Analyse Asia

28/07/2025

Fresh out of the studio, Grace Shao, founder of AI Proem Newsletter and former CNBC and CGTN journalist, joins us to explore the rise of generative AI in China and how it's reshaping the global technology narrative. She began the story of her career journey and started with the conversation reflecting on how the DeepSeek moment revitalized China's internet sector after years of regulatory challenges and geopolitical tensions. Grace unpacks the pragmatic Chinese approach to AI development, explaining how companies like ByteDance, Alibaba, and Tencent are leveraging their unique ecosystems and data advantages while startups embrace open-weight models to prove innovation over imitation. She discusses why the "China versus US AI arms race" narrative misses the point, the strategic reasons behind companies relocating to avoid geopolitical sensitivities, and how distribution challenges are separating winners from losers in the consumer AI space. Addressing the broader implications, Grace explores the real opportunities in robotics, vertical AI applications, and why collaboration rather than competition should define the industry's future. Closing the conversation, she shares her vision for bridging cultural understanding between East and West and what success looks like for the next generation of AI development.

"China's approach is very pragmatic. People have been saying DeepSeek did it out of necessity. There's obviously a GPU constraint and hardware constraint in China, something they're working around. In many ways, the engineering genius and engineering innovation is what set DeepSeek apart. It challenged a global narrative around needing more GPUs and more money to get better AI. It was about throwing capital at the problem. It was a different approach because the capital ecosystem in China itself is very different. People talk about proof of concept - you have to prove your concept first in China to get funding. For many startups, they weren't getting much funding before the DeepSeek moment. To your point, no one really knew it would have a strong ROI, so only the BATs that had money and understood the technology were backing it." - Grace Shao, Founder of AI Proem Newsletter

Watch the full YouTube Video:

Fresh out of the studio, Grace Shao, founder of AI Proem Newsletter and former CNBC and CGTN journalist, joins us to explore the rise of generative AI in Chi...

26/07/2025

Fresh out of the studio, Patrick McGee, San Francisco correspondent for the Financial Times and author of "Apple in China: The Capture of the World's Greatest Company" joined us in a conversation to unravel the extraordinary story of how the world's most valuable company became inextricably entangled with China. Patrick shared the backstory behind Apple's century-defining Faustian bargain and progressed through how he uncovered the untold story of Asia's contract manufacturing history through Apple's supply chain point of view. He unpacks the famous "Apple Squeeze" philosophy of paying suppliers minimally while providing invaluable training, and shares fascinating stories from characters like the ruthless negotiator Tony Blevins to the tragic figure of Jackie Haynes. Throughout the conversation, Patrick demonstrates how Apple inadvertently created China's contract manufacturing capabilities and explains why the company's current attempts to diversify to India face insurmountable cultural and political barriers. Last but not least, he argues that Apple's very success in China has become its greatest vulnerability, trapped in a relationship where going too fast risks Beijing's ire, while going too slow means remaining stuck in an increasingly untenable position.

"I quote a study that looked at 84 countries in terms of internal migration and India was dead last. That's not a knock against the culture. It's just not part of the culture that young women in particular leave home at 17, go to the other side of the country and work in a factory. You don't have that. So what's the phrase: Culture eats strategy for breakfast. Apple might have a plan, but like good luck upending 5,000 years of Indian culture to make it happen." - Patrick McGee, author of "Apple in China"

Episode Highlights
[00:03] Quote of the Day by Patrick McGee
[01:00] Introduction: Patrick McGee, author of "Apple in China"
[03:12] Lessons from Patrick's Career Journey
[05:13] March 15, 2013: Xi Jinping's political awakening - Apple's first "oh s**t moment" in China, just 12 hours after his inauguration
[10:25] Apple's manufacturing DNA - why they control supply chains differently than other tech companies
[12:09] The secret pyramid: ID → PD → MD - how Apple's industrial design gets translated into manufacturing reality
[16:11] Terry Gou's legendary call: "I can fix this" - the moment Foxconn became Apple's key manufacturing partner
[19:38] OEM vs ODM strategy: Why Terry Gou chose to never compete with clients, focusing on vertical integration instead
[25:00] Tony Blevins' ruthless negotiations: "We don't have time for you to read the contract. You just need to sign it now"
[26:45] The "Apple Squeeze" revealed: "We won't pay you much, but the experience will be invaluable"
[28:27] Staggering impact: Apple trained 28 million people - greater than California's labor force, 6x Singapore's population
[34:03] The Gang of Eight: Apple's first senior team living in China to navigate political pressures
[41:45] Chinese dominance: Huawei, Xiaomi, and others now control 55% of global smartphone market share
[48:08] Apple's double whammy: Supply Chain locked in China and TSMC
[52:37] Apple's impossible balancing act in India: "Go too fast, risk Beijing's ire. Go too slow, remain stuck"
[53:11] Jackie Haynes tragedy: Apple's failed attempt to improve worker conditions caught between operational demands and Xi Jinping's crackdown
[57:09] Closing

22/07/2025

AI Governance ≠ Bureaucracy — It’s Your Competitive Advantage!

