Name: Episode 148: The South Korea technology startup ecosystem with Eva Yoo by analyseasia
Duration: 32 min 25 s
Description: Eva Chaewon Yoo from Technode joined us in a conversation to discuss the South Korea technology startup ecosystem. She offered a comprehensive overview in how one can navigate the startup ecosystem from Seoul to Pusan, the five booming startup verticals, the key investors from angel investors to venture capital and the interaction with the Chaebol such as Samsung or major conglomerates in Korea.

"I think in the past, we've looked more at inclusion and access, but actually we've made so much inroads over the past years. Now again, we're talking about participation because what we're seeing is that 30% of the highest spending customers who we call high-value users (HVUs) - they make up over 70% of the digital economies' transaction value. So 30% Are leading to 70% of the digital economy. We want to make sure that we don't leave users behind and we continue to drive growth and drive their participation. So we need to make sure that we are not ignoring this very important group that presents a 1.9x growth opportunity of that of high-value users. And for this reason, it's really important for us to talk about digital participation." - Sapna Chadha 

Fresh out of the studio, Sapna Chadha, vice president of Google Southeast Asia, and Florian Hoppe, partner at Bain and Company shared the key takeaways from the Google e-Conomy SEA 2023 report. Sapna and Florian discussed how start-ups are navigating the current declines in venture capital funding and introduced how high-value users presented a new way of visualizing what goes behind the digital economy in Southeast Asia. Last but not least, they discuss what great looks like for businesses in Southeast Asia. 

Episode Highlights: 
[0:00] Quote of the Day #QOTD from Sapna Chadna 
[2:00] Welcome Message from the host 
[2:48] Introduction of Sapna Chadha, Vice President, Google Southeast Asia 
[5:02] Key Takeaways of Google e-Conomy Southeast Asia Report 2023 
[8:40] Southeast Asia's economic performance against global macroeconomic headwinds 
[10:30] The one most interesting data point that Sapna and Florian found interesting about the report 
[12:50] Does the global shift in venture capital align with Southeast Asia? 
[14:00] Will high-quality start-ups still be able to raise capital in Southeast Asia? 
[15:01] Are funding declines differentiated by funding stages or by countries? 
[16:00] Can Southeast Asian VCs return capital to their LPs? 
[17:10] Advice to Southeast Asia startups in surviving the current funding winter 
[18:20] Do we see more startups focusing on monetization accelerating across the digital economy? 
[21:43] What are the potential avenues of growth for fintech companies? [24:15] Definition and Context behind High-Value Users (HVUs) in Southeast Asia 
[26:56] Comparison between HVUs and non-HVUs across different Southeast Asia economies 
[29:50] Are smartphones and digital infrastructure in tier 3 and 4 cities bringing non-HVUs online? 
[33:23] Can Southeast Asia reach 1 trillion GMV in 2030? 
[35:35] What would success look like for businesses in Southeast Asia for the next few years? 
[39:37] Closing 

Podcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. Proper credits for the intro and end music: "Energetic Sports Drive" and the episode is mixed and  edited in both video and audio format by Thomas G Craig.

Decoding the e-Conomy SEA 2023 Report with Sapna Chadha and Florian Hoppe

"We've got a 330 trillion dollar industry here, which arguably a lot of it, we talk about stranded assets, CRREM pathways to stranded assets, et cetera. I talked to a lot of funds. I've talked to a lot of developers. They're getting very worried about this. And it's not just about their existing portfolios. It's about how they are going to exit portfolios. Because many buyers now actually build in the cost of retrofitting a building to bring it up to sustainability when they're looking at acquiring an asset. So, that might bring the price down. So, for us, we look at everything you've just mentioned. We look at materials. We look at hardware. We look at software and anything that gets us to some of these impact targets we want to achieve in the built environment and also is something which is commercially viable and fixes some particular pain point within this ecosystem." - Alexander Bent 

Fresh out of the studio, Alexander Bent, founder and managing partner from Undivided Ventures, joined us in a conversation on why this is the time to invest in sustainability within the built environment. Alexander started with his background as a real estate developer and the inspiration behind starting his venture capital firm. He dived deep into his investment thesis and shared his perspectives on how transforming technologies from AI to materials engineering will transform the real estate industry. Last but not least, Alex shares what great would look like for Undivided Ventures.

