Analyse Podcast

Fresh out of the studio, Arnaud Frade, Managing Partner at Mesh Advisory and author of the upcoming book The Sentient Startup, joins us to explore how AI is fundamentally transforming entrepreneurship through the radical concept of AI as a true co-founder rather than merely a tool. He distinguishes between startups that are merely "AI-onboard" versus true sentient startups where AI operates as part of how the business is run, and introducing the concept of Machine Resources (MR) as a new organizational function alongside Human Resources to manage evolving AI models and maintain knowledge integrity. He emphasizes the co-intelligence model over the sterile human-versus-machine debate, highlighting how the 95% AI project failure rate stems from organizational issues rather than technology problems—a reality perfectly captured by the Banani framework (Brittle, Anxious, Non-linear, Incomprehensible) that explains why companies struggle with AI readiness. Closing the conversation, Arnaud shares what great looks like for The Sentient Startup: being part of the essential conversation about AI governance, accessibility across income levels, child safety, and building better regulations. Episode Highlights: [00:00] Quote of the Day by Arnaud Frade [01:00] Introduction: Arnaud Frade [02:49] Arnaud's career journey [05:27] Advice: stick to values and volunteer for opportunities [07:21] Arnaud's story on his first book about algorithmic marketing [09::32] Sam Altman's solopreneur unicorn comment was the epiphany [10:04] Sentient startup: AI as co-founder, enhanced by co-intelligence [12:15] AI onboard versus AI as true co-founder distinction [16:45] Barriers to entry reducing with AI and agentic models [23:40] MIT report: 95% of AI pilots fail organizationally [28:15] Need overlay systems for effective agentic AI [30:45] Culture: retain humanity when engaging with AI [36:10] Governance frameworks for AI decision-making transparency [40:10] Banani framework: brittle, anxious, non-linear, incomprehensible [42:16] Co-intelligence model versus human versus machine debate [43:19] Goal: be part of the conversation on AI [44:15] Focus on regulations, access equity, and child safety[45:00] Closing Profile: Arnaud Frade, author of "The Sentient Startup" which will launch on May 19, 2026 via Penguin Random House. Register at thesentientstartup.com for community updatesLinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arnaudfrade

Fresh out of the studio, Ralph Haupter, President & CRO, Small Medium Enterprises and Channels at Microsoft, joins us to explore how Microsoft is empowering 400 million small and medium businesses globally across 56 counties through a partner-first strategy that combines platform standardization with deep specialization. He shares his career journey spanning over 20 years at Microsoft, from running Europe to leading Greater China, building Asia's geographical operations in Singapore, and eventually taking on global SME strategy. Ralph explains that Microsoft's unique advantage lies in being a platform company at its finest, offering a complete technology stack from productivity to infrastructure, security, and applications—all with core AI integration—while relying on a specialized partner ecosystem to deliver local expertise and support. He highlights how partners are creating entirely new business models on agentic AI while emphasizing the four critical partnership moments from transaction to ongoing support that most companies neglect. Closing the conversation, Ralph shares what great looks like for Microsoft. Episode Highlights: [00:00] Quote of the Day by Ralph Haupter [00:54] Ralph's 20+ year Microsoft career journey from Europe to China to Global [02:19] Ralph's Experience in Microsoft Greater China [04:24] Giving space to local country leaders [06:16] Career advice: Get out of comfort zone [08:02] Microsoft's 400 million SME customer opportunity [11:00] AI accessibility for small business competitiveness [13:09] Satya's vision: Empower every organization globally [15:00] Microsoft as AI platform company strategy [17:24] Standardization enables partner ecosystem at scale [21:22] Security partners drive consultative innovation [25:15] Full stack portfolio simplifies SME technology [28:00] Training investment for partners and customers [32:00] Four critical partnership moments: Sales to support [35:00] Local partner presence matters by geography [40:36] Scale requires clarity, simplicity, and standards [42:36] Global Leadership Lessons: Learning from positive performance signal deviations [45:22] Customers should ask partners for expertise [47:34] What does Great Look Like for Microsoft SME & Channel Globally [48:00] Closing Profile: Ralph Haupter, President and CRO, Small Medium Enterprises and Channel (SME&C), Microsoft LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ralphhaupter/ Podcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. The proper credits for the intro and end music are "Energetic Sports Drive." G. Thomas Craig mixed and edited the episode in both video and audio format.

Fresh out of the studio and we hit our 500th episode milestone, guest host Yana Fry from Yana TV turns the tables on Bernard Leong, CEO of Dorje AI and host of Analyse Asia, in a special ask-me-anything format. We start with Bernard's journey from finding his first guest to navigating 11 years of podcasting, revealing his 12-word life philosophy: "Learn from everyone, follow no one, observe the patterns, work like hell." Following on, Bernard shares how his theoretical physics background provides the tools on everything from digital transformation to building Dorje AI's vision of reimagining ERP systems. The conversation dives deep into Bernard's pragmatic idealist worldview, product management philosophy and focus on the future. Bernard announces a major rebrand: Analyse Asia is dropping "Asia" to become the Analyse Podcast as it expands to a global audience, marking a new chapter in the show's evolution."For Dorje AI, what great looks like is being able to solve the ERP problem for businesses. It could take five years, ten years, or even two decades — because every technology adoption cycle takes time. We’re at the beginning of a massive shift, but many still cling to the old ways of doing things. The one thing I’ve learned about digital transformation is this: everyone loves transformation, but they hate to change. Everything that people say will happen in two years usually takes five.When I think about Analyse Asia, greatness for me is being able to do an interview without looking at a set of questions — to tease out a guest’s story authentically, without prejudice, without being a fanboy. Just getting the story out. If I can do that, that’s great. Of course, hitting a million subscribers would be fantastic — that’s the next milestone I’m chasing. But for me, it’s always: ‘I’ve reached this milestone — what’s next?’When you think about frugality at the highest level, it’s not about resources — it’s about time. The real measure is how much time you can spend doing what truly matters. That’s what great looks like for me: asking, what’s the minimum amount of time I can make the maximum impact? Maybe I’ll never fully get there. But if we can say we lived this life without regret — that’s enough." - Bernard LeongEpisode Highlights:[00:00] Quote of the Day by Bernard Leong[01:00] Introduction: Yana Fry (Guest Host) and Bernard Leong[02:05] Early Days of Analyse Asia Finding first guest was biggest initial challenge[04:30] Looking at Everything from a corporate executive like a theoretical physicist[06:23] Podcast interviews are combinations of science and art[08:19] Pragmatic idealist philosophy shapes Bernard's worldview[10:17] 12 Word Advice: Learn from Everyone, Follow No One, Observe the Patterns & Work like Hell[13:00] Dorje AI solving fundamental ERP ledger problems[16:15] Attacking competitors' strongest strength - Lessons of history from Kublai Khan[21:34] New is Easy and Right is Hard for Product Management[24:00] Audio to video was hardest podcast pivot[29:25] Japanese craftsman approach keeps Bernard going[33:09] Analyse Asia rebranding to Analyse Podcast globally[39:55] Father's 50-year loyalty shaped Bernard's management philosophy[44:00] Asia is diverse cities, not monolithic continent[46:00] Most problems aren't AI problems after questioning[51:00] What does Great Look Like for Dorje AI, Analyse Asia and Bernard Leong?[52:10] ClosingProfile: - Bernard Leong, Host of Analyse Asia Podcast, CEO of Dorje AI https://dorje.ai, Adjunct Associate Professor from NUS Business School & Institute of Systems Science. - Guest Host: Yana Fry from @yanatvsg which we highly recommend and subscribe to: https://www.youtube.com/@yanatvsgLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yanafry/Podcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. The proper credits for the intro and end music are "Energetic Sports Drive." G. Thomas Craig mixed and edited the episode in both video and audio format.

