AI Luminaries Gather at Hashed in Gangnam

At 4 p.m. on July 5, 2026, lights came on at the 20th floor of Hashed's new Gangnam headquarters in the heart of Gangnam-daero. Beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows, the Gangnam skyline unfolded, and overhead, grid-patterned light strips flowed across the ceiling. People gathered one by one, drinks in hand, beneath the illuminated #HASHED sign at the entrance. During the week when ICML 2026, which draws machine learning researchers from around the world, was being held in Seoul, Hashed hosted an opening reception for conference attendees. About 100 people were invited. It's three subway stops from the main COEX venue at Samseong Station, a one-minute walk from Gangnam Station.

ICML Comes to Asia for First Time in 43-Year History

To understand the background of this reception, one must first look at COEX, one station away. This year's ICML is the 43rd conference and the first time since its founding that it has been held in Asia. Opening with tutorials at COEX from July 6 to 11, it continues with the main conference and workshops.

The scale is unprecedented. This year's paper submissions reached 23,918, more than double last year's number, of which 6,352 were accepted. The acceptance rate is 26.6 percent. An estimated over 10,000 researchers from both academia and industry are expected to converge at COEX, and on-site registration has already sold out. The biggest theme running through this year's conference is AI that makes decisions and works autonomously—in other words, agents.

Why Hashed Welcomed an AI Conference

The event was hosted by Hashed. Known for blockchain investments, the firm has rapidly expanded its investment scope to AI and deep tech in recent years. Silicon Valley venture capital firm Goodwater Capital was listed as a sponsor. The scene of an investment firm that started in crypto hosting the opening event of an AI conference offers a compressed view of the changes now unfolding in Seoul.

That day's program included a brief session introducing ICML Seoul Week and Korea's AI ecosystem. It was both an opportunity to introduce Seoul as a venue to overseas researchers attending the conference for the first time, and a chance for domestic investors to make an impression on them.

From Anthropic to DeepMind, on One Floor

The affiliations of those filling the lounge numbered over 50. From corporate research labs like Anthropic, DeepMind, OpenAI, Meta, Microsoft, and AWS to university research labs like MIT, Stanford, Carnegie Mellon, Harvard, and UC Berkeley. People who write cutting-edge papers and people who translate that research into products mingled on the same floor. Next to the stage, a booth from domestic AI startup Factomind was set up, and the space between leather sofas and standing tables quickly became packed.

Hashed's Vision: AI Agents and On-Chain

Hashed's invitation to AI researchers was not an impromptu gesture. Just two weeks earlier, at the same Hashed Lounge, research organization Hashed Open Research released a report arguing that Korea could become a digital asset hub in the age of AI agents. The gist was that on-chain assets move value created in AI, content, and consumer markets across borders 24 hours a day. It's a picture where, in an economy where AI agents exchange value on behalf of humans, blockchain becomes the settlement rail.

The report cited Korea's strengths as high digital affinity, manufacturing competitiveness, and the gaming industry's experience with character-based economies. The economy in which AI agents operate resembles in-game economies. This overlaps with the reason why Hashed, which started in crypto, invited cutting-edge AI researchers to its lounge.

The Moment Asia Becomes a Point on the Map

The map of AI talent and capital has long been drawn around the axis of San Francisco and London. That map is shifting. ICML will move its venue to South America next year and the U.S. East Coast the year after. Seoul this year is one stop in that rotation, but it will be recorded as the year Asia first stood at the center of this conference.

Behind this lies nation-level betting as well. Last month, the Korean government announced a public-private investment plan of over $1 trillion over 10 years in semiconductors and AI infrastructure. Neither investors nor the government intend to let this week, when the world's research workforce stays in Seoul, simply pass by. For us looking at Asia from Busan, an evening on the 20th floor in Gangnam is by no means a small event. It was the sound of a new coordinate being marked on the map.