Episode Highlights: 
[0:50] Quote of the Day #QOTD by Alexander Bent. 
[1:40] Welcome Message from the host. 
[2:20] Introduction to Alexander Bent and his career journey. 
[6:40] Perspectives on investing in climate adaptation rather than mitigation. 
[7:30] Lessons from Alexander's career journey. 
[9:40] The Vision and Mission of Undivided Ventures and why focus on built environment. 
[11:50] The total market opportunity behind the real estate industry. 
[13:20] The investment mandate for Undivided Ventures. 
[14:20] Undivided VC is based in Hong Kong but invests globally. 
[15:20] Typical day of a venture capitalist for Alexander. 
[17:20] What are the traits of founders &amp; startup teams that Alex index for? 
[19:10] Business Models for Startups focusing on sustainability and built environment. 
[21:20] What are the red flags in founders that you would watch out for? 
[23:20] How Undivided VC helps their portfolio companies. 
[25:30] Interesting companies under Undivided VC. 
[28:10] The one thing that Alexander knows about investing in sustainability & built environment that very few do. 
[28:35] Advice to startups focusing on positive impact in sustainability & built environment. 
[31:50] #AI in sustainability &amp; built environment. 
[34:40] #internetofthings #iot in sustainability &amp; built environment. 
[36:20] #blockchain in sustainability &amp; built environment. 
[40:20] #materialscience &amp; #materialsengineering in sustainability & built environment. 
[42:50] Putting AI into materials science 
[43:50] What does great look like for Undivided VC? 
[48:00] Closing 

Podcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. Proper credits for the intro and end music: "Energetic Sports Drive" and the episode is mixed and edited in both video and audio format by Thomas G Craig.

Undivided VC & Investing in the Built Environment & Sustainability with Alexander Bent

"Consumer demand will accelerate the need for security, privacy and regulation. Like zero-knowledge (ZK) where you can prove something is true without revealing all information. And of course, security infrastructure, which is very interesting and important at this current moment, even before the next bull market. For example, one of the companies we invested into Ledger, a digital asset hardware wallet. You basically have an app store interface where you can trade,&nbsp;you can stake. We see a lot of adoption of crypto in not just a retail space because of increased awareness, in the media, and new DeFi applications coming up, but also in the adoption of enterprise space. So a lot of these enterprises will be thinking to themselves, okay, in my treasury, not just do I need to hold USD and other currencies, maybe I need to also hold Bitcoins, or something else. DBS Bank, They're now holding some of this Sandbox Land, but where do they hold it? They can't hold it just in a wallet and then they throw it into some cabinet somewhere. They need to have the right, security hardware. So we believe this, will accelerate the adoption of applications like ledger, which is like a hardware wallet, for both retail and enterprise. So we believe that age-old saying of selling shovels during a gold rush is still&nbsp;very&nbsp;true." - Kelly Choo 

Fresh out of the studio, Kelly Choo, founding partner from True Global Ventures discusses the state of generative AI and crypto in 2023 and what to look forward in 2024. Kelly started with his take on the recent departure of CZ from Binance and the ouster and return of Sam Altman in Open AI and how this impacts the AI and crypto landscape. From there, he broke down how they are looking at the next wave of generative AI companies specifically in the education, metaverse and legal space and crypto companies from ERC 6551 in non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to zero-knowledge proofs. Last but not least, Kelly defines what success would mean for both AI and crypto in 2024. 