Fresh out of the studio, Ling Hai, President of Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East, and Africa at MasterCard, joins us to explore how payment networks are evolving to embrace stable coins, AI agents, and the future of digital commerce across diverse global markets. He shares his career journey from management consulting to retail banking and eventually to MasterCard. Ling Hai shares that MasterCard is a global technology company that creates interoperability and universal acceptance, with technology services like cybersecurity, data insights, and consulting increasingly contributing to revenue beyond traditional payment processing. He highlights compelling innovations from Asia Pacific leading the way, including Singapore's nationwide open loop transit system and MasterCard's approach to stable coins as settlement vehicles alongside traditional currencies, while emphasizing how the company bridges the DeFi universe with the physical merchant world through on-ramp and off-ramp solutions for crypto adoption in markets like Latin America. Closing the conversation, Ling Hai shares what great looks like for MasterCard to become the operating system of commerce and the digital economy.“MasterCard, in the end, is a global technology company. We run a global network, and we’re very much a data company. So, in all of this, when we handle people’s money and when we handle people’s data, trust is the most important thing. If we lose that, we lose our business. For us, that trust factor is absolutely critical — it’s embedded in everything we do.As the world evolves, we’ve gone from handling payments in the physical world, to e-commerce in the digital world. Tomorrow, with AI, it’s going to be agentic — agents will be doing commerce for us. But the common thread across all of this is still safety, security, trust, and also ease of use.Today’s consumer doesn’t want to trade off between convenience and security — they want both. So when we think about our solutions and services, that’s part of our design thinking. We must ensure they are easy, convenient, safe, secure, and trusted by everyone.” - Ling HaiEpisode Highlights:[00:00] Quote of the Day by Ling Hai[01:00] Introduction: Ling Hai[03:00] Overview of Mastercard and balancing global consistency with localization[06:00] MasterCard's vision: inclusive digital economy for everyone[09:13] Open loop transit leading digital payment adoption[11:14] Asia Pacific: most advanced multi-payment region globally[14:03] MasterCard is a global technology company focused on trust.[16:00] Stable coins create more use cases for MasterCard[20:38] Two universes: DeFi and traditional finance will coexist[21:07] Payment secret sauce: resolving disputes when things fail[24:00] Stable coins stronger for B2B, wholesale settlement use[25:38] Be at the table or you're on table[29:00] AI enables personalization beyond one-size-fits-all marketing[31:24] Agent commerce requires new rules and payment standards[32:23] Tokenization and authentication: no regret moves for future[34:16] MasterCard network supports real-time payments beyond cards[35:00] What does great look like:: Operating system of commerce and digital economy[36:00] ClosingProfile: Ling Hai, President of Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East, and Africa, MastercardLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ling-hai-a7952ab8/ Podcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. The proper credits for the intro and end music are "Energetic Sports Drive." G. Thomas Craig mixed and edited the episode in both video and audio format. Here are the links to watch or listen to our podcast:Analyse Asia Main Site: https://analyse.asiaAnalyse Asia Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kkRwzRZa4JCICr2vm0vGl Analyse Asia Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/analyse-asia-with-bernard-leong/id914868245

Fresh out of the studio, Yuying Deng, Co-founder and CEO of Esevel, shares her transformative journey from corporate lawyer to healthcare operator to tech entrepreneur with our guest host Yana Fry from Yana TV. Yuying discusses how the pandemic's sudden shift to remote work in April 2020 revealed critical gaps in IT infrastructure for distributed teams, inspiring her to launch Esevel—a platform now serving companies across 88 countries. Yuying challenges the traditional HQ-centric worldview, advocating that "HQ should be a mindset, not a location," and shares how Esevel deliberately builds leadership opportunities for talented professionals regardless of whether they're based in Manila, Singapore, or São Paulo. Last but not least, Yuying shares what great would look like for Esevel's future: becoming the indispensable tool companies think of first when scaling global teams, while proving that talent and performance matter more than location."Many companies that say they do distributed and remote work actually still have a very HQ-centric worldview. That means leadership is in HQ, strategy is formed in HQ, and high-impact jobs are in the HQ as well. So when they hire remote and distributed teams. For example, in the Philippines, Brazil, and India they use these more as back-office functions. So you have very talented people who join them there, thinking that they could rise in a global company. But very soon they find that they hit a glass ceiling and are no longer able to advance, and so they move on to another firm. I think that’s a massive waste of talent, especially if you’re talking about here in Asia. This is the world’s fastest-growing region. People are ambitious, people are bright, and they are able to take on leadership positions if they’re given the opportunity to. This is one thing that we have really tried to reverse at Esevel. You do not have to be at HQ in order to rise into a leadership position. As long as you perform your job and perform it well, we look at performance more than location. So I think that is one thing that has to shift: HQ shouldn’t be a location. HQ should actually be a mindset. And I think that’s something that a lot of remote companies or distributed work companies have correct when it comes to that." - Deng Yuying Episode Highlights:[00:00] Quote of the Day by Deng Yuying[02:00] Introducing Yuying Deng, CEO of Esevel[02:25] From lawyer to operator to founder[03:32] MBA at INSEAD shaped entrepreneurial journey[03:53] Built community care division for Orange Valley[04:24] Family business dynamics and PE exit lessons[05:44] Esevel: IT operations platform for distributed teams[07:56] Company DNA shaped by pandemic remote work[08:38] Importance of staying close to customer problems[10:16] Managing operations across 88 countries globally[12:39] Failure is a feature, not a bug[14:33] Operational complexity and doing boring work well[16:35] Future of hybrid and remote work[19:48] HQ should be a mindset not location[21:25] Characteristics needed for remote work success[22:40] Growth opportunities regardless of employee location[24:58] Founding a company is like raising child[26:52] No perfect time for major life decisions[29:31] Ethical principles learned from parents[30:33] Vision for Esevel and family independence[32:28] Partnership requires mutual support for success[35:48] Rising through adversity with determination[36:34] Legacy focused on happy, independent childrenProfile: Yuying Deng, CEO of Esevel: https://esevel.comLinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yuyingdeng/Guest Host: Yana Fry from Yana TV: https://www.youtube.com/@yanatvsgLinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yanafry/ Podcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. The proper credits for the intro and end music are "Energetic Sports Drive." G. Thomas Craig mixed and edited the episode in both video and audio format.

