Date: Friday, 13 March 2026
Time: 6.30pm – 9.30pm
Location: Computer History Museum, Hanh Auditorium (Level 2), 1401 N Shoreline Blvd Mountain View, CA 94043
Around 150 attended the Asia Tech x Community (ATxCommunity) on March 13, 2026. The first ever in Silicon Valley, ATxCommunity served as an extension of the Asia Tech x Summit (ATxSummit), a premier annual event held by the Infocomm Media Development Authority in Singapore. ATxCommunity builds on IMDA's partnership with SingaporeConnect, following events such as the AI Governance Workshop. Over the evening, we convened a discussion around the topic of Digital Public Utilities and highlighted opportunities for collaboration between Silicon Valley and Southeast Asia, where insights from the Valley can contribute directly to a trusted, vibrant and globalised digital future.
The event featured an expert panel discussion on "The New Stack: Digital Utilities as Innovation Substrate", which explored how governments and innovators across South-east Asia and the US balanced efficiency, equity, and security in critical infrastructure transformation - from Singapore's national digital utilities strategy to blockchain protocols democratising access to essential services.
The event highlight was an exclusive fireside chat with Professor Alex "Sandy" Pentland, Lead Faculty of Stanford Digital Economy Labs, examine how digital technologies are fundamentally reshaping economic systems, offering insights into the future landscape of innovation and economic opportunity.
In the "Tell Your Story" Workshop: Discovering Our Invisible Trampolines, co-led by IEEE and conducted by MIT alumnus Mei Lin Fung, Chair of IEEE Technical Committee on Sustainability, attendees discovered how abstract digital infrastructure could become part of their own story. They were led to explore the invisible trampolines that powered your success through AI-guided discovery to share their story with fellow innovators.
The event was held in-person with a livestream. See photos and videos below. Dinner (featuring Singapore's renowned hawker fare, catered by Dabao Singapore) was provided.
This event is part of the Asia Tech x Summit (ATxSummit). Hosted by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), ATxSummit is the apex event of Asia Tech x Singapore. It comprises two distinct experiences—The Plenary and The Village—designed to drive strategic dialogue and cross-sector collaboration. The Plenary convenes global leaders to address critical technological frontiers, while The Village curates high-level roundtables, symposiums, workshops, innovation showcases and networking opportunities that forge meaningful cross-industry partnerships.
Singapore's AI Strategy: Building the Future
Prof Sandy Pentland on AI, Human Work
Building Digital Utilities That Work for People
Tell Your Story Workshop: Discovering our Invisible Trampolines
Michael MacFarland is the CEO & Co-founder of the Nehitek Foundation, which focuses on bridging the gap between large capital pools and small businesses using open finance. He was Chief Architect and Head of operations for Common Securitization Solutions (CSS)/Fannie Mae. Michael was responsible for the design and operation of the Common Securitization Platform, which manages a $16 trillion security portfolio.
Suruchii Suresh Gupta is a technologist and systems-builder whose work sits at the intersection of connectivity, digital infrastructure, and economic participation. She founded GIANT Protocol after questioning a system most people take for granted: billions of people spend on connectivity each month, yet almost none of that economic value flows back to them. GIANT transforms everyday connectivity into a new global asset class, enabling users and communities to share in the value they help create. A two-time venture-backed entrepreneur with an MS in Computer Science and early roles at Juniper Networks and Amazon, she brings deep technical expertise and a track record of building scalable technology solutions that deliver fair value for diverse stakeholders. She has co-authored G7 policy briefs and spoken at global forums including the UN Science Summit, serves on the Advisory Board for UC Santa Barbara’s Women in Leadership Program and mentors entrepreneurs at Founders Space.
