BRAVE Southeast Asia Tech: Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand & Malaysia Startups, Founders & Venture Capital VC (English)

Shiyan Koh, speaking from San Francisco, joins Jeremy Au to compare the Bay Area and Southeast Asia in the AI era. She notes that founder energy in the region is high while investor sentiment is low, and advises non-Bay Area founders to visit San Francisco quarterly. She argues the ecosystem would gain more from $100 million exits than from chasing single $1 billion outcomes. They discuss why small and mid-cap acquisitions are rare, citing conglomerate buyers and VC fund structures, including a roughly $30 million sale one fund blocked. They expect small AI-native companies, which Metronome's Scott Woody calls 'aliens', to favor angels who write $50K checks into $500K rounds. Shiyan closes with advice for investors, founders and policymakers. Shiyan Koh, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Hustle Fund Shiyan Koh on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shiyankoh/  Hustle Fund on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hustlefund/  Hustle Fund Website: https://www.hustlefund.vc/  If this episode made you think, like, comment and subscribe for more stories and lessons from Southeast Asia’s founders and investors. Tell us in the comments: should Southeast Asia chase unicorns, or build ten $100 million exits? Watch, listen or read the full insight at https://www.bravesea.com/shiyan-koh-founders-san-francisco  BRAVE is Southeast Asia's leading tech podcast, hosted by Jeremy Au. Honest conversations with the region's top founders, investors, and operators on building startups in Southeast Asia. New episodes every week. Subscribe so you never miss one. Listen & Subscribe YouTube (English), YouTube (Bahasa Indonesia), Spotify (English), Spotify (Bahasa Indonesia), Spotify (Chinese), Spotify (Vietnamese), Apple Podcasts Follow BRAVE LinkedIn, X (Twitter), Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp Follow Jeremy Au LinkedIn, X / Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Threads, Twitch Resources Get transcripts, startup resources & community discussions at www.bravesea.com 00:00 Opening themes 01:16 Builders up, investors down 03:05 Big fish, small pond 04:46 AI levels the knowledge gap 06:30 Limits of AI and search funds 08:20 $100 million exits over unicorns 12:13 AI-native companies as aliens 13:20 Why few small acquisitions happen 15:27 How VC structures block exits 16:50 The way forward for funding 19:16 Angels capture early value 21:07 Advice for three groups #StartupExits #AngelInvesting #SoutheastAsia #VentureCapital #Founders #Startups #AI #AINative #SanFrancisco #BayArea #SiliconValley #Singapore #Indonesia #MergersAndAcquisitions #SearchFunds #StartupEcosystem #HustleFund #Entrepreneurship #TechPodcast #SEAstartups #BRAVEsea