Fresh out of the studio, Kamal Brar, Senior Vice President of Worldwide ISV and Asia Pacific/Middle East at Confluent, joins us to explore how data streaming platforms are becoming the critical foundation for enterprise AI across the regions. He shares his career journey from Oracle to Confluent, reflecting on his passion for open source technologies and how the LAMP stack era shaped his understanding of real-time data challenges. Kamal explains Confluent's evolution from the category creator of Kafka to a comprehensive data streaming platform combining Kafka, Flink, and Iceberg, emphasizing how real-time data infrastructure enables businesses to harness both public AI models and proprietary enterprise data while maintaining governance and security. He highlights compelling customer stories from India's National Payments Corporation processing billions of UPI transactions daily to healthcare AI applications serving patient needs, showcasing how data streaming solves fragmentation challenges that plague 89% of enterprises attempting AI adoption. Addressing implementation hurdles, he stresses that data infrastructure is the most critical piece for AI success, advocating for standards-based interoperability through Kafka's protocol and Confluent's extensive connector ecosystem to unlock siloed legacy systems. Closing the conversation, Kamal shares his vision for Asia Pacific becoming Confluent's largest growth region, powered by massive-scale innovations in payments, mobile transformation, and AI on the edge for autonomous vehicles and next-generation interfaces. Episode Highlights: [00:00] Quote of the Day by Kamal Brar [01:00] Kamal's Career journey from computing to open source [04:00] Attraction to data streaming and Kafka ecosystem [07:00] Confluent's mission: data streaming platform leadership [10:00] Why data streaming is critical for AI [13:00] Report findings: 89% eager to adopt DSP [14:00] Data fragmentation remains biggest enterprise challenge [17:00] Real-time visibility becomes competitive differentiator [20:00] AI-enabled applications transforming enterprise stack [24:00] India payments: Kafka powers UPI infrastructure [27:00] Data governance and security in AI [33:00] Data infrastructure: foundation for scalable AI [35:00] Connectors enable seamless system interoperability [38:00] Interoperability unlocks fragmented enterprise data [39:00] Asia Pacific driving aggressive regional growth [42:00] What does great look like for Confluent [44:00] Closing Profile: Kamal Brar, Senior Vice President WW ISV [Independent Software Vendor] & Asia Pacific/Middle East, Confluent https://www.confluent.io https://www.linkedin.com/in/kamalbrar Podcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. The proper credits for the intro and end music are "Energetic Sports Drive." G. Thomas Craig mixed and edited the episode in both video and audio format. Here are the links to watch or listen to our podcast: Analyse Asia Main Site: https://analyse.asia Analyse Asia Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kkRwzRZa4JCICr2vm0vGl Analyse Asia Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/analyse-asia-with-bernard-leong/id914868245 Analyse Asia LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/analyse-asia/ Analyse Asia X (formerly known as Twitter): https://twitter.com/analyseasia Sign Up for Our This Week in Asia Newsletter: https://www.analyse.asia/#/portal/signup Subscribe Newsletter on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7149559878934540288

Fresh out of the studio, Jing Yang, the Asia Bureau Chief from The Information, shares her insights on ByteDance's pivotal moment, China's venture capital challenges, and the emerging U.S.-China competition in AI and robotics. Starting with ByteDance's latest financials, she revealed how the company now exceeds Meta in revenue but still lags significantly in profit margins, with its domestic business—Douyin and Toutiao—continuing to drive the lion's share of profits while TikTok remains unprofitable. Jing Yang explains how founder Zhang Yiming has entered "founder mode," dramatically increasing CapEx spending on AI development while ByteDance mysteriously went quiet on the AI leaderboard despite earlier dominance. Moving to venture capital, she unpacks why HongShan Capital has only deployed a quarter of its $9 billion fund raised in 2022, citing the collapse of exit opportunities, new overseas listing regulations from Chinese regulators, and the disappearance of big-ticket growth deals. She then explores the new wave of Chinese AI startups targeting global markets from day one, explaining how censorship and geopolitics force founders to choose between building for China or building for the world—they cannot do both. Finally, Jing Yang breaks down China's non-obvious advantage in humanoid robotics: not manufacturing prowess, but access to advanced manufacturing test beds where robots can be deployed, iterated, and refined at scale—an advantage The U.S. simply cannot match beyond Tesla. Episode Highlights: [00:00] Quote of the Day by Jing Yang from The Information [02:14] ByteDance revenue exceeds Meta, profit lags [05:01] Zhang Yiming goes founder mode with AI [08:24] TikTok's significance to ByteDance's future [10:18] China signals willingness on TikTok deal [13:02] Chinese tech giants pivots to semiconductors, hard tech [14:27] ByteDance's quiet AI strategy and leadership [19:11] Why HongShan, formerly Sequoia China deploys only quarter of $9B fund [21:00] China VC market lacks big growth deals [24:20] New overseas listing regulations hinder exits [26:15] Chinese VCs struggle with US investments [29:53] Chinese founders target global markets from day one [32:20] What forces global versus China product split [38:28] Chinese apps feel holistic but culturally distinct [43:00] ChatGPT arrival sparked physical AI revolution [47:23] Chinese AI companies prioritize commercial use cases over AGI [50:13] China's manufacturing provides crucial test beds advantage [53:42] Redefining what constitutes a Chinese startup [54:55] AI race between Chinese in China vs US [58:00] Closing Profile: Jing Yang, Asia Bureau Chief from The Information LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jing-yang-33548123/ Podcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. The proper credits for the intro and end music are "Energetic Sports Drive." G. Thomas Craig mixed and edited the episode in both video and audio format. Here are the links to watch or listen to our podcast: Analyse Asia Main Site: https://analyse.asia Analyse Asia Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kkRwzRZa4JCICr2vm0vGl Analyse Asia Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/analyse-asia-with-bernard-leong/id914868245 Analyse Asia LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/analyse-asia/ Analyse Asia X (formerly known as Twitter): https://twitter.com/analyseasia Sign Up for Our This Week in Asia Newsletter: https://www.analyse.asia/#/portal/signup Subscribe Newsletter on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7149559878934540288