GIANT Protocol: GIANT (Global Internet Access Network Token) is a blockchain protocol that aims to decentralize and democratize access to internet and financial services, by tokenizing bandwidth. GIANT helps consumers become owners, telcos become banks, anyone become a connectivity or financial services provider, creating a connectivity economy that is open and accessible to all. We believe access to the internet and financial services is not only a basic human right, it is also critical for humanity during the next few decades, as we try to find our way to a more just and sustainable world. By turning connectivity into a digital asset, and creating a decentralized internet access layer, we provide connectivity and financial services, accessible to anyone, and owned by everyone. Whitepaper - https://lnkd.in/g4cYwHfX
Eng Soon joined IMDA from A*STAR in May 2020 as Cluster Director for Trade & Connectivity (T&C). He led the Industry Development Group (IDG) in A*STAR, where T&C was part of the portfolio. During his time in A*STAR, he worked with both MNCs & local enterprises, including SMEs, helping them with technology innovations and productivity improvement. He strongly believes that technology and digitalization will help our companies gain competitive advantages in the marketplace. Eng Soon assumed Cluster Director for Digital Utilities in Apr 2020. He oversees the Digital Utilities Strategy, as well as the development of IMDA’s current suite of Digital Utilities – E-Invoice, TradeTrust and SGTraDex. He is also concurrently the CEO of SGTraDex Technologies Pte Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of IMDA. Eng Soon is an Aeronautical Engineer by training and he spent 20 years in the Republic of Singapore Air Force as an Air Engineering Officer. He joined IMDA after spending 8 years in A*STAR.
IMDA: Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) is a Singapore-based public administration that develops vibrant digital economy, and diverse opportunities for Singapore's digital future.
Mark Sin is a systems integrator with a broad interest in bridging people, technology and policy. He is President of SingaporeConnect, a social networking club for Singaporeans and friends of Singapore, based in the SF Bay Area. Mark spent 22 years at Apple across roles from engineering manager to architect. He interfaced between teams, building highly-integrated products including the iMac Pro, iPad, Mac Pro and Mac mini, and created processes for systematic design, validation and test used across Mac. A graduate of Carnegie Mellon and MIT’s computer engineering and policy programs, Mark has initiated several events bridging tech and policy including workshops and panel discussions. He sees AI as an agent to catalyse the adoption of digital utilities by efficiently connecting resource pools together.
SingaporeConnect: SingaporeConnect is a non-profit 501(c)4 corporation based in the San Francisco Bay Area. We are a team of volunteers dedicated to building a vibrant and connected community of Singaporeans and Friends of Singapore. Founded in 2005, SingaporeConnect aims to bring the Singapore spirit to life abroad — energising and uniting our overseas community. We serve as a cultural and social bridge— celebrating Singaporean heritage, fostering meaningful connections with fans of Singapore, and engaging the next generation of global Singaporeans. With support from the Singapore Global Network, we organise a wide-range of events, from family-friendly gatherings, professional networking sessions, to milestone national celebrations.
Professor Alex 'Sandy' Pentland is Fellow at Stanford HAI, and previously helped create and direct the MIT Connection Science, the Media Lab and the Media Lab Asia in India. He is one of the most-cited computational scientists in the world, and Forbes declared him one of the "7 most powerful data scientists in the world" along with Google founders and the Chief Technical Officer of the United States. He is has been advisor to the UN Secretary General’s office, co-led the World Economic Forum discussion in Davos that led to the EU privacy regulation GDPR, and was central in forging the transparency and accountability mechanisms in the UN's Sustainable Development Goals. He has received numerous awards and prizes such as the McKinsey Award from Harvard Business Review, the 40th Anniversary of the Internet from DARPA, and the Brandeis Award for work in privacy. Recent invited keynotes include annual meetings of OECD, G20, World Bank, and JP Morgan.
Mr Kiren Kumar assumed the appointment of Deputy Chief Executive (Development) of IMDA in Jan 2021. He spearheads the development of Singapore’s digital economy and drives the implementation of the ICT industry strategy across both industry verticals and economic horizontals. He oversees both the Sectoral Transformation Group and Digital Industry & Talent Group to accelerate digitalisation across the industries and businesses to grow Singapore’s digital economy, and leads human capital development to provide the right skillsets for ICM sectors to raise the digital literacy of Singapore’s workforce. Prior to holding office as DCE (Development) in IMDA, Mr Kiren was Assistant Chief Executive (Digital Industry and Talent) at IMDA and Executive Vice President (Digital Industry) at Economic Development Board (EDB). He graduated with a Bachelors of Mechanical Engineering from the University of Illinois @ Urbana-Champaign, a Masters of Science from Stanford University and an MBA from MIT.
IMDA: Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) is a Singapore-based public administration that develops vibrant digital economy, and diverse opportunities for Singapore's digital future.
IEEE Technical Committee on Sustainability: The IEEE Technical Committee on Sustainability is a group within the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers that promotes research, collaboration, and technological innovation aimed at addressing global sustainability challenges. It brings together academics, industry professionals, and policymakers to develop and share solutions in areas such as sustainable energy, smart cities, environmental monitoring, and responsible technology development.
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