The Nanning scheme in Guangxi, China, reported to be the "1040 Sunshine Project", recruited overseas Chinese, including Singaporeans, to buy in for between S$26,000 and S$50,000, with returns of up to 10.4 million yuan.  In September 2026, 52 Singaporeans were detained in Guangxi over suspected pyramid scheme offences. No official count of how many people paid in has been released. What can creators learn from this? In this episode of BRAVE, Adrian Tan was invited to join the scheme in 2018 and after a few days, decided to walk away. He wrote of his experiences then, and when the news caught wind of this in 2026, his post went viral. Where everyone else hid their faces, he stood up and spoke openly about it to make sure others don't fall for this. He joins Edric Poon to talk about why he spoke out, why he still won't name names, what the scheme's marketing got right, how his YouTube Q&A rode the wave to monetisation, how years of blogging made him Mr HR Tech, and why AI won't hurt creators who have something to say. Adrian Tan is a marketer, author, podcaster and content creator. He founded Marketing Sumo, where he provides fractional marketing leadership to B2B HR tech companies. He hosts The Adrian Tan Show, a solo podcast sharing his take on current affairs, and hosts and produces other podcasts alongside guest appearances. Through newsletters, video and social media, he brings candid observations and humour to conversations about work and everyday life. Adrian is the author of the Amazon Singapore bestseller 'No More Bosses: The Journey to Sustainable Self-Employment'. He began his entrepreneurial career by co-founding an award-winning recruitment business. He is a father of four. Adrian’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adriantanck/ Website: https://www.adriantan.com.sg/  If this episode made you think, like, comment and subscribe for more stories and lessons from creators. Tell us in the comments: would you have spoken up? Watch, listen or read the full insight at https://www.bravesea.com/adrian-tan-scam-marketing-lessons BRAVE is Southeast Asia's leading tech podcast, hosted by Jeremy Au. Honest conversations with the region's top founders, investors, and operators on building startups in Southeast Asia. New episodes every week. Subscribe so you never miss one. Listen & Subscribe YouTube (English), YouTube (Bahasa Indonesia), Spotify (English), Spotify (Bahasa Indonesia), Spotify (Chinese), Spotify (Vietnamese), Apple Podcasts Follow BRAVE LinkedIn, X (Twitter), Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp Follow Jeremy Au LinkedIn, X / Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Threads, Twitch Resources Get transcripts, startup resources & community discussions at www.bravesea.com 00:00 Introduction 02:13 The 1040 promise: S$50K for a million 02:46 Singaporeans recruiting Singaporeans 05:05 A secret government narrative, and no product 07:00 "So it must be legit" 08:44 Paying to get out 10:52 Why it worked: narrative, trust and greed 15:11 Lured by her stylist: 15 months to get half back 17:29 Sunshine Empire and get-rich-quick schemes 19:50 Why he showed his face 21:38 From blog post to viral YouTube video 24:14 Why he won't name names 29:05 From Blogspot to Mr HR Tech 34:37 What AI means for creators #ContentCreator #ScamAwareness #PyramidScheme #SpeakUp #CreatorEconomy #PersonalBranding #Blogging #Marketing #YouTubeGrowth #AI #NanningScam #Singapore #SoutheastAsia #BRAVECreators #BRAVEsea

Money is being rebuilt for AI agents, and the first regulated funds are already open to them. Richard Schroder spent 25 years in institutional banking, led the ANZ digital assets team that issued the first bank stablecoin on a public blockchain, and left to co-found Conduit Digital Holdings, which tokenizes money market funds for corporate treasuries across Asia-Pacific. He joins Jeremy Au to cover why asset managers moved on-chain before banks, what Sibos and Token2049 now agree on, how a tokenized fund is made agentic-aware, the three controls that let an AI agent subscribe, redeem and transfer without going rogue, collateral mobility, how Federated Hermes and BNY fit into the stack, where the moat sits when most of the technology is open source, and the gap between a roughly $20 trillion real-world asset market and the $38 billion tokenized so far. Plus his advice for fund managers ready to make a start, and the $30 million stablecoin trade that felt brave at the time. Richard Schroder is the Co-Founder and CEO of Conduit Digital Holdings, the digital assets business of Conduit Group, an independent investment group headquartered in Singapore. Conduit Digital Holdings tokenizes regulated money market funds for institutional and wholesale investors in Asia-Pacific, with a strategic alliance with Federated Hermes, and offers tokenization-as-a-service and agentic services to fund managers. Richard previously spent 25 years in institutional banking and led the digital assets team at ANZ. Richard’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-schroder-76961140/  Conduit Digital Holdings: https://www.conduitdigital.xyz/ Watch, listen or read the full insight at https://www.bravesea.com/blog/richard-schroder-tokenized-funds-ai-agents BRAVE is Southeast Asia's leading tech podcast, hosted by Jeremy Au. Honest conversations with the region's top founders, investors, and operators on building startups in Southeast Asia. New episodes every week. Subscribe so you never miss one. Listen & Subscribe YouTube (English), YouTube (Bahasa Indonesia), Spotify (English), Spotify (Bahasa Indonesia), Spotify (Chinese), Spotify (Vietnamese), Apple Podcasts Follow BRAVE LinkedIn, X (Twitter), Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp Follow Jeremy Au LinkedIn, X / Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Threads, Twitch Resources Get transcripts, startup resources & community discussions at www.bravesea.com 00:00 Introduction 01:31 From 25 years in banking to Conduit Digital Holdings 03:54 Sibos vs Token2049: bankers and crypto converge 06:11 Tokenization explained: better, faster, cheaper, programmable 07:19 Stablecoins, money market funds and collateral mobility 10:33 Opening a regulated fund to AI agents: the three controls 13:42 Corporate treasury as the first customer 16:30 How banks are responding and why partnering wins 20:02 What makes a moat 22:47 Moving information vs moving value 25:34 MCP servers and websites built for agents 29:55 Conduit's products and the $20 trillion market 34:13 Advice for fund managers: make a start 35:50 A brave moment, the team, and why build this now 39:22 Where to find Richard #AIAgents #Tokenization #RealWorldAssets #RWA #AgenticFinance #Stablecoins #DigitalAssets #Blockchain #MoneyMarketFunds #CorporateTreasury #Fintech #Singapore #Australia #VentureCapital #BRAVEsea