Fresh out of the studio, Craig Wiley, Senior Director of Product Management at Databricks who leads Mosaic AI, joins us to discuss the forefront of enterprise AI from model development to deployment at scale. Beginning with his career journey in ML operations, Craig explained how he recognized the critical connection between data and AI layers that could deliver order-of-magnitude acceleration in development cycles. Emphasizing the transition from classical ML operations to LLM operations, he showcased how Databricks' unified platform eliminates training-serving skew through data lineage capabilities and supports both fine-tuning and RAG approaches depending on industrial use case requirements. Highlighting compelling customer success stories including Suncorp's employee productivity platform and AstraZeneca's transformation of 400,000 clinical trial documents into queryable insights, Craig revealed a striking reality about enterprise AI evaluation - that 85% of AI use cases are being evaluated only by the engineers who built them, reinforcing that proper evaluation frameworks remain foundational for trustworthy AI implementation. He concluded by introducing Agent Bricks as Databricks' evaluation-centric approach to building production agents, emphasizing that model flexibility and rigorous testing are essential for enterprises moving from experimentation to production, while sharing his vision that the industry must evolve from the "year of agents" to the "year of evaluation and quality." Episode Highlights: [00:00] Quote of the Day by Craig Wiley [01:21] How Craig Wiley started his work in ML Ops that led him to Databricks [02:43] Data and AI layer connection creates order-of-magnitude acceleration [03:47] Mosaic AI acquisition expanded Gen AI solution capabilities [04:38] Classical ML statistics versus Gen AI evaluation challenges [05:48] Mosaic AI covers end-to-end from data ingestion [07:12] Training-serving skew eliminated through unified platform lineage [08:51] Fine tuning versus RAG depends on use case [10:49] Industrial agents benefit from fine-tuned smaller models [12:44] Common governance scheme covers tables through model access [13:52] Agent Bricks prioritizes accuracy over simplicity alone [15:44] Model flexibility crucial for speed and accuracy optimization [16:54] AB testing different models shows immediate performance differences [17:59] Suncorp and AstraZeneca demonstrate diverse AI applications [19:37] Asia Pacific shows aggressive AI adoption strategies [20:59] CFO approval requires proven agent effectiveness evaluation [22:00] 85% of AI cases evaluated only by building engineer [23:20] Model agnostic approach beats single-vendor AI strategies [24:12] Industry terminology evolves rapidly from RAG to agents [25:39] Customer creativity with governance capabilities inspires product development Profile: Craig Wiley, Senior Director of Product Management at Databricks and Mosaic AI LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craigwiley/ Podcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. The proper credits for the intro and end music are "Energetic Sports Drive." G. Thomas Craig mixed and edited the episode in both video and audio format. Here are the links to watch or listen to our podcast. Analyse Asia Main Site: https://analyse.asia Analyse Asia Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kkRwzRZa4JCICr2vm0vGl Analyse Asia Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/analyse-asia-with-bernard-leong/id914868245 Analyse Asia LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/analyse-asia/ Analyse Asia X (formerly known as Twitter): https://twitter.com/analyseasia Sign Up for Our This Week in Asia Newsletter: https://www.analyse.asia/#/portal/signup Subscribe Newsletter on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7149559878934540288

Fresh out of the studio, Nick Eayrs, Vice President of Field Engineering for Asia Pacific and Japan at Databricks, and Simon Fassot, General Manager and Head of Global Data and Analytics at Hafnia, join us to explore how data intelligence is transforming enterprise AI across diverse industries in Asia. Nick explained the fundamental distinction between general intelligence and data intelligence - emphasizing how enterprises gain competitive advantage by training AI on their proprietary data rather than public knowledge. Nick showcased customer success stories including Standard Chartered Bank and TechComBank and shared his perspectives on how senior executives can take advantage of AI by moving fast rather than wait and see. Last but not least, Nick offered what great would look like for Databricks in Asia Pacific and Japan in serving their customers. Adding the lens of the customer, Simon shared Hafnia's transformation from legacy SQL Server systems to a unified Databricks architecture serving their global shipping operations and elaborated on how the company is breaking down silos with their data supermarket and "Marvis" AI copilot for maritime operations based on retrieval augmented generation. This is Part 1 from Databricks Data + AI Event Singapore. Episode Highlights: [00:00] QOTD by Nick Eayrs and Simon Fassot [00:49] Introduction: Nick Eayrs from Databricks [03:32] Customer obsession means deeply understanding their business context [05:22] Data intelligence versus artificial general intelligence explanation begins [06:42] AI trained on your data creates competitive advantage [08:17] Only 15% of companies have correct AI infrastructure ready [11:17] Don't wait for AI perfection, just get started now [12:30] Agent Bricks simplify AI development using natural language [13:49] Standard Chartered Bank cybersecurity use case with SIEM [16:22] TechCom Bank in Vietnam customer brain with 12,000 customer attributes [18:32] Shared responsibility model for ethical AI deployment [25:24] Asia Pacific psychology focuses on future, not past [26:28] Most important question: How do you get started? [30:18] What does great look like for Databricks? [33:16] Introduction: Simon Fassot from Hafnia [35:18] How Hafnia transformed to full cloud architecture centralizes data through Databricks [36:28] Self-service access needed for 300 onshore, 4000 vessel employees [37:00] Three user types: operations, business intelligence, domain experts and Use Cases for Hafnia [41:32] Unity catalog controls data quality for AI cases [42:21] Two-phase Gen AI: ingest unstructured, then consume data [44:25] How to implement Generative AI: One bad AI answer loses all user trust [45:31] How reports in Hafnia use RAG embedded in workflows [46:47] Data supermarket analogy simplifies self-service for business [48:39] Marvis AI personalizes Gen AI within company context [49:46] Neo4j partnership adds graph capabilities to ecosystem [53:33] DNA Port platform unifies scattered dashboards and applications [54:22] Databricks enables focus on business value over operations Profiles: Nick Eayrs, Vice President of Field Engineering, Asia Pacific & Japan at Databricks LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-eayrs/ Simon Fassot, General Manager and Head of Global Data and Analytics at Hafnia LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-fassot-68b95135/ Podcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. The proper credits for the intro and end music are "Energetic Sports Drive." G. Thomas Craig mixed and edited the episode in both video and audio format. Here are the links to watch or listen to our podcast. Analyse Asia Main Site: https://analyse.asia Analyse Asia Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kkRwzRZa4JCICr2vm0vGl Analyse Asia Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/analyse-asia-with-bernard-leong/id914868245 Analyse Asia LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/analyse-asia/ Analyse Asia X...