Episode Highlights: 
[0:50] Quote of the Day #QOTD from Kelly Choo 
[1:43] What has Kelly Choo been up to? 
[3:19] CZ, Binance, and the Rise of Singaporean CEOs 
[4:32] SamAltman OpenAI and Microsoft 
[7:30] OpenAI Developer Event
[10:05] The Current State of GenAI 
[14:41] What Kind of Business Models are Going to be Proving Successful in the GenAI Space? 
[16:48] True Global Ventures and AI Startups
[19:23] Review of 2023 Web3 Megatrends 
[28:03] What is ERC6551? AKA Programmable NFT's 
[30:44] Web3 Tech We Should be Paying Attention To 
[32:36] Impact of AI and Web3 on Gamer User Experience 
[35:02] The Saudi Government Gets into Crypto 
[38:55] Is the Apple Vision Pro a Game Changer? 
[39:31] AR and VR Market Predictions 
[41:01] BTC ETF and their Impact 
[44:26] Regulatory Changes 
[45:39] What Does Great Look Like for Crypto and Web3 in 2024? 
[46:38] Closing 

Podcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. Proper credits for the intro and end music: "Energetic Sports Drive" and the episode is mixed &amp; edited in both video and audio format by Thomas G Craig.

The State of Generative AI and Crypto in 2023 with Kelly Choo

"You will continue to see Western investment continuing to decline. The risk-reward calculations won't change in the next 12 months, as far as I can see. The Chinese economy is not about to take off. What you will see is the beginnings of some people who are willing to take the gamble. They are going to try different ways to exit. You're going to see more people experimenting with domestic IPOs, and onshore IPOs because you can get the money off. For example, if you're investing in LiDAR or approved industries, you can do a joint venture or a WOFE or anything. It'd be a joint venture to be able to try and do some kind of onshore listings. I think by chance will stay in this weird suspended state. I don't think we're going to get a resolution from them. The big question is - how much stimulus will the Chinese government throw at the economy and how far are they willing to go to goose the economy?" - Shai Oster 

Fresh out of the studio, Shai Oster, independent consultant and former Asia Bureau Chief from The Information is back for the sixth time with the annual review of what is happening to the China tech ecosystem in 2023. The conversation started with Shai's predictions last year on what happened and what did not happen. From there, we discuss the major themes of the year: the decline and restructuring of venture capital in China, how the 2nd generation CEOs from Shein, Pinduoduo and Bytedance have successfully expanded globally as compared to their predecessors, the October surprise of Huawei's 7nm chip. Last but not least Shai offered his predictions in the road ahead for 2024. 

Episode Highlights: 
[0:48] Quote of the Day #QOTD by Shai Oster 
[1:42] Introduction
[2:20] What has Shai been up to?
[3:18] Experience in Thailand is similar to being in China as compared to Hong Kong 
[5:30] What did Shai get right or wrong in 2023 [
6:00] Sequoia splits into 3: US & Europe, China and India & Southeast Asia [12:41] Why Sequoia split out India & Southeast Asia to Peak XV 
[15:08] State of Venture Capital in China, the 2023 Edition 
[22:38] The restructuring of China’s tech ecosystem and where Alibaba Group is heading 
[26:10] Why 2nd generation tech founders in Shein, Pinduoduo and ByteDance did a better job in expanding globally compared to BAT 
[33:40] Will TikTok be banned in the US and will it also go IPO? 
[38:30] Investors in public China tech companies in the US have now read the regulatory risk section in their S1 filings. 
[41:51] Huawei’s October surprise with their 7nm chip and the US sanctions might have accelerated the Chinese’s chip development and independence. [45:52] Macroeconomics in China due to the declining real estate market in 2023. 
[47:49] Why China is still booming despite the doom and gloom of less foreign-directed investments. 
[49:55] Shai’s predictions on China for 2024 
[53:46] Chinese entrepreneurs are coming to Southeast Asia to start companies. 
[55:49] Gaming in China and Tencent’s ability to respond to the Chinese government’s demands is still going on. 
[59:10] Closing 

Podcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. Proper credits for the intro and end music: "Energetic Sports Drive" and the episode is mixed &amp; edited in both video and audio format by Thomas G Craig.