Chalinda Abeykoon, managing partner of nVentures, traces the seven or eight ways he tried to solve startup funding in Sri Lanka, most of which failed. At the Brandix apparel accelerator, the products were good, but the startups lacked the enterprise sales skills to sell to brands like Nike and Lululemon. A diaspora equity crowdfunding platform raised about $1 million in 20 months before the Easter bombings, the pandemic and the economic crisis ended it. nVentures is a $2 million fund, with 70% of LP money from the diaspora, backing B2B fintech. He reports two exits, about 30% IRR and 1.8x TVPI. He argues early-stage support is an art, going from minus one to zero, and that founders grow by leaving their comfort zone for Singapore. Chalinda Abeykoon is Managing Partner at nVentures, an early-stage VC fund investing in technology startups across South and Southeast Asia. His portfolio includes two global exits, including an acquisition by JPMorgan Chase. Chalinda is a recipient of the Chevening Fellowship from the University of Oxford and an Australia Award from the University of Queensland. Chalinda’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chalindaabeykoon/ nVentures: https://nventures.sg/  Watch, listen or read the full insight at https://www.bravesea.com/chalinda-abeykoon-sri-lanka-venture-capital  BRAVE is Southeast Asia's leading tech podcast, hosted by Jeremy Au. Honest conversations with the region's top founders, investors, and operators on building startups in Southeast Asia. New episodes every week. Subscribe so you never miss one. Listen & Subscribe YouTube (English), YouTube (Bahasa Indonesia), Spotify (English), Spotify (Bahasa Indonesia), Spotify (Chinese), Spotify (Vietnamese), Apple Podcasts Follow BRAVE LinkedIn, X (Twitter), Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp Follow Jeremy Au LinkedIn, X / Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Threads, Twitch Resources Get transcripts, startup resources & community discussions at www.bravesea.com 00:00 Opening themes 02:20 Graduating into a hiring freeze 04:38 Childhood in Colombo 06:40 Teaching students to pitch 08:40 The Brandix accelerator 12:00 B2B strength, B2C bias 14:30 How nVentures began 17:50 Fund structure and results 20:00 From minus one to zero 23:00 Sri Lanka and Singapore 30:40 Losing his father young #SriLanka #VentureCapital #Startups #SriLankaStartups #Fintech #B2B #SouthAsia #SoutheastAsia #Singapore #Entrepreneurship #StartupFunding #EarlyStageVC 

Lennix Lai, general manager at OKX, describes moving from trading roles at JP Morgan and AIG into crypto after reading the two-page Bitcoin whitepaper, despite first thinking Bitcoin was a scam. He argues DeFi can grow into a connected global marketplace, citing the recent SEC innovation exemption for tokenized securities and OKX's joint venture with ICE for tokenized equities that trade around the clock. He explains OKX's shift toward serving agents as well as humans, including an agent-to-agent marketplace, private keys held in a trusted execution environment, user-defined security policies, and pre-trade risk simulation. Early adopters of OKX Agent Trade Kit and Onchain OS are semi-professional retail traders who trade more often and with more discipline. Lennix is one of crypto’s original builders out of Hong Kong, where so much of the early industry took shape. He joined OKX in 2017 and has been working alongside CEO and Founder Star Xu virtually since