Fresh out of the studio, Beatrice Lion, the chief executive officer and global partner from True Global Ventures, shares the remarkable story of how she became one of the youngest fund managers and the backstory to secure Singapore's Capital Markets Service license from MAS equivalent to Sequoia & Andreessen Horowitz's RIA licence in the US. Beatrice begins with her unconventional career journey from university straight into venture capital in 2017 and details TGV's investment thesis of backing only tested serial entrepreneurs across AI and blockchain applications. Beatrice offers her perspectives on the convergence of AI and crypto, the evolution of stablecoins as crypto's killer app, corporate treasury strategies such as Michael Saylor's Strategy with Bitcoin and Ethereum Digital Asset Treasuries (DATs), and why TGV maintains their performance-focused philosophy of keeping fund sizes at $100-200 million rather than chasing larger management fees. Last but not least, Beatrice shares what great would look like for TGV in the future. Episode Highlights: [00:00] Quote of the Day by Beatrice Lyon [01:00] Introduction: Beatrice Lyon, CEO of True Global Ventures [04:27] Supporting portfolio companies through business development [05:03] Successful turnaround story and investment recovery [08:30] How she take the CEO role as operational glue among partners [11:25] MAS approval process for Capital Markets Licence (CMS) [13:00] TGV fund structure: four, five, six overview [14:55] Investment thesis: AI and blockchain applications globally [16:01] Focus on serial entrepreneurs, not first-timers [17:39] CMS license removes 20% constraint limitations [20:54] The rationale behind applying for broad licenses [26:57] Secondary market opportunities and liquidation preferences [30:18] Blockchain landscape evolving toward financial applications [34:49] Private stock tokenization and where it is heading [38:27] Stablecoin as killer app for crypto [39:09] AI agents settling payments with stablecoins [42:25] Different regulatory approaches across jurisdictions [43:36] Corporate crypto treasury strategies beyond Bitcoin, Ethereum DATs and Solana [48:35] 80-20 rule for portfolio company treasuries [50:37] Four-year crypto cycles may be extending [54:31] What does great look like for TGV [59:09] Closing Profile: Beatrice Lion, Chief Executive Officer and General Partner, True Global Ventures: https://www.tgv4plus.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/beatricelion/ Podcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. The proper credits for the intro and end music are "Energetic Sports Drive." G. Thomas Craig mixed and edited the episode in both video and audio format. Here are the links to watch or listen to our podcast: Analyse Asia Main Site: https://analyse.asia Analyse Asia Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kkRwzRZa4JCICr2vm0vGl Analyse Asia Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/analyse-asia-with-bernard-leong/id914868245 Analyse Asia LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/analyse-asia/ Analyse Asia X (formerly known as Twitter): https://twitter.com/analyseasia Sign Up for Our This Week in Asia Newsletter: https://www.analyse.asia/#/portal/signup Subscribe Newsletter on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7149559878934540288

Reuniting after more than a decade since their days in This Week in Asia Podcast from 2009, Michael Smith Jr., co-host of The Generalist podcast, and Daniel Cerventus Lim, semi-retired entrepreneur and community builder in Malaysia, join us for a candid assessment of Southeast Asia's tech ecosystem evolution. In this raw conversation, Michael offers his unflinching perspective on what he calls the 'broken windows era' of Southeast Asian tech, arguing that recent alleged fraud cases like E-Fishery and Tanihub require serious consequences to restore investor confidence, while questioning whether the region was ever correctly modelled for Silicon Valley-style outcomes. Daniel shares his pivot from startup founder to search fund advocate, explaining his bullish view on acquiring profitable traditional businesses and reflects on whether the region's potential was genuinely unrealized or simply impossible to achieve. Together, they explore the shift from venture-backed unicorn dreams to bootstrap realities, debate work ethic of Southeast Asia founders in comparison with Chinese and Indian founders, and discuss why the future of Southeast Asian tech may lie in smaller, profitable exits rather than the massive IPOs once envisioned. Episode Highlights: [00:00] Quote of the Day by Daniel Cerventus, Bernard Leong & Michael Smith JR [00:59] Introduction: Daniel Cerventus and Michael Smith Jr. from the Generalists Podcast [06:00] Multiple alleged frauds in Southeast Asia: E-Fishery, Tanihub [09:57] Southeast Asia in "broken windows era" [11:26] Only exits from seed to Series A [11:47] B rounds virtually gone, A rounds endangered. [14:00] 50-100 million exits still viable [16:30] Malaysian crypto companies globally focused [19:25] Country expansion model in ASEAN doesn't work [23:02] Israel model: never think local market [24:15] Razer story: HP Mafia network backing [25:07] Supabase: not really Singapore capital, but globally successful [30:18] Chinese founders arriving with speed [31:19] Work ethic comparisons with India [32:34] Search funds emerging in Singapore [37:25] Mainstream media ignores bootstrap success [39:50] Search fund model targeting aging operators [41:21] SME vs startup distinction blurring [46:20] Hedge funds questioning regional companies [49:32] Unrealized vs impossible potential debate [51:07] Bangladesh ecosystem showing promise [53:20] Structural exit issues remain unsolved [54:31] Reset creating better founder discipline [55:40] Optimistic on Southeast Asia's startup ecosystem [57:21] Closing Profile: Michael Smith Jr., Tech Evangelist from Oracle & Co-Host, LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/smittysgp/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheGeneralistsPodcast Daniel Cerventus Lim, semi-retired entrepreneur, Community Builder in Malaysia and TEDxKL founder. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cerventus/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/80164351656 Podcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. The proper credits for the intro and end music are "Energetic Sports Drive." G. Thomas Craig mixed and edited the episode in both video and audio format. Here are the links to watch or listen to our podcast. Analyse Asia Main Site: https://analyse.asia Analyse Asia Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kkRwzRZa4JCICr2vm0vGl Analyse Asia Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/analyse-asia-with-bernard-leong/id914868245 Analyse Asia LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/analyse-asia/ Analyse Asia X (formerly known as Twitter): https://twitter.com/analyseasia Sign Up for Our This Week in Asia Newsletter: https://www.analyse.asia/#/portal/signup Subscribe Newsletter on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7149559878934540288

