Analyse Asia with Bernard Leong

"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 play 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 & 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 (@bernardleong, Linkedin) 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 (@gthomascraig, LinkedIn).

" Now, the beauty about the real estate industry, if you look outside and you look at the commercial buildings, you have a lot of data generated on a daily basis. The challenge is, what do you do with this data? How do you mine this data in a smart way to give you better investment decisions going forward [or] better decisions on how you run the building? Where are the opportunities to reduce your expenses? On the climate side, how do you reduce your operational carbon? How do you make those buildings better? I think that here, Gen AI, can help big time, because any solution that will mine this data smartly and will create a result, an output, that end users and owners can use to their advantage.” - Ariel Shtarkman

Fresh out of the studio, Ariel Shtarkman, Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Undivided Ventures, joins us to share the mission and vision of Undivided Ventures and how the fund is driving innovation at the intersection of sustainability, PropTech, and construction technology. Beginning with her origin story, Ariel reflected on her journey from real estate private equity in New York to becoming a venture capitalist championing sustainable technologies in Asia. She elaborated on Undivided Ventures’ investment thesis, focusing on scaling sustainability-driven innovations in the built environment and shared key portfolio highlights, including successful investments like Structure Pal. Ariel also explored the transformative potential of generative AI, robotics, and data centers in addressing challenges in real estate and construction. Last but not least, she offered her insights on navigating fundraising in a challenging venture capital landscape and painted a compelling vision of what great looks like for Undivided Ventures.

Audio Episode Highlights: [00:46] Quote of the Day: Ariel Shtarkman on data and AI in real estate. [01:40] Introduction: Ariel Shtarkman, Managing Partner at Undivided Ventures. [04:23] How she co-founded Undivided Ventures with Alex. [06:08] Lessons from her career journey. [08:06] Overview of Undivided Ventures and its investment thesis. [10:33] Recent highlights of the fund’s portfolio. [12:46] Unique insights into Undivided Ventures’ investment approach. [14:59] Lessons learned from fundraising in challenging times. [17:28] Generative AI’s impact on PropTech and sustainability. [21:00] Case study: Structure Pal’s innovative approach in PropTech. [23:35] Traits of founders that attract investment. [27:19] Red flags in startups and founders. [29:24] Approach to valuation and avoiding overblown valuations. [31:19] Insights on data centers and how to think about data center technologies globally. [37:09] Robotics and their evolving role in construction. [39:12] The one question that Ariel wishes people would ask her more about Undivided Ventures. [41:18] What does great look like for Undivided Ventures over the next few years. [42:32] Closing.

Profile: Ariel Shtarkman, co-founder and managing partner, Undivided Ventures: https://www.undivided.vc/about and LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ariel-s-2850322/

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.

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"People always ask us this question, what can I learn from that country? People ask us about this from the report especially when we're talking to policymakers, or what should I learn from Malaysia? What should I learn? The thing to learn is to not learn to replicate exactly. But the thing to learn is sort of what are the principles behind what works for them. What are your comparative advantages, Every country needs to be asking that for themselves. So for Vietnam, comparative advantages are things like proximity to China, and an ability at a geopolitical level to navigate between the U.S. and China. They do this pretty delicately, given their history with both countries. There's an acquiescence by the major powers also to not force Vietnam to take sides. And, you know, and so it's a delicate balancing game that ASEAN always plays ..." - Gullnaz Baig

Fresh out of the studio, Gullnaz Baig, executive director from the Angsana Council, shares her perspectives on the "Southeast Asia Outlook 2024-2034: Navigating the High Winds" report by Angsana Council, DBS and Bain & Co. In our conversation, Gullnaz emphasized Southeast Asia’s unique strengths, including its cultural diversity, openness to innovation, and ability to navigate geopolitical complexities between global powers like China and the U.S. She highlighted Southeast Asia’s resilience, citing its rising wealth, improving standards of living, and comparative advantages such as Vietnam’s strong STEM workforce and the Philippines’ English-speaking talent. Last but not least, she described the importance of leveraging regional collaboration and technology to foster sustainable growth and offered her thoughts on what great would look like for the region.