In the latest conversation with David R. Hardoon, Global Head of AI Enablement at Standard Chartered Bank and our host Bernard Leong, we explored what it really means to enable hashtag at scale in financial services.

Here are a few gems that stood out:
✅ AI governance isn’t about adding committees or bureaucracy. It’s about integrating into existing frameworks to unlock speed and trust.
✅ Governance should not stifle innovation. In fact, clarity on rules accelerates adoption — like knowing the speed limits lets you drive faster, not slower.
✅ David’s work on the MAS FEAT principles emphasized outcomes over prescriptions: don’t dictate how, just clarify why.
✅ Financial institutions already understand risk deeply — AI just needs to be managed like any other risk: estimate, price, mitigate.
✅ The most advanced applications? Autonomous agents reconciling bank errors and cutting fraud alert false positives by half. That’s operational AI in action.

🎯 Key lesson: AI doesn’t succeed because of algorithms alone — it thrives when aligned with intent, governance, and trust.

Watch the full episode here:

Fresh out of the studio, David Hardoon, Global Head of AI Enablement at Standard Chartered Bank, joins us in a conversation to explore how financial institut...

21/07/2025

Fresh out of the studio, Hans Dekkers, General Manager of IBM Asia Pacific, joins us to explore how enterprise AI is reshaping business across the region. He shares his journey with IBM after business school, reflecting on the evolution of personal computers to AI today. Hans explains IBM's unique approach combining hybrid cloud infrastructure with AI for Enterprise, emphasizing how their granite models and data fabric enable businesses and governments to maintain control over their data while scaling AI capabilities. He highlights customer stories from Indonesian telecoms company to internal IBM transformations, showcasing how companies are re-engineering everything from HR to supply chains using domain-specific AI models. Addressing the challenges of AI implementation, he emphasizes the importance of foundational infrastructure and governance, while advocating for smaller, cost-effective models over GPU-heavy approaches. Closing the conversation, Hans shares his vision for IBM's growing presence in Asia as the key to enterprise AI success.

"At IBM, we really work on two emerging technologies: hybrid cloud and AI for enterprise. These two are deeply connected. Hybrid cloud for us means that regardless of where the data sits whether the compute is on-premise, off-premise, or across multiple clouds. We believe the client should have the control and flexibility to choose where to run and place their data. If you look at the facts, a very high percentage of client data is still on-premise. It hasn't moved to the cloud for obvious reasons. So, how can you scale AI if you don’t have proper access to that data? AI is all about the data. That’s why we believe in a strategy that redefines and rethinks everything. We call it the Great Technology Reset." - Hans Dekkers

Episode Highlights:
[00:00] Quote of the Day by Hans Dekkers
[01:00] Introduction: Hans Dekkers from IBM
[05:00] Key career lesson from Hans Dekker
[06:51] IBM focuses on two emerging technologies: hybrid cloud and AI for Enterprise, deeply connected
[09:27] "Your data needs to remain your data" - IBM's fundamental AI principle for enterprise clients
[10:00] IBM's approach: Small, nimble, cost-effective AI models that can be owned and governed by clients
[13:59] "The cost of AI is still too high. It's about a hundred times too high" - IBM CEO's perspective on AI costs
[14:44] Small domain-specific models example: Banking AI trained for financial analysis, not Russian poetry
[18:00] IBM's internal transformation: HR, supply chain, and consulting completely re-engineered with AI
[21:18] Major partnership announcement: Indonesian telecom embracing IBM's watsonx platform
[22:23] AI agents demo: Multiple agents (HR, finance, legal) debating and constructing narratives
[25:00] "Everyone talks about AI equals GPU" - Hans wishes clients understood that inferencing is more important
[27:00] IBM's Asia Pacific vision: Reestablishing growing presence and differentiated technology approach
[28:00] Closing
Fresh out of the studio, Hans Dekkers, General Manager of IBM Asia Pacific, joins us to explore how enterprise AI is reshaping business across the region. He shares his journey with IBM after business school, reflecting on the evolution of personal computers to AI today. Hans explains IBM's unique approach combining hybrid cloud infrastructure with AI for Enterprise, emphasizing how their granite models and data fabric enable businesses and governments to maintain control over their data while scaling AI capabilities. He highlights customer stories from Indonesian telecoms company to internal IBM transformations, showcasing how companies are re-engineering everything from HR to supply chains using domain-specific AI models. Addressing the challenges of AI implementation, he emphasizes the importance of foundational infrastructure and governance, while advocating for smaller, cost-effective models over GPU-heavy approaches. Closing the conversation, Hans shares his vision for IBM's growing presence in Asia as the key to enterprise AI success.

