despite smaller size and reduced weight.

AI-based visual inspection and quality control are also becoming essential. AI-powered optical inspection stations demonstrated full-process, high-speed inspection without relying on manual sampling. By turning experience-based judgment into standardized, repeatable rules, these systems help manufacturers improve scalability and consistency.

Industrial robots are taking on more active roles as well. Security patrol robot dogs and inspection robots are moving beyond monitoring to direct intervention, such as carrying fire-suppression modules for emergency response. This shift marks a broader move from passive observation to active execution in high-risk or labor-intensive environments.

Finally, more industrial devices are being designed as system nodes rather than standalone machines. Intelligent industrial gateways that combine data collection, protocol conversion, edge computing, and secure transmission show how equipment value increasingly depends on its ability to connect with enterprise-level digital systems.

The 139th Canton Fair vividly showcased the accelerated shift of industrial equipment toward intelligent and system-level development.

For pre-registration, please click: https://buyer.cantonfair.org.cn/register/buyer/email?source_type=16

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SOURCE Canton Fair

Province adds three unicorns, expands high-growth pipeline
Hangzhou accounts for 83% as new entrants and startups scale up

HANGZHOU, China, April 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Zhejiang’s roster of unicorn companies has expanded to 58 as of April 2026, highlighting the province’s growing role as a hub for emerging technologies and industrial upgrading.

The latest rankings, released at the 10th All Blossom Conference in Hangzhou on April 23, show companies spread across seven cities, including Hangzhou, Ningbo, Jiaxing, Jinhua, Shaoxing, Taizhou and Wenzhou.

While Hangzhou, Ningbo and Jiaxing remain the top three hubs, the broader distribution points to a more geographically balanced innovation landscape. The province’s unicorn count rose by three from a year earlier.

Hangzhou continues to dominate the landscape, home to 48 of Zhejiang’s unicorns, up from 44 last year—when it already accounted for roughly four out of every five such startups.

The annual rankings also include tiered lists of “future unicorns,” valued between $100 million and $1 billion, and early-stage “seed unicorns” worth $10 million to $100 million.

Together, they map a full pipeline of high-growth companies across sectors such as artificial intelligence, embodied intelligence, life sciences, new energy, semiconductors, advanced manufacturing and aerospace, and have become a key barometer of Zhejiang’s startup ecosystem.

Among the top 100 future unicorns, integrated circuits lead with 22 companies, followed by artificial intelligence and life sciences with 19 each. Advanced manufacturing accounts for 16 firms, new energy and materials 15, and next-generation information technology nine.

In the seed unicorn category, new energy and life sciences each count 22 companies, ahead of advanced manufacturing with 19, while AI, next-generation IT and semiconductors each have 11 firms, and aerospace-related companies total four.

Against that provincial backdrop, Hangzhou remains the clear center of gravity—continuing to generate both the largest share of unicorns and the deepest pipeline of emerging startups.

The city added eight companies to its unicorn ranks on April 23, bringing the total to 48, according to the same conference ranking.

The new entrants—Hailiang Technology Services, Geener Microelectronics, Spirit AI, Geespace, Sunrise, Seepin, DEEP Robotics and Simplexity Robotics—span sectors from semiconductors and robotics to commercial aerospace.

As of April, Hangzhou accounted for 83% of Zhejiang’s unicorns, up from 80% a year earlier, underscoring its outsized role in the province’s innovation economy.

The conference also released a list of 413 quasi-unicorns—companies typically valued between $100 million and $1 billion—including 50 new additions.

Several firms, such as Diagens Biotechnology, Manycore Tech, Mirxes, Promisemed, Saint Bella, Tide Pharmaceutical, Tongshifu and ISV, exited the list after scaling into unicorn status or completing initial public offerings.

Quasi-unicorns are concentrated in sectors aligned with Hangzhou’s broader “296X” industrial strategy. Life sciences lead with 118 firms, followed by next-generation information technology with 78 and AI and embodied intelligence with 50—together accounting for about 60% of the total.

The “296X” is an industrial cluster blueprint the city introduced in October 2025 in an effort to speed up the integration of technological and industrial innovation.

More than half of both unicorns and quasi-unicorns—255 companies—are classified as nationally recognized “specialized and refined” enterprises, including 20 unicorns and 235 quasi-unicorns, reflecting a structured pipeline of high-growth firms.

Since 2018, Hangzhou’s unicorn count has risen from 26 to 48, while quasi-unicorns have expanded from 105 to 413, underscoring sustained growth in its innovation-driven economy.