Fresh out of the studio, Associate Professor Jamus Lim from ESSEC Business School and author of "Asian Economies: History, Institutions and Structures" joined us in a comprehensive exploration of the economic foundations shaping Asia's remarkable rise. Jamus shared his story on how the Asian Financial Crisis sparked his passion for macroeconomics and development. He unpacked the critical yet often overlooked role of geography, history, and institutional frameworks in explaining Asia's immense economic diversity, arguing that abstract economic models fail to capture the real-world complexities driving regional development. Through deep dives into China's demographic transition and export-driven challenges, South Korea's state-led chaebol industrialization model, and Japan's historic shift from deflation to inflation, Jamus demonstrated how colonial legacies and historical persistence continue to shape modern economic structures across the continent. Throughout the conversation, he revealed why China's middle-income trap escape depends on building domestic consumption to absorb its massive manufacturing capacity, explained how institutional solutions that once solved problems can become growth constraints, and argued that understanding Asia's past is essential for navigating its economic future in an increasingly complex global landscape. Episode Highlights: [00:00] Quote of the Day by Jamus Lim [02:27] Introduction: Jamus Lim, Associate Professor in ESSEC Business School and Author of Asian Economies [04:38] Asian Financial Crisis sparks Jamus' macro economics interest [07:38] Teaching in Asia reveals regional development contrasts [09:10] Middle income trap challenges across Asian economies [10:23] Defining Asia: beyond East Asia stereotypes [15:10] How Geography and History are overlooked in economic discourse [17:26] China's transformation: poverty to economic powerhouse [19:32] Demographic transition challenges across East Asia [22:21] China's manufacturing evolution and export strategy [24:28] Lewis turning point: China's labor transformation [26:11] Housing boom and excess supply challenges [29:10] Hukou system creates unequal access issues [33:30] China shock: WTO entry transforms global manufacturing [38:27] South Korea's state-led industrialization model success [39:10] Zaibatsu to Chaebol: the colonial influence on economic structures [42:00] Heavy chemical industry: successful state intervention in South Korea [44:17] Japan's deflation to inflation transition challenges [46:32] Structural adjustments in Japanese labor markets [48:03] Institutional foundations: solving problems creates persistence [54:04] Academic success vs. real-world policy impact [55:00] Closing Profile: Jamus Lim, Author of Asian Economies, LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamuslim/ Podcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. The proper credits for the intro and end music are "Energetic Sports Drive." G. Thomas Craig mixed and edited the episode in both video and audio format. Here are the links to watch or listen to our podcast. Analyse Asia Main Site: https://analyse.asia Analyse Asia Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kkRwzRZa4JCICr2vm0vGl Analyse Asia Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/analyse-asia-with-bernard-leong/id914868245 Analyse Asia LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/analyse-asia/ Analyse Asia X (formerly known as Twitter): https://twitter.com/analyseasia Sign Up for Our This Week in Asia Newsletter: https://www.analyse.asia/#/portal/signup Subscribe Newsletter on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7149559878934540288

Fresh out of the studio, Paul Harapin, Chief Revenue Officer for Asia Pacific and Japan at Stripe, joined us in a conversation discussing Stripe's explosive growth in the region that represents 40% of global GDP. Paul dived deep into how Stripe is revolutionizing commerce through AI and stablecoins, sharing fascinating customer stories in the Asia Pacific and Japan. He delved into Stripe's current innovations specifically on agentic commerce toolkits, virtual card issuing, and adaptive pricing solutions that are transforming how businesses scale across the dynamic Asia Pacific region. Last but not least, Paul shared the key trends in AI-powered payments and stablecoin adoption, defining what great would look like for Stripe's user-first approach to building the financial infrastructure of the internet economy in APAC. Episode Highlights [00:00] Quote of the Day by Paul Harapin [02:30] Building tech companies, helping Silicon Valley expand Asia [03:27] How Paul talked himself into Stripe role [04:30] Key career lessons: people and passion matter most [07:05] Stripe's mission to increase GDP of internet [09:00] Asia represents 40% of global GDP opportunity [12:42] AI transformation like discovering fire, very early cycle [14:12] Agentic commerce toolkits downloaded thousands times weekly [18:04] Virtual card issuing for secure AI transactions [19:00] Stripe Link enables six second checkout process [21:26] Adaptive pricing increases conversion by 18 percent [24:23] Bridge acquisition brings stablecoin payment capabilities [26:00] Stablecoin enables stability in volatile currency markets [27:00] Japanese car exporter Zimbabwe cash bag example [29:20] Digital currency adoption growing at consumer level [31:00] Working closely with regulators across Asia Pacific [33:40] Asia's fast digitizing economy leads global innovation [34:05] India's UPI 10 billion transactions forecasted 100 billion [36:30] How Stripe helps businesses in Asia Pacific to scale [38:42] User-first founding principle drives everything at Stripe [40:20] Closing Profile: Paul Harapin, Chief Revenue Officer, Asia Pacific & Japan, Stripe. LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulharapin/ Podcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. The proper credits for the intro and end music are "Energetic Sports Drive." G. Thomas Craig mixed and edited the episode in both video and audio format. Here are the links to watch or listen to our podcast. Analyse Asia Main Site: https://analyse.asia Analyse Asia Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kkRwzRZa4JCICr2vm0vGl Analyse Asia Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/analyse-asia-with-bernard-leong/id914868245 Analyse Asia LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/analyse-asia/ Analyse Asia X (formerly known as Twitter): https://twitter.com/analyseasia Analyse Asia Threads: https://www.threads.net/@analyseasia Sign Up for Our This Week in Asia Newsletter: https://www.analyse.asia/#/portal/signup Subscribe Newsletter on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7149559878934540288

Fresh out of the studio, Feon Ang, Managing Director of LinkedIn Asia Pacific, joins us to explore how the platform is transforming professional networking and career development across the region's 343 million members. She shares her career journey from publishing to tech leadership, reflecting on the evolution from typewritten CVs to AI-powered job searches today. Feon explains LinkedIn's unique approach combining scale, trust, and member-first philosophy, emphasizing how their AI tools enable professionals to find opportunities through natural language while companies streamline hiring processes. She highlights the platform's remarkable growth metrics—47 hires per minute and 36% video engagement growth—showcasing how organizations are re-engineering recruitment and learning through AI coaching and personalized pathways. Addressing the challenges of AI adoption and skills gaps, she emphasizes the importance of three key actions: fluency, agency, and action, while advocating for accessible AI integration into daily workflows. Closing the conversation, Feon shares her vision for creating even greater economic opportunity across Asia Pacific as professionals and businesses navigate the AI transformation together. Profile: Feon Ang, Managing Director of LinkedIn Asia Pacific: https://www.linkedin.com/in/feonang/ Episode Highlights: [00:00] Quote of the Day: Feon Ang [01:06] Feon's career journey from publishing to tech [03:00] Three key lessons from Feon's career journey: members first, scale, trust [00:05:18] LinkedIn's mission: creating economic opportunity globally [00:06:28] Asia Pacific: 343 million members, fastest growing [00:08:19] Business milestone: crossed 17 billion globally [00:09:50] Highest engagement rate across social platforms [00:11:00] Video content growing 36% year-on-year [00:12:24] Real-time hiring: 47 hires per minute, 10,000 applications every minute [00:14:00] AI job search using natural language [00:15:42] LinkedIn hiring assistant streamlines recruitment [00:17:18] AI coaching creates personalized learning pathways [00:19:10] Skill gaps demand conscious professional development [00:21:00] Advice for Professionals in the age of AI: Fluency, Agency, Action [23:13] Community partnerships supporting workforce development [25:12] How CEOs are using social media via LinkedIn [27:02] What does great look like for LinkedIn in the Asia Pacific? [28:00] Closing Podcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. The proper credits for the intro and end music are "Energetic Sports Drive." G. Thomas Craig mixed and edited the episode in both video and audio format. Here are the links to watch or listen to our podcast. Analyse Asia Main Site: https://analyse.asia Analyse Asia Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kkRwzRZa4JCICr2vm0vGl Analyse Asia Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/analyse-asia-with-bernard-leong/id914868245 Analyse Asia LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/analyse-asia/ Analyse Asia X (formerly known as Twitter): https://twitter.com/analyseasia Analyse Asia Threads: https://www.threads.net/@analyseasia Sign Up for Our This Week in Asia Newsletter: https://www.analyse.asia/#/portal/signup Subscribe Newsletter on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7149559878934540288