"At IBM, we really work on two emerging technologies: hybrid cloud and AI for enterprise. These two are deeply connected. Hybrid cloud for us means that regardless of where the data sits whether the compute is on-premise, off-premise, or across multiple clouds. We believe the client should have the control and flexibility to choose where to run and place their data. If you look at the facts, a very high percentage of client data is still on-premise. It hasn't moved to the cloud for obvious reasons. So, how can you scale AI if you don’t have proper access to that data? AI is all about the data. That’s why we believe in a strategy that redefines and rethinks everything. We call it the Great Technology Reset." - Hans Dekkers

Episode Highlights:
[00:00] Quote of the Day by Hans Dekkers
[01:00] Introduction: Hans Dekkers from IBM
[05:00] Key career lesson from Hans Dekker
[06:51] IBM focuses on two emerging technologies: hybrid cloud and AI for Enterprise, deeply connected
[09:27] "Your data needs to remain your data" - IBM's fundamental AI principle for enterprise clients
[10:00] IBM's approach: Small, nimble, cost-effective AI models that can be owned and governed by clients
[13:59] "The cost of AI is still too high. It's about a hundred times too high" - IBM CEO's perspective on AI costs
[14:44] Small domain-specific models example: Banking AI trained for financial analysis, not Russian poetry
[18:00] IBM's internal transformation: HR, supply chain, and consulting completely re-engineered with AI
[21:18] Major partnership announcement: Indonesian telecom embracing IBM's watsonx platform
[22:23] AI agents demo: Multiple agents (HR, finance, legal) debating and constructing narratives
[25:00] "Everyone talks about AI equals GPU" - Hans wishes clients understood that inferencing is more important
[27:00] IBM's Asia Pacific vision: Reestablishing growing presence and differentiated technology approach
[28:00] Closing

08/07/2025

Our latest episode features Sabastian Niles, President and Chief Legal Officer from Salesforce as we discuss how trust and responsibility can be incorporated into the era of Agentic AI. https://youtu.be/-0Wv7750jqE

"You can try to develop self-awareness and take a beginner's mind in all things. This includes being open to feedback and truly listening, even when it might be hard to receive. I think that's been something I've really tried to practice. The other area is recognizing that just like a company or country, as humans we have many stakeholders. You may wear many hats in different ways. So as we think of the totality of your life over time, what's your portfolio of passions? How do you choose—as individuals, as society, as organizations, as humans and families with our loved ones and friends—to not just spend your time and resources, but really invest your time, resources, and spirit into areas, people, and contexts that bring you meaning and where you can build a legacy? So it's not so much advice, but more like a north star." - Sabastian V. Niles

We discussed how trust and responsibility are operationalized in how Salesforce products are built and what it means for in the future.

Fresh out of the studio, Sabastian Niles, President and Chief Legal Officer at Salesforce Global, joins us to explore how trust and responsibility shape the ...

06/07/2025

Fresh out of the studio, Mohan Belani, CEO and co-founder of E27 and partner at Orvel Ventures, joins us to explore his 15 years of journey shaping Southeast Asia's startup ecosystem. In the conversation, Mohan reflected on the evolution of Southeast Asia's ecosystem through different eras and offered his perspectives in how startups need to navigate the current funding winter in Southeast Asia. He also shared the spark that inspired him to set Orvel Ventures and how the investment thesis will fit better for the Southeast Asia region. Last but not least, he offered his vision what great would look like for Orvel and E27 in the next decade.