Episode Highlights: [00:46] Quote of the Day by Gullnaz Baig [01:28] Gullnaz Baig’s Career Journey and Key Milestones [03:53] Introduction to the Angsana Council and Its Mission [05:52] Career Lessons and Importance of Mentorship [07:50] Southeast Asia's Economic Outlook for 2024-2034 [10:03] Collaboration Behind the Southeast Asia Outlook Report [12:46] Economic Resilience of Southeast Asia Over the Past 30 Years [16:58] Structural Challenges Across Southeast Asia [20:29] Vietnam’s Growth Potential and Comparative Advantages [25:17] Philippines’ Services Sector and Comparative Strengths [26:14] Startups in Southeast Asia: Building and Scaling Across Borders [29:51] Southeast Asia’s Receptiveness to New Technology [31:50] China’s Influence and Opportunities in Southeast Asia [34:42] Navigating Geopolitical Tensions Between China and the U.S. [36:29] Leveraging China’s Strengths in Southeast Asia [38:52] The question that Gullnaz would like people to ask her more: Who are Southeast Asians? [45:19] What Does Great Look Like for Southeast Asia? [47:03] Closing

Profile: Gullnaz Baig, Executive Director of Angsana Council LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gullnazbaig/ Angsana Council: https://angsanacouncil.org/member/gullnaz-baig/

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. 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

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"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 go IPO as well?

[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 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 (@bernardleong, Linkedin) 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 (@gthomascraig, LinkedIn).

"So already this year we've rolled out 10 of these regions. So two in APJ and Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong. But 75 of these locations by the end of the year along with our core computing regions will give us 100 locations where customers can run these workloads, and we're not going to stop there. So we're going to have hundreds of these regions over the next few years, and we're going to focus on those locations where hyper-scalers don't have compute. Africa and South America, for example, have been extremely underserved when it comes to computing capabilities. There's a huge potential for those countries if we could get them the compute. And that's exactly what we intend to do. But, those are extreme regions. Even in places like the U.S., which are well served by the hyper-scalers, there's certainly the middle of the U.S. which is ignored. In Southeast Asia, if you're in Singapore or Jakarta, you're served by everybody. But if you're in Vietnam, how are you served? If you're in Thailand, how are you served? The internet is inherently unfair. We want to make it more fair for our customers and our customers' customers." - Jay Jenkins

Fresh off the studio, Jay Jenkins, CTO of Cloud Computing in Akamai, dives deep into the transformative potential of edge AI in a dynamic conversation on Akamai's latest technological advancements. Discussing the company's strategic edge computing platform, Gecko, Jenkins describes how it is redefining cloud computing paradigms by embedding capabilities directly into the edge network. He explores the broader implications of edge AI for real-time applications and generative AI technologies, highlighting Akamai's vision to support the burgeoning demands of data processing and AI inferencing at the network edge. With insights into early trials and future use cases, he shares how Akamai is set to revolutionize industries, from immersive retail to spatial computing and explores what great would look like for Akamai in cloud computing and AI at the edge.

Episode Highlights: [0:40] Quote of the Day #QOTD by Jay Jenkins. [1:45] Introduction: Jay Jenkins, CTO of Cloud Computing from Akamai. [4:29] Lessons learnt from Jay’s career journey. [6:31] Total Market Opportunity for AI at the Edge and Akamai’s value proposition. [8:55] Introduction to Akamai and its global footprint. [11:18] Jay’s role as global CTO in Cloud Computing and future vision. [16:23] Generalized Edge Compute aka Gecko and why it differs from the hyper-scalers such as AWS. [19:53] How Gecko enhances the user experience in terms of performance and latency. [22:59] Challenges to integrate cloud native computing at a massive edge network. [25:38] Lessons learned from Gecko’s early trials with enterprise customers of Akamai. [28:01] Applications of Gecko beyond immersive retail. [30:33] The One Thing that Jay knows about Gecko in generalized edge computing that very few do. [33:07] Generative AI with Akamai Gecko’s platform. [37:30] Inference at the edge with Large Language Models (LLMs). [39:41] Role of Edge Computing for real-time AI processes. [41:47] What does great look like for Akamai in the cloud computing space? [43:53] 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

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

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