Fresh out of the studio, Doug Burger, Technical Fellow and Corporate Vice President at Microsoft Research, joins us to explore Microsoft's bold expansion into Southeast Asia with the recent launch of the Microsoft Research Asia lab in Singapore. From there, Doug shares his accidental journey from academia to leading global research operations, reflecting on how Microsoft Research's open collaboration model empowers over thousands of researchers worldwide to tackle humanity's biggest challenges. Following on, he highlights the recent breakthroughs from Microsoft Research for example, the quantum computing breakthrough with topological qubits, the evolution from lines of code to natural language programming, and how AI is accelerating innovation across multiple scaling dimensions beyond traditional data limits. Addressing the intersection of three computing paradigms—logic, probability, and quantum—he emphasizes that geographic diversity in research labs enables Microsoft to build AI that works for everyone, not just one region. Closing the conversation, Doug shares his vision of what great looks like for Microsoft Research with researchers driven by purpose and passion to create breakthroughs that advance both science and society. Episode Highlights: [00:00] Quote of the Day by Doug Burger [01:08] Doug Burger's journey from academia to Microsoft Research [02:24] Career advice: Always seek challenges, move when feeling restless or comfortable [03:07] Launch of Microsoft Research Asia in Singapore: Tapping local talent and culture for inclusive AI development [04:13] Singapore lab focuses on foundational AI, embodied AI, and healthcare applications [06:19] AI detecting seizures in children and assessing Parkinson's motor function [08:24] Embedding Southeast Asian societal norms and values into Foundational AI research [10:26] Microsoft Research's open collaboration model [12:42] Generative AI's rapid pace accelerating technological innovation and research tools [14:36] AI revolutionizing computer architecture by creating completely new interfaces [16:24] Open versus closed source AI models debate and Microsoft's platform approach [18:08] Reasoning models enabling formal verification and correctness guarantees in AI [19:35] Multiple scaling dimensions in AI beyond traditional data scaling laws [21:01] Project Catapult and Brainwave: Building configurable hardware acceleration platforms [23:29] Microsoft's 17-year quantum computing journey with topological qubits breakthrough [26:26] Balancing blue-sky foundational research with application-driven initiatives at scale [29:16] Three computing paradigms: logic, probability (AI), and quantum superposition [32:26] Microsoft Research's exploration-to-exploitation playbook for breakthrough discoveries [35:26] Research leadership secret: Curiosity across fields enables unexpected connections [37:11] Hidden Mathematical Structures Transformers Architecture in LLMs [40:04] Microsoft Research's vision: Becoming Bell Labs for AI era [42:22] Steering AI models for mental health and critical thinking conversations Profile: Doug Burger, Technical Fellow and Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Research LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dcburger/ Microsoft Research Profile: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/people/dburger/ Podcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. The proper credits for the intro and end music are "Energetic Sports Drive." G. Thomas Craig mixed and edited the episode in both video and audio format. Here are the links to watch or listen to our podcast. Analyse Asia Main Site: https://analyse.asia Analyse Asia Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kkRwzRZa4JCICr2vm0vGl Analyse Asia Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/analyse-asia-with-bernard-leong/id914868245 Analyse Asia YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AnalyseAsia Analyse Asia LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/analyse-asia/ Analyse...

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. Episode Highlights: [00:00] Quote of the Day by Grace Shao, Founder of AI Proem [01:21] Introduction: Grace Shao from AI Proem [04:29] China's tech moves incredibly fast. [08:09] China's generative AI landscape: BATs, Startups & Research Labs [09:23] Most AI startups have financial ties with Alibaba or Tencent [10:02] Chinese AI approach more pragmatic: commercialize quickly versus philosophical AGI pursuit [12:23] Alibaba's approach to LLMs with Qwen [15:00] Tencent's WeChat integration with DeepSeek vs Tencent Yuanbao [18:03] ByteDance pivots to multimodal LLM models [21:31] DeepSeek moment revitalized China's internet sector after rough 2022-2024 period [27:28] DeepSeek and Kimi embrace open-weight models for talent and adoption [29:46] Open sourcing as strategic decision for China LLMs [33:19] US capital pullout from China forced companies like Manus overseas to Singapore [37:17] Robotics in China: Unitree Robotics, UBTech and Galbot [42:05] Chinese startups focus on vertical integration rather than competing on LLMs [43:51] Healthcare and agricultural AI applications extremely advanced in China [44:13] This isn't an arms race; framing as competition misses the point [45:49] China and US should collaborate on AI safety and regulation for future generations [49:00] Closing Profile: Grace Shao, Founder of AI Proem Newsletter: https://aiproem.substack.com/ Personal Site: https://www.proemcommunications.com/aboutgraceshao LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gmzshao/ Podcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. The proper credits for the intro and end music are "Energetic Sports Drive." G. Thomas Craig mixed and edited the episode in both video and audio format. Here are the links to watch or listen to our podcast. Analyse Asia Main Site: https://analyse.asia Analyse Asia Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kkRwzRZa4JCICr2vm0vGl Analyse Asia Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/analyse-asia-with-bernard-leong/id914868245 Analyse Asia YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AnalyseAsia Analyse Asia LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/analyse-asia/ Analyse Asia X (formerly known as Twitter): https://twitter.com/analyseasia Analyse Asia Threads: https://www.threads.net/@analyseasia Sign Up for Our This Week in Asia Newsletter: https://www.analyse.asia/#/portal/signup Subscribe Newsletter on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7149559878934540288