"If you take a step back and ask, how has the last 10-15 years panned out? The truth of the matter is that Southeast Asia has not done as well as it should have based on the reports and projections that existed earlier. There have been fundamental flaws from a culture standpoint with respect to how the ecosystem has been shaped. I think there has been too much of a mirror of what's happening in Silicon Valley and figuring out how to replicate those concepts in Southeast Asia, whereas there should have been a better, more localized, customized, regional model to suit the culture and concepts in this region. We've mirrored our fundraising, our entire ecosystem to be too much like Silicon Valley - blitzscaling style model, power law style investing which in hindsight, maybe were not the right approaches. There's also been an over-reliance on funding." - Mohan Belani, CEO & Co-founder of E27, Partner at Orvel Ventures

Episode Highlights:
[00:01:00] The Spark from Silicon Valley
[00:03:00] Foundational Lessons for Entrepreneurs
[00:07:00] The Origin of E27
[00:10:00] E27’s Evolution into a Regional Powerhouse
[00:13:00] Navigating the Phases of Southeast Asia’s Ecosystem
[00:17:00] Media as Ecosystem Infrastructure
[00:20:00] Building Regionally with Roadshows
[00:22:00] Hard Lessons from Regional Expansion
[00:23:00] Adapting to Emerging Tech Waves
[00:25:00] Misaligned Expectations & the Valley Mirror
[00:28:00] The Birth of Orvel Ventures
[00:33:00] The Orvel Ventures Investment Model
[00:36:00] Red Flags & Green Flags in Founders
[00:40:00] Rethinking Exit Pathways in SEA
[00:45:00] Promising Sectors in 2024
[00:48:00] Thoughts on Governance Failures
[00:52:00] The Need for Critique in SEA Media
[00:54:00] Vision for E27 and Oval Ventures
[00:57:00] Closing and Echelon 2025

24/06/2025

Just dropped our latest episode: A deep-dive conversation with Patrick McGee, author of Apple in China: The Capture of the World's Greatest Company and San Francisco correspondent at the Financial Times.

We explored how Apple’s rise in China wasn't just a manufacturing strategy—it was a century-defining Faustian bargain. Patrick takes us behind the scenes of how Apple unintentionally helped build China’s contract manufacturing dominance, revealing the infamous “Apple Squeeze” model: paying suppliers the bare minimum while delivering invaluable training and scale.

He shares unforgettable stories—from Apple’s ruthless negotiator Tony Blevins to tragic figures like Jackie Haynes—and explains why Apple’s push to move production to India faces cultural, political, and structural barriers.

His key insight? Apple’s greatest success in China may now be its biggest vulnerability and why it is close to impossible to shift from China to India

🎧 Tune in to understand how global tech, geopolitics, and supply chains truly intersect:
🔗 Watch the full YouTube Video: https://youtu.be/TPJ2e-fKTg4

Fresh out of the studio, Patrick McGee, San Francisco correspondent for the Financial Times and author of "Apple in China: The Capture of the World's Greates...

16/06/2025

Fresh out of the studio, Hans A.T. Dekkers, General Manager of IBM Asia Pacific, spoke to our host Bernard Leong on how IBM's enterprise AI is transforming businesses across the region. Hans offered deep insights into IBM’s unique approach—combining hybrid cloud infrastructure with AI to help enterprises and governments scale securely while retaining full control over their data. He spotlighted real-world examples, from transforming HR and supply chains with domain-specific models to a major collaboration with Telkom Indonesia. Hans also addressed the real challenges of AI adoption, emphasizing the need for robust infrastructure, strong governance, and cost-effective models over GPU-heavy solutions. https://youtu.be/TKBzsNVga_w

"At IBM, we really work on two emerging technologies: hybrid cloud and AI for enterprise. These two are deeply connected. Hybrid cloud for us means that regardless of where the data sits whether the compute is on-premise, off-premise, or across multiple clouds. We believe the client should have the control and flexibility to choose where to run and place their data. If you look at the facts, a very high percentage of client data is still on-premise. It hasn't moved to the cloud for obvious reasons. So, how can you scale AI if you don’t have proper access to that data? AI is all about the data. That’s why we believe in a strategy that redefines and rethinks everything. We call it the Great Technology Reset." - Hans Dekkers

Fresh out of the studio, Hans Dekkers, General Manager of IBM Asia Pacific, joins us to explore how enterprise AI is reshaping business across the region. He...

15/06/2025

Fresh out of the studio, Allen Law, co-founder of MOVE Repeat, chairman of REVL, and principal of Seveno Capital, joins us to explore the holistic approach to wellness, fitness, and longevity across his entrepreneurial ventures. In the conversation, Allen explained his journey from "accidental hotelier" to longevity entrepreneur, outlining the six pillars of longevity. He emphasized that the gap isn't in knowledge but in action, highlighting how his upcoming 38,000 square foot facility in Singapore brings medical, fitness, recovery, sleep, and nutrition services under one roof to help people change their lifestyles. Allen discussed how MOVE Repeat has acquired three brands operating in 50+ studios across five countries and shifted from traditional subscription models to pay-as-you-go to ensure consistent customer satisfaction. Last but not least, Allen describes what great would look like for his fitness, wellness and longevity businesses.

