February 2026 Community Updates

Hi OAX community,

February 2026 proved to be a highly volatile month for global financial markets, with major U.S. indices like the S&P 500 hovering at resistance level. AI confidence swung back and forth following a generally better than expected earnings release, with initial optimism from Nvidia’s blowout Q4 earnings reinforcing sector strength before renewed doubts over massive capex returns, potential overinvestment bubbles, and disruption risks to industries like consulting and logistics led to rotations out of mega-cap tech toward cyclicals, small caps, value and energy. Meanwhile, crypto built relative support levels amid the chop, highlighted by Circle’s impressive Q4 earnings underscoring stablecoin momentum despite broader macro headwinds.

Source: SCMP

Hong Kong is all-in on AI

Despite macro volatility, AI remains to be the focus down to regional level. Coming back to Hong Kong, where OAX foundation is headquartered, we’ve been to Consensus early this month as well as an investor network dinner hosted by Cyberport, we’re seeing increased strategic allocation into the cities’ AI development both from private and public sector.

Hong Kong’s 2026-27 Budget, delivered by Financial Secretary Paul Chan on February 25, 2026, under the theme “Driving High-quality, Inclusive Growth with Innovation and Finance,” positioned artificial intelligence (AI) as the central pillar of its economic strategy to foster high-quality, inclusive development amid sustained economic momentum.

Key AI-focused initiatives include establishing and personally chairing the Committee on AI+ and Industry Development Strategy to formulate policies promoting “AI for industries” and “industries for AI,” with initial emphasis on life and health technology, embodied AI, banking applications, and broader societal adoption; launching an AI+ strategy to accelerate industrial transformation; allocating HK$50 million (~US$6.4 million) to enhance AI literacy through university courses, workforce training via a new Skills Upgrading Board.

The Hong Kong Artificial Intelligence Research and Development Institute in the second half of 2026 to drive R&D, application conversion, and government advisory; continuing the HK$3 billion AI Subsidy Scheme, which has already approved around 30 R&D projects in areas like large language models, new materials, and biomedicine; and supporting trials in financial services through sandboxes (e.g., HKMA and Cyberport) alongside cross-border efforts such as an MOU with Guangxi for AI applications and data collaboration.

These measures aim to industrialize AI, deepen its integration across sectors, popularize its use society-wide, and leverage Hong Kong’s strengths in finance and innovation to align with national priorities and attract talent and investment

GMAsia Campus AI: The Convergence

Since Q4 2025, OAX Foundation has begun supporting GMAsia. They are at the forefront of addressing Asia’s accelerating AI boom and the stark disparities in AI literacy, aligning closely with forward-thinking government strategies, like Hong Kong’s recent budget allocation for universal AI training to build practical skills and literacy across society.

Through GMAsia Campus, this project is bridging the gap for individuals (builders, students, professionals) and institutions alike by creating a leading AI EdTech platform that connects top thought leaders with eager communities via curated events, comprehensive courses, ethical frameworks, and collaborative ecosystems. Fresh momentum from recent hackathons has sparked strong interest in involvement, surfacing synergies and partnership opportunities that position GMAsia Campus as the go-to hub for upskilling, responsible AI adoption, and unlocking innovation.

Hence one of the most exciting outcomes connecting the dots for OAX Foundation over the past year is GMAsia. The clear manifestation of our push into AI x Web3 in Hong Kong. From launching the GMAsia events hub in late 2025, to deep involvement at Consensus Hong Kong 2026 it all converged into GMAsia.

OAX x HackTheEast AI Hackathon

We’re pleased to see Hong Kong’s government strategic shift in AI begins to converge with the foundation’s effort in AI research and developments. Hence this came timely with our AI focused hackathon with students across the region.

OAX sponsored HackTheEast, the organiser of Hong Kong’s first largest student-led AI hackathon, culminated over the weekend with outstanding execution and innovation. The event drew over 600 applications, narrowing to 60+ exceptional projects that delivered compelling elevator pitches at HKUST. We were truly impressed by what teams built in just 24 hours, tackling real-world challenges in EdTech, FinTech, privacy blockchain, and PropTech while showcasing strong coding skills, presentation prowess, impact, and teamwork.

OAX Foundation proudly participated in judging the main prize and presented our dedicated OAX side challenge award in education development. What began with a few phone calls and a shared vision to empower the next generation of innovators, unlocking students’ potential to create with AI, free from corporate red tape has grown into something special.

As one of the first sponsors, we’re honored to have mentored and guided the team, fostering a culture where awards recognize effort, initiative, and bold building. The hackathon’s slogan, “go build or go home,” resonates deeply with us, and we’re excited to support this vibrant community driving Hong Kong’s AI future. Huge congrats to the winners, participants and the organising committee.

We’ll be deep diving into key learnings and insights in our next blog post, so stay tuned for that writeup.

Highlights from the Community & Happy Lunar New Year!

With GMAsia’s beta launch in November, the team is still working on improving its current features and building their community, launching their first Lunar New Year giveaway campaign. Response was quite positive for a new page, with close to 200 participants. Thank you to everyone who participated, GMAsia will be reaching out to winners directly via DMs, so if you joined, keep a close watch on our inbox over the next couple of weeks!

We’d also like to take a moment to wish all our community members who are celebrating the occasion a wonderful end to the Lunar New Year.

Closing Remarks

Despite a whirlwind of a month, the OAX Foundation has delivered outsized impact in Hong Kong’s thriving tech ecosystem, from active participation at Consensus Hong Kong 2026, advancing the support on GMAsia Campus as a premier AI EdTech platform to bridge literacy gaps, to proudly sponsoring and supporting HackTheEast, recognized as one of the largest student-led AI hackathons in the region.

By seamlessly blending the transformative power of AI with the decentralized potential of Web3, we’re converging the best of both worlds to fuel meaningful innovation and empower builders, students, and communities to create without boundaries.

We’re more excited than ever to invite passionate experts, creators, and collaborators from every background to reach out, share your vision, and let’s build together. In an era where AI has dismantled traditional barriers, what truly sets us apart is our unique thinking, diverse contexts, and drive to make a lasting, positive impact. The journey ahead is bright, come be part of it!

Disclaimer: The above is an opinion piece written by an authorized author, but in no way represents the official standpoint of OAX Foundation Limited, nor should it be meant to serve as investment advice.