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SOURCE All Blossom Conference

BANGKOK, April 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — At the prestigious Money20/20 Asia held at QSNCC, KUN showcased its upgraded brand identity and launched the “1-1-4-6” Intelligent Strategic Blueprint. This milestone marks KUN’s comprehensive transition toward a globalized, full-stack, and intelligent ecosystem.

Dr. Louis Liu, Founder & Group CEO of KUN, stated at the launch: “While the convergence of Web2 and Web3 defines the current era, we believe the embedded ecosystem synergy of AI and Web3 is the inevitable future of commerce. Our evolution is an intelligent reconstruction of commercial efficiency. By leveraging decades of vertical payment expertise, we provide enterprise clients with full-stack, end-to-end payment and financial solutions. Through digital orchestration and operations, we deliver secure, compliant, and high-velocity transaction safeguards to empower global business growth.”

Money20/20 Roundtable: Compliance as the “Scaling Layer” for Institutional Adoption

At the “Bridging TradFi and DeFi” roundtable, Dr. Liu shared three key insights on the future of cross-border finance:

Asia as the Hub for Real-World Stablecoin Settlement: Asia has emerged as a critical hub for cross-border trade flows and stablecoin settlement, connecting high-growth emerging markets. Currently, 60% of the world’s on-chain stablecoin trade volume is centered in Asia, making it a primary corridor for capital flows between Asia, LATAM, Africa, and the Middle East.

Compliance as the “Scaling Layer”: The bottleneck for scaling digital payments is not technology or licensing, but the ability to embed jurisdictional compliance frameworks into business logic. Integrating AML and risk controls directly into the payment flow is the prerequisite for the explosion of global institutional applications.

Accelerating AI and Web3 Ecosystem Convergence: As AI agents increasingly enter commercial decision-making, payments are shifting from human-controlled to autonomous. Blockchain and stablecoins will serve as the default infrastructure for Agent-to-Agent (A2A) transactions.

Exhibition Interaction: From Platform Governance to Vertical Efficiency

At the main exhibition area, KUN demonstrated its dual-brand synergy through a new visual identity:

KUN: Positioned as the Trusted Vertical Digital Payments Platform for Real Economy, providing one-stop digital payments and scenario-based on-chain financial solutions.

YeeZ: A KUN Group brand specializing in 2B2C Global Corporate Card Issuance for global enterprises.

The “1-1-4-6” Strategic Blueprint: Driving Global Growth

KUN decoded its “1-1-4-6” strategy—an AI-powered blueprint designed for seamless asset mobility. The ecosystem integrates KUN Space™ (the digital payments & financial services platform) with KUN Nexus™ (the AI-orchestrated liquidity network). Driven by four core engines—KUN | Pay, KUN | Cards, KUN | Money, and KUN | Agent—the strategy empowers liquidity for six vertical sectors: Bulk Commodity, General Trade, B2B Cross-border E-Commerce, Service Trade, Web3 Ecosystems, and AI Applications.

Future Vision: The Era of “Driverless” Intelligent Payments

The launch highlighted KUN | Agent as the pioneer of the “driverless” era of intelligent global payments.

KUNClaw.AI: Orchestrates autonomous financial workflows to drive intelligent cost reduction and efficiency.

AI Agent Wallet: Features programmable KYC and authorization fences to ensure secure, compliant execution where “decision is payment”.

Seamless Network, Borderless Payments.

KUN remains dedicated to serving as the engine for the real economy, providing secure, compliant, and efficient one-stop cross-border payment solutions in an uncertain global environment.

About KUN

KUN is an innovative financial infrastructure company centered on digital payments and embedded finance. Built on a globally distributed licensing framework and a robust compliance and risk-management system, KUN connects Asia with high-growth emerging markets across Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East.

Positioned as a trusted vertical digital payments platform for real economies, the company operates across four core pillars—Cross-Border Digital Payments, On-Chain Finance, Card Issuing, and AI Agentic Payments. By integrating artificial intelligence and blockchain technologies, KUN delivers secure, compliant, and efficient one-stop payment and transaction services for enterprise clients across industries including commodity trade, B2B cross-border e-commerce, service trade, Web3 ecosystems, and AI applications.

Through this integrated infrastructure, KUN serves as a growth engine enabling enterprises to expand globally with speed, trust, and financial connectivity.

Learn more about KUN → www.kun.global

Contact: KUN: brandmkt@kun.global  

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SOURCE KUN