The State of China 2023 with Shai Oster

"Money is a very interesting kind of numerical way of measuring when you're levelling up. So that's where the distinction needs to be very clear. The way that I've positioned it in the book and what the research tells us is that if we force the games on people, it's very bad. But if we look at the games that they naturally played in their free time when they were younger, it's a very good predictor in terms of the type of work that they naturally would gravitate to. So if somebody is amazing and loves playing hours and hours of strategy games, and if we put that person in front of the machine, turning out widgets is going to be a very bad mismatch, and then we need to pay them a lot of money and continue trying to squeeze them to improve that performance. But if somebody is motivated by strategy games, and we give them the kind of problems that are very similar to the type of things that they naturally gravitate to they will be motivated. So we're not creating a new game for them, but we're looking at parallels and helping them to find that intrinsic motivation. And that's something that I think becomes super, super powerful where they then create their own games based on the work that we want them to achieve." - George Kesselman 

Fresh out of the studio, George Kesselman joined us to discuss his new book "The Power of Play". He shares the main themes and key takeaways on how games will drive the future of work. We began the conversation with George providing an overview of how work has evolved from a craftsman environment to the industrial age and explained why we need a re-thinking of work using game play. He dived deep into the different personas of gamers in work life and offered what success would mean for his book in redefining the workplace. 


Episode Highlights: 
[0:44] QOTD 
[2:02] Introduction: George Kesselman 
[3:31] Inspiration behind “The Power of Play” book 
[4:47] How George convinced Wiley of the book deal 
[5:41] The intended audience for “The Power of Play” 
[6:38] Main Themes &amp; Key Takeaways behind “The Power of Play” 
[9:31] Remote Work vs Return to Office 
[12:02] The legacy of work 1.0 
[17:24] Work 3.0 world 
[21:04] Introduction to Gamification and Game Design in Workplace 
[26:58] Different Personas in Games and how they map into real-world work 
[29:42] The different motivations that draw people to work 
[34:22] How to apply game development principles and design to work 
[38:22] Predictors of Success in Matching People to Work 
[40:40] Gauging Performances of Workers in remote and distributed environments 
[43:13] Things not in the book and is a sequel in the works? 
[44:58] What does success mean for “The Power of Play” book? 
[46:13] Closing 

Podcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. Proper credits for the intro and end music: "Energetic Sports Drive" and the episode is mixed and edited in both video and audio format by Thomas G Craig.

The Power of Play and Future of Work with George Kesselman

“[Glints] We would like to still be around and building an enduring company. A big part of why many of us at Glints are building what we want is we hope that our children and grandchildren can be using Glints to grow their careers as well. So we want this to be an enduring company. Our mission is to help realize human potential. And we would like to be a company that's here to last. That's one. Two, concretely we see a lot of opportunities in the platform business and in our cross-border business. We want to double down in this market, getting to market leadership in the market we're playing in, Indonesia, and Vietnam, and also expanding out to new markets for cross-border recruiting, helping employers around the world tap into their 300 million labour force in Southeast Asia, helping them to hire the people here." - Oswald Yeo 

Fresh out of the studio, Oswald Yeo, chief executive officer and co-founder of Glints joined us in a conversation to discuss how the startup has helped companies from all over the region to build out their talent hubs across Southeast Asia. We began the conversation with Oswald as he shared the journey of Glints and the importance of focus to find the product-market fit till scaling the company across the region. He shared his valuable insights on the application of generative AI in the human resources sector, particularly emphasizing its utility in cross-border recruitment and talent sourcing. Last but not least, he shared his vision of what great would look like for the startup in the future. 

Episode Highlights: 
[00:48] Quote of the Day #QOTD by Oswald Yeo, CEO and co-founder of Glints. 
[02:22] Introduction: Oswald Yeo. 
[03:09] Origin Story of Glints. 
[05:54] Career Lessons from Oswald Yeo - Finding the Right People. 
[08:15] Overview of Glints and its vision and mission today. 
[11:31] The total market opportunity of HR in Southeast Asia which Glints is poised to capture. 
[13:09] Borderless Mindset and its implications to cross-border talent acquisition. 
[15:54] Critical Mass of a Talent Hub. 
[16:33] Cross Border Hiring and its advantages. 
[17:54] How Glints adapts its approach across different Southeast Asian countries. 
[20:50] Pivotal moments for Glints. 
[25:21] How Glints found product-market fit in Southeast Asia. 
[30:05] The one thing that Oswald knows that very few do. 
[30:32] Glints’ current investors &amp; how they help them to scale. 
[32:34] Advice for Startup Founders to navigate the difficult fundraising climate. 
[34:02] Generative AI’s role in talent acquisition and retention for HR. 
[37:52] What does great look like for Glints? 
[38:38] Closing. 

Podcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. Proper credits for the intro and end music: "Energetic Sports Drive" and the episode is mixed and edited in both video and audio format G. Thomas Craig.

Glints & Human Resources in the Age of AI with Oswald Yeo

"There are so many voices here that people can create their own unique things. And yet there is still this culture, that's still lingering from the past, that somehow the answers are in the West. And trust me, they are not. So the West is also confused and looking for their way to figure out things. And so the main inspiration for Yana TV was to create this particular platform where we can showcase the voices of Asian movers and shakers, which means people who are doing interesting things, who are standing up, who want to speak up, challenging the status quo, and the norms. People who are regional, who are thought leaders, and I also feel it is time there has to be a bigger platform where we can all go and see who are the people who are doing amazing things here." - Yana Fry 

Fresh out of the studio, Yana Fry, producer & host of Yana TV joined us in a conversation about the behind-the-scenes of her show and her perspectives on interviewing Asian change makers across the region. Our conversation kicked off with Yana's odyssey to Singapore and delving into what sparked the creation of Yana TV and its core themes. In the conversation, Yana shares the heartwarming tales featured on her show, ranging from a kidnapped diplomat to a heart-touching Singaporean Santa Claus and her perspectives as a content creator in the Asia Pacific. Last but not least, she shares what great would look like for Yana TV. 

Episode Highlights:
[00:48] Quote of the Day #QOTD by Yana Fry, Founder & Host, Yana TV.
[02:24] Introduction: Yana Fry, Founder & Host of Yana TV. 
[04:28] Perspectives on living in Singapore. [06:43] Yana shares lessons of her career journey. [08:20] Inspiration behind Yana TV. 
[10:28] Intended Audience behind Yana TV. 
[11:50] The Great Resignation and its Impact on Executives re-thinking work-life balance. 
[13:49] Main Themes and Key Takeaways from interviewing Asian change-makers in Yana TV. 
[16:18] How a seven-time convicted criminal becomes a change-maker to help prison inmates re-integrate into Singapore society. 
[17:43] The behind-the-scenes (BTS) behind Yana TV's production. 
[21:01] Different Profiles of Change-Makers on Yana TV. 
[25:14] How Asian change-makers differ from their Western counterparts. [29:35] Challenges faced by Asian Change Makers. 
[34:49] Tales of Asian Change Makers: A Diplomat. 
[36:30] Tales of Asian Change Makers: Singapore Santa Claus that moved the production crew on Yana TV. 
[41:23] How to tell stories in Asia with the digital format. 
[44:32] The challenge of distribution for Asian podcasters. 

Podcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. Proper credits for the intro and end music: "Energetic Sports Drive" and the episode is mixed & edited in both video and audio format by G. Thomas Craig.

Yana TV and Change Makers in the Asia Pacific with Yana Fry

"The whole of Southeast Asia has to come up as a group. Hence, my secret about what I know about the VC industry that people don't know. The secret is that you've got to be very sane when you come to investing, right? So, if you invest so high, we can't get exits. When we can't get exits, we can't return money to LPs, and then the investors will say, ‘Oh, Southeast Asia cannot find exits one.’ It cannot be, right? So to me, we must be able to show exits. That's the proof of the pudding.” - Carmen Yuen 


Fresh out of the studio, Carmen Yuen, general partner from Vertex Ventures SE Asia &amp; India, joined us to discuss the current state of venture capital in Southeast Asia &amp; India after the difficult fundraising climate in the past year. Carmen began the story of her career, moving from the government sector to venture capital. She shares the evolution of Vertex Ventures from their investment thesis to the portfolio of startups and evaluates the startup class of 2023 vs 2021. Last but not least, Carmen describes exits as the leading indicators for startup success and elucidates what great would look like for Vertex Ventures. 

