Seattle, WA – September 7, 2025 – The Chinese Institute of Engineers (Seattle Chapter) (CIE-SEA) successfully hosted its 2025 CIE-SEA Annual Convention and Asian American Luminary Awards Ceremony at the Hilton Bellevue. The landmark event featured 12 Seminars and Forums, nearly 90 distinguished speakers, and drew more than 1,000 registered participants, reaffirming its status as one of the year’s premier gatherings for the Seattle tech community and the Asian American community at large.

With artificial intelligence (AI) at its core, this year’s conference launched five dedicated AI seminars spanning product innovation, technology and application, and the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Over 50 high-profile speakers, including vice presidents from Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, and prominent entrepreneurs, highlighted AI’s transformative impact on the future of industry. Other hot topics—ranging from tech investment and digital currency to social commerce—also centered on the role of AI, underscoring its sweeping influence across sectors.

Morning Forum: From Lab to Launch

The morning flagship forum, “Lab to Launch: Turning Deep AI Tech into World-Changing Products,” brought together an exceptional panel: Greg Coquillo, Product Leader at AWS; Dorothy Nanyan Li, CVP at Microsoft; Yifan Zhang, Managing Director of AI2 Incubator and Founder of AI House; and Robert Mao, Founder and CEO of ArcBlock. The session was moderated by Anna Hong, Co-Founder and CEO of B.E.L.L.E.

Dorothy Li Li highlighted the need for companies to embed considerations such as compliance, cybersecurity, efficiency, and cost management from day one, noting that moving from lab to global application requires far more than technical focus. Yifan Zhang pointed out that transitioning from research labs to startups often shocks researchers—cost, latency, and product performance suddenly become unavoidable challenges. She emphasized that early awareness and preparation are critical for success.

On lessons from entrepreneurship, Zhang observed that unlike large corporations, startups rarely follow a straight path from A to B. Her own ventures underwent multiple iterations before finding the right trajectory, underscoring that experimentation and resilience are essential.

Greg Coquillo cautioned that startups often underestimate the gap between prototypes and scalable products. He outlined three common mistakes: ignoring the need for fresh, high-quality data; overfitting demos that don’t apply to real-world cases; and underestimating infrastructure costs and latency at scale.

Robert Mao: “Don’t Trust, Verify” in the AI Era

ArcBlock founder Robert Mao urged entrepreneurs to move fast and stay ahead, noting that early setbacks are inevitable but passion and persistence lead to breakthrough alignment with customer needs. He introduced the idea of AI decentralization, arguing that just as the internet eroded user control over identity and data in exchange for “free” services, AI risks repeating the same mistake unless society prioritizes verification over blind trust.

“Don’t trust, verify,” Mao said, emphasizing that genuine trust must be built on verification rather than assumption. He called for a future where decentralized mechanisms create a safer, more reliable digital ecosystem.

Afternoon Seminar: Social Commerce in the Age of AI

The afternoon session, hosted by Joy Tang, Founder of Markable AI, focused on the intersection of AI and social commerce. Panelists included John Zhang, former GM of Sina Weibo; Yu Tang, Lead Product Engineer at Meta; Hope Zhang, Senior Brand Manager at TikTok; and John Feng, Head of Engineering at Pacvue.

John Zhang contrasted U.S. and Chinese social commerce, pointing to stronger supply chains and more proactive consumers in China versus higher content quality and healthier competition in the U.S.

Hope Zhao outlined five preparation stages for social commerce:  Target Demographics, Customer Persona, Channel Attribution, GMV Forecast, and Merchandising Strategy. She also highlighted TikTok’s AI-powered tools—such as ad generation, avatar videos, and script generation—that help creators and brands accelerate growth.

Joy Tang focused on AI’s potential in creator economies.  She encouraged creators to embrace AI: “The wave is here—bring your surfboard and ride it.” She stressed the importance of authenticity and ethics, noting that trust between influencers and fans is key in the U.S. market. Tang also revealed that Markable.AI, recently ranked among the Top 15 most efficient companies in the global AI track, is seeking a bilingual CTO to bridge its U.S. and China operations.

Keynote Address: AI as a $10 Trillion Cognitive Revolution

At the evening Asian American Luminary Awards Ceremony, Xuedong Huang, CTO of Zoom, delivered a keynote speech outlining AI’s transformative potential. He described AI as a $10 trillion “Cognitive Revolution,” with a societal impact comparable to the Industrial Revolution.

Huang highlighted Zoom’s “Agentic AI Mission,” which goes beyond conversation to focus on delivering results with principles of reliability, memory, safety, speed, cost efficiency, and multilingual reach. He noted that Zoom’s AI Companion has quadrupled monthly active users in the past year.

Importantly, Huang emphasized the mission of “AI for Good.” He cited examples such as Zoom’s real-time captioning feature, which reaches hundreds of millions of free Zoom users, helping a deaf teacher fully join meetings and giving ESL learners a voice.

CIE-SEA’s Expanding Role

This year’s annual conference not only showcased the latest technological frontiers but also underscored CIE-SEA’s unique role in uniting Chinese American tech talent and fostering cross-disciplinary dialogue. The event has become a platform where experts exchange insights, attendees gain new knowledge to apply in their work, and the broader community—including startups and small businesses—benefits from opportunities for growth and collaboration.

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By Xuantong and Terry
Chinese Radio Seattle