"I think the why is so important, but it's always not really being asked. Most people want to know, 'What's your growth look like?' or 'How is this offering different from another offering?' Those are the questions we get most of the time. But going back to the real why we actually do this in the first place is the most critical question if you ask me. For myself personally, it is all about having a positive impact in society. We have chosen to go down the route of wellness, fitness, and longevity to have that positive impact, which we believe is extremely important and a strong one whereby I'm personally putting a lot of energy, funds, and capital behind it to ensure we educate the community and society to establish and adopt healthy and active lifestyles that will only benefit the entire population." - Allen Law

Episode Highlights:
[00:00] Quote of the Day by Allen Law
[01:00] Introduction: Allen Law and his career journey
[04:00] Career Lessons Shared: The importance of first principles and purpose-driven business beyond financial success
[05:45] The six pillars of longevity: sleep, exercise, nutrition, avoiding harmful substances, social connections, and stress management
[08:00] Move Repeat's expansion to three brands across five countries with over 50 fitness studios
[11:45] Change of Business Model from Subscription to Pay as you go in Fitness Clubs focused on customer satisfaction
[18:15] The holistic approach to wellness and why focusing on just one pillar isn't enough
[20:00] Allen's upcoming 38,000 square foot facility combining medical, fitness, recovery, and nutrition services
[26:00] Bridging the gap between wellness knowledge and action through lifestyle change support
[31:00] Using science and data tracking to show measurable improvements in health metrics
[32:00] Democratizing wellness to make longevity accessible for the 50% rather than the wealthy 5%
[35:00] Community building as the foundation for growth in wellness businesses
[38:00] Closing

13/06/2025

"Now, some people are only ever going to want to use WhatsApp to message the people in their life, and they should be able to carry on doing that and have an incredibly simple experience in doing so. But we're increasingly seeing that users want to use WhatsApp for more than messaging close friends and family. It's why we're doing things like business messaging. It's why we built new features like channels and status and updates tab separate from your personal chats. We think that if we carry on getting the core of private messaging right, it also gives us the opportunity to build more of these features that users want." - Alice Newton-Rex

Fresh out of the studio, Alice Newton-Rex, Vice President and Head of Product at WhatsApp, joins us to explore how the messaging platform balances innovation with privacy for over 3 billion users worldwide. In the conversation, Alice explained WhatsApp's three guiding principles: simple, reliable, and private. She emphasized that the features they say "no" to are often more important than those they approve, highlighting how WhatsApp has evolved beyond personal messaging to include business services that serve over 200 million businesses globally and balancing innovation with trust on how Meta AI is integrated into the platform. Last but not least, Alice describes what great would look like for WhatsApp continuing to be the most private way for people to communicate while maintaining simplicity and reliability at global scale.

Episode Highlights:
[00:00] Quote of the Day by Alice Newton-Rex, VP & Head of Product, WhatsApp
[01:34] Alice's Career Journey from Classics to WhatsApp.
[04:32] WhatsApp's three core principles: simple, reliable, and private.
[06:43] Best product decisions: knowing when to say "no".
[09:43] Mobile-first strategy shapes WhatsApp's business model.
[11:21] Small businesses use WhatsApp extensively in emerging economies.
[13:58] WhatsApp Business ecosystem reaches 200 million users globally.
[16:02] End-to-end encryption forms foundation of WhatsApp's privacy commitment.
[18:38] Features keep core experience simple while adding optional functionalities.
[21:18] User trust prioritized over speed of iteration.
[24:32] Messaging will be how most people interact with AI.
[26:40] AI features: optional, visually distinct, with clear user control.
[32:53] Privacy enables authenticity in everyday communication.
[34:13] Future WhatsApp: keeping simple, reliable, private communication for billions.
[35:35] Closing.

08/06/2025

Fresh out of the studio, Mohan Belani, CEO and co-founder of E27 and partner at Orvel Ventures, joins us to explore his 15 years of journey shaping Southeast Asia's startup ecosystem. In the conversation, Mohan reflected on the evolution of Southeast Asia's ecosystem through different eras and offered his perspectives in how startups need to navigate the current funding winter in Southeast Asia. He also shared the spark that inspired him to set Orvel Ventures and how the investment thesis will fit better for the Southeast Asia region. Last but not least, he offered his vision what great would look like for Orvel and E27 in the next decade.

Watch the Full YouTube Video:

Fresh out of the studio, Mohan Belani, CEO and co-founder of E27 and partner at Orvel Ventures, joins us to explore his 15 years of journey shaping Southeast...