Episode Highlights: 
[00:50] Quote of the Day #QOTD from Carmen Yuen. 
[01:21] Introduction: Carmen Yuen, General Partner, Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia &amp; India. 
[02:16] Carmen’s career story from the government sector to venture capital. 
[05:03] Career lessons from Carmen Yuen. 
[08:32] Introduction to Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia and India. 
[12:41] Perspectives on Markets: Southeast Asia &amp; India. 
[14:50] Finding Local champions vs Regional players in Southeast Asia. 
[16:12] The verticals that Carmen Yuen invests in Southeast Asia and India. 
[18:48] Carmen’s typical day as a VC. 
[20:22] Traits of Founders and Startup Teams that Carmen invests in. 
[22:50] The red flags that deter Carmen from investing in startups. 
[24:46] Solo Founders vs Startup Teams. 
[26:55] Interesting companies under Vertex SE Asia portfolio. 
[32:05] Advice to founders on market expansion in Southeast Asia. 
[35:44] The startup class of 2023 vs the startup class of 2021. 
[38:19] Outlook for 2024: Headwinds and Tailwinds. 
[40:00] The one thing that Carmen Yuen knows as a VC that very few do. 
[42:36] Advice to Startup Founders in a difficult fundraising climate. 
[44:42] How do you explain the Southeast Asia to LPs? 
[46:50] Exits are key to success in Southeast Asia: M&amp;A and IPOs. [47:36] What does great look like in Vertex Ventures SEA and India? 
[48:11] Closing. 

Podcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. Proper credits for the intro and end music: "Energetic Sports Drive" and the episode is mixed and edited in both video and audio format by G. Thomas Craig.

Vertex Ventures & Venture Capital in Southeast Asia & India with Carmen Yuen

"Indonesia is not of the scale of China and India. Some people argue that India and China are so vast that you can almost consider: North China, South China, East China and different parts of the world. But because Indonesia normally gets lumped into ASEAN, right? People think about, well, I don't want single country risk with a country of this size. And so that's where the differentiation came out. Nonetheless, this is our thesis. And we believe that the last 10 years have proven that thesis. So we continue to double down on that thesis. Again, we've invested in companies that are regional that come into Indonesia." - Adrian Li 

Fresh out of the studio, Adrian Li, founder and managing partner of AC Ventures joined us in a conversation to delve into the dynamics of the venture capital scene in Indonesia. He commenced by tracing his entrepreneurial journey, which spanned from the United States to China, and ultimately to Southeast Asia, culminating in his transition to venture capitalist. From there, he shed light on the investment thesis of AC Ventures, their decade of investing that led to their recent successful raise of US$210m to their 5th fund. He provided an in-depth analysis of the entire venture capital landscape in Indonesia, discussing its evolution over time. To conclude, Adrian shared his vision for AC Ventures, focusing on their intensified commitment to nurturing startups in Indonesia and across the broader Southeast Asian region. 

Episode Highlights: [0:44] Quote of the Day from Adrian Li #QOTD [1:16] Introduction: Adrian Li, Founder &amp; Managing Partner, AC Ventures. [2:27] How did Adrian start his career? [4:36] Adrian’s first entrepreneurial pursuit till his move to China &amp; then Southeast Asia. [8:13] The origin story of AC Ventures. [10:10] The three key things he looks for when evaluating investment opportunities. [13:52] AC Ventures, their perspective on the Indonesian market and their investment thesis. [17:35] Typical day for a VC like Adrian Li [19:23] The red flags that Adrian Li watched out for in founders &amp; startup teams. [21:14] The startup class of 2021 vs the class of 2023. [24:40] The Indonesia Venture Capital Report 2023 by AC Ventures and Bain &amp; Co. [25:22] How investors are adjusting their strategies to the Indonesian market. [27:24] Investor preferences, unit economics and valuations on the Indonesian market. [29:11] The challenges that the Indonesian startups face and how they are adapting to them. [32:00] The verticals that are working in the Indonesian market. [34:43] Indonesia's regulatory environment is supportive of startups. [37:01] The exit landscape for startups in Indonesia. [41:48] The Indonesia startup landscape after the ZIRP era. [45:12] The one thing that Adrian Li knows that very few do about VC in Indonesia. [47:38] In-country VCs vs regional VCs in Southeast Asia. [49:43] How should investors perceive Indonesia as a single market like China &amp; India? [51:29] Can foreign entrepreneurs thrive in the Indonesia startup ecosystem? [53:22] What does great look like for AC Ventures? [54:24] Closing 

Podcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. Proper credits for the intro and end music: "Energetic Sports Drive" and the episode is mixed & edited in both video and audio format by G. Thomas Craig.

