The first edition sold out. This is the second.
China Edge Expedition II
China Edge Expedition II
Intelligence is moving out of software and into machines. Five days inside the Chinese companies building them.
Applications are reviewed. Approved delegates receive pricing and logistics directly.
The lineup
More than a list of famous companies. The entire chain lined up.
L1Sensing
Where the physical world enters the system.
- Dahua TechnologyOne of the world's main suppliers of video-centric IoT, from surveillance cameras to AI video analytics.
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- Rokid
L2Components
The parts a machine is assembled from.
- CATL & CAITCAIT, CATL's chassis arm, makes an ultra-safe skateboard chassis with the battery cells built into it.
L3Compute
Where the intelligence is built and served.
- ByteDanceKnown for TikTok and Toutiao, and planning to put more than US$12 billion into AI chips.
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- Tuya
- Whale Cloud
- Shein
- Huawei
- Tencent
- MiniMax
- SenseTime
L5Actuation
Machines that change the physical world.
- AgiBotA Shanghai startup founded in 2023 by a former Huawei Genius Youth recruit, building humanoids and the AI that drives them.
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- Ansrobex
- Dreame
We've done this before
We were in the room before the inflection.
Expedition I took a delegation of Brazilian investors to Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Hangzhou. One of the stops was Unitree — at the time, a company known for quadrupeds.
Since that visit, Unitree's humanoid revenue overtook its quadruped revenue. Our delegates had already walked the floor, met the team, and asked their questions.
That is what an expedition buys. Not information — information is free and late. Timing.
Expedition I visited Lenovo Tianjin, Tuya Smart, Inspur, Alibaba Cloud, Unitree, MEGVII, Jieshun and TRS
Who's on the bus
Five people, on the bus with you all week.
Indicator Capital runs 33 portfolio companies, with BNDES, Qualcomm Ventures and Lenovo among its investors. FCGI has led more than 600 executives through China.
Why now
Intelligence is moving out of software and into machines.
Every generation of AI needs more data than the last. The web has been read. The next tranche doesn't exist yet — it has to be produced, and the only way to produce it is to act: move a machine through the physical world and record what happened.
That makes actuation the bottleneck. And the moat. Not the model layer — the layer that touches the ground.
one dot is 1,000 machines
IFR, preliminary 2025
one dot is 1,000 machines
IFR, preliminary 2025
The flywheel
The flywheel
The practical
Before you apply.
- You deploy capital or operate at scale in agribusiness, energy, industry or logistics
- You want to meet operators, not attend a conference
- You can commit six consecutive days
- You are looking for a tour
- You need free evenings
- You want to bring a partner along
15 companies in 5 days, all from one hotel in Shanghai. Nothing more than a short train away. You arrive awake. That is the design.
The preparation
Before you fly.
China is easy to travel in and hard to improvise in. Almost everything runs through two apps, and setting them up takes twenty minutes at home against an hour of frustration at the airport. Do these before you leave.
- Visa
Brazilian ordinary passport holders may enter China visa-free for up to 30 days under the policy currently in force through 31 December 2026. Verify your passport meets validity requirements. Holders of other passports should check their own requirements.
Verified August 2026 - The two apps that matter
Install and fully set up WeChat and Alipay before you fly, and link an international card to each. Both now accept foreign Visa and Mastercard. Cash is close to useless and many places cannot take a foreign card directly. Do the identity verification at home, because it can take a day.
- Getting around
DiDi for taxis, and there is an English mode inside Alipay too. Amap or Baidu Maps for navigation, because Google Maps does not work usefully here. Show drivers the Chinese company name: every stop on the agenda carries one, so screenshot the pages you need.
- Internet
Google, WhatsApp, Instagram and most Western services are blocked on domestic networks. Either configure a VPN before you arrive, since installing one from inside China is difficult, or use an international roaming eSIM, which routes around the block. Do not leave this until you land.
- Rail
Your passport is your ticket. Tap it at the gate, nothing to print. Arrive 25 to 30 minutes before departure for station security. We book the group into the same carriage, and you should keep your passport on you every day rather than in the hotel safe.
- Weather and clothes
November in the Delta is cool and grey, roughly 10 to 18 °C, so bring layers. Business casual is right for every stop. Bring closed shoes: several visits include a factory floor, and open shoes will get you turned away.
- Practicalities
220 V, plug types A and I, so bring an adapter. Tap water is not for drinking. Most stops ask for the delegation list and passport numbers well in advance, so answer that email quickly. A late name is a name that does not get in.
- Etiquette that actually matters
Bring business cards, plenty of them, and receive one with both hands. Expect a scripted tour before the real conversation starts, and the useful part is usually in the last fifteen minutes, so save your best question. Several plants prohibit photography. Ask once, then respect it.
Logistics
- Shanghai
- Hangzhou
- Nanjing
- Suzhou
Request an invitation.
Applications close September 30, 2026.