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 institutions can adopt AI responsibly at scale. He shares his unique journey from academia to government to global banking, reflecting on his fascination with human behavior that originally drew him to artificial intelligence. David explains how his time at Singapore's Monetary Authority shaped the groundbreaking FAIR principles, emphasizing how proper AI governance actually accelerates rather than inhibits innovation. He highlights real-world implementations from autonomous cash reconciliation agents to transaction monitoring systems, showcasing how banks are transforming operations while maintaining strict regulatory compliance. Addressing the biggest misconceptions about AI governance, he emphasizes the importance of integrating AI frameworks into existing structures rather than creating entirely new bureaucracies, while advocating for use-case-based approaches that build essential trust. Closing the conversation, David shares his philosophy that AI success ultimately depends on understanding human behavior and asks the fundamental question every organization should consider: "Why are we doing this?" Episode Highlights: [00:00] Quote of the Day by David Hardoon #QOTD - "AI governance isn't new bureaucracy." [00:46] Introduction: David Hardoon from Standard Chartered Bank. [02:02] How David's AI journey started with human behavior curiosity. [07:26] Governance accelerates innovation, like traffic rules enable fast driving. [10:31] FAIR principles in MAS Singapore born from lunches with compliance officers. [14:23] Don't reinvent governance wheel for AI implementations. [24:17] Banks already manage risk; apply same discipline to AI. [28:40] AI adoption problem is trust, not technology. [34:21] Autonomous AI agents handle cash reconciliation with bank IDs. [36:00] AI reduces transaction monitoring false positives by 50%. [39:54] AI requires full supply chain from infrastructure to translators. [41:52] Organizations must reward intelligent failure in AI innovation. [44:47] AI hallucination is a feature, not bug for innovation. [47:35] Measure AI ROI differently for innovation versus implementation teams. [56:27] Final wisdom: People always ask "why" about AI initiatives. Profile: David Hardoon, Global Head of AI Enablement, Standard Chartered Bank Personal Site: https://davidroihardoon.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidrh/ Podcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. The proper credits for the intro and end music are "Energetic Sports Drive." G. Thomas Craig mixed and edited the episode in both video and audio format. Here are the links to watch or listen to our podcast. Analyse Asia Main Site: https://analyse.asia Analyse Asia Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kkRwzRZa4JCICr2vm0vGl Analyse Asia Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/analyse-asia-with-bernard-leong/id914868245 Analyse Asia YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Analys1eAsia Analyse Asia LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/analyse-asia/ Analyse Asia X (formerly known as Twitter): https://twitter.com/analyseasia Analyse Asia Threads: https://www.threads.net/@analyseasia Sign Up for Our This Week in Asia Newsletter: https://www.analyse.asia/#/portal/signup Subscribe Newsletter on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/build-relation/newsletter-follow?entityUrn=7149559878934540288

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 future of enterprise AI. He shares his journey from being a high-tech corporate lawyer and trusted advisor to leading AI governance at a company whose number one value is trust, reflecting on the evolution from automation to agentic AI that can reason, plan, and execute tasks alongside humans. Sabastian explains how Agentforce 3.0 enables agent-to-agent interactions and human-AI collaboration through command centers and robust guardrails. He highlights how organizations are leveraging trusted AI for personalized customer experiences, while Salesforce's Office of Ethical and Humane Use operationalizes trust through transparency, explainability, and auditability. Addressing the black box problem in AI, he emphasizes that guardrails provide confidence to move faster rather than creating barriers. Closing the conversation, Sabastian shares his vision on what great looks like for trusted agentic AI at scale. Episode Highlights [00:00] Quote of the Day by Sabastian Niles: "Portfolio of passions - invest your spirit into areas that bring meaning" [01:02] Introduction: Sabastian Niles, President and Chief Legal Officer of Salesforce Global [02:29] Sabastian's Career Journey [04:50] From Trusted Advisor to SalesForce whose number one value is trust [08:09] Salesforce's 5 core values: Trust, Customer Success, Innovation, Equality, Sustainability [10:25] Defining Agentic AI: humans with AI agents driving stakeholder success together [13:13] Trust paradigm shift: trusted approaches become an accelerant, not obstacle [17:33] Agent interactions: not just human-to-agent, but agent-to-agent-to-agent handoffs [23:35] Enterprise AI requires transparency, explainability, and auditability [28:00] Trust philosophy: "begins long before prompt, continues after output" [34:06] Office of Ethical and Humane Use operationalizes trust values [40:00] Future vision: AI helps us spend time on uniquely human work [45:17] Governance philosophy: Guardrails provide confidence to move faster [48:24] What does great look like for Salesorce for Trust & Responsibility in the Era of AI? [50:16] Closing Profile: Sabastian V. Niles, President & Chief Legal Officer, LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sabastian-v-niles-b0175b2/ Podcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. The proper credits for the intro and end music are "Energetic Sports Drive." G. Thomas Craig mixed and edited the episode in both video and audio format. Here are the links to watch or listen to our podcast. Analyse Asia Main Site: https://analyse.asia Analyse Asia Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kkRwzRZa4JCICr2vm0vGl Analyse Asia Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/analyse-asia-with-bernard-leong/id914868245 Analyse Asia YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AnalyseAsia Analyse Asia LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/analyse-asia/

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. 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 shit 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 Profile: Patrick McGee, Author of "Apple in China": https://appleinchina.com and San Francisco correspondent for Financial Times LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prmcgee/ Podcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. The proper credits for the intro and end music are "Energetic Sports Drive." G. Thomas Craig mixed and edited the episode in both video and audio format. Here are the links to watch or listen to our podcast. Analyse Asia Main Site: https://analyse.asia Analyse Asia Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kkRwzRZa4JCICr2vm0vGl Analyse Asia Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/analyse-asia-with-bernard-leong/id914868245 Analyse Asia YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Analys1eAsia Analyse Asia LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/analyse-asia/ Analyse Asia X (formerly known as Twitter): https://twitter.com/analyseasia Analyse Asia Threads: https://www.threads.net/@analyseasia Sign Up for Our This Week in Asia Newsletter:...

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. 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. 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 Profile: Hans Dekkers, General Manager IBM Asia Pacific and China: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hans-a-t-dekkers/ Podcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. The proper credits for the intro and end music are "Energetic Sports Drive." G. Thomas Craig mixed and edited the episode in both video and audio format. Here are the links to watch or listen to our podcast. Analyse Asia Main Site: https://analyse.asia Analyse Asia Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1kkRwzRZa4JCICr2vm0vGl Analyse Asia Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/analyse-asia-with-bernard-leong/id914868245 Analyse Asia YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AnalyseAsia Analyse Asia LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/analyse-asia/ Analyse Asia X (formerly known as Twitter): https://twitter.com/analyseasia Analyse Asia Threads: https://www.threads.net/@analyseasia Sign Up for Our This Week in Asia Newsletter: https://www.analyse.asia/#/portal/signup Subscribe Newsletter...