AC Ventures & The Indonesia Venture Capital Report 2023 with Adrian Li

“One thing I can add is the awakening, the shaking up, the shaping up of the rest of the global auto industry from the Chinese is in full swing. The Chinese are coming. And if the Western automakers are prepared, they're going to have a much tougher moment than when they confronted the Japanese or the Koreans. The Japanese [and] Koreans, they're very successful. Let's say in the U.S., but this is a whole different issue - the geopolitical aspect. But you know, they're coming.” - Lei Xing 

Fresh out of the studio, Lei Xing, founder of AutoXing & co-host of China EVs & More, shared his insights into the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) market and its implications for the global EV market. Lei discussed his career journey and the inspiration behind covering the China EVs market through his podcast. He broke down the competitive dynamics between Tesla and BYD based on their current strategies for global market expansion and technological challenges. He shared his perspectives on whether Chinese EV makers can rinse and repeat the solar panel strategy against the rest of the automotive companies in the world. Last but not least, he shared the groundbreaking innovations at CES 2024 and emphasized the challenges and opportunities ahead for Chinese manufacturers and their vision for long-term success in the EV industry globally. 

Episode Highlights: 
[0:50] Quote of the Day #QOTD by Lei Xing. 
[1:21] Introduction: Lei Xing from China EVs &amp; More. 
[8:60] China EVs and more podcast and their coverage. 
[10:17] Lessons learnt from Lei Xing’s career journey. 
[11:40] Overview of the global EV landscape &amp; China’s market share in EVs. 
[15:27] The China smart EV makers after BYD. 
[20:15] The competitive advantage of Chinese EV makers. 
[23:26] How Tesla Invigorates the EV Competition in China. 
[24:36] The one thing that Lei Xing knows about China EV makers that very few do. 
[27:00] How Chinese EV makers are competing in the global market. 
[30:57] Can Chinese EV makers rinse and repeat the solar panel strategy to win the EV market? [32:50] How BYD emerged in the US since 2011. 
[37:21] Tesla vs BYD in AI, autonomous driving and robotics. 
[41:43] How Tesla is competing in China and other parts of the world. 
[46:40] Breakthroughs in EVs and self-driving cars at CES 2024. 
[51:14] The bet on hydrogen fuel cars by Japanese automotive makers. 
[53:14] Outlook for Chinese EVs in the 5-10 years. 
[56:33] Will China EVs go upstream to the hypercars against Ferrari? 
[58:03] What does success mean for Chinese EV companies in the next 5-10 years? 
[59:43] Closing. 

Podcast Information: Bernard Leong hosts and produces the show. Proper credits for the intro and end music: "Energetic Sports Drive" and the episode is mixed &amp; edited in both video and audio format by G. Thomas Craig.

BYD vs Tesla: The New EV Empire with Lei Xing

Eva Chaewon Yoo from Technode joined us in a conversation to discuss the South Korea technology startup ecosystem. She offered a comprehensive overview in how one can navigate the startup ecosystem from Seoul to Pusan, the five booming startup verticals, the key investors from angel investors to venture capital and the interaction with the Chaebol such as Samsung or major conglomerates in Korea.

Analyse Asia with Bernard Leong

Episode 148: The South Korea technology startup ecosystem with Eva Yoo

A weekly podcast dissecting the pulse of business, technology & media in Asia. Hear our host interviewing leading journalists, senior executives, respectable authors & thinkers, entrepreneurs & thought leaders to discuss the most important issues that move and shake the business landscape in the Asia Pacific. The show is originally created and hosted by Bernard Leong.

Episode 148: The South Korea technology startup ecosystem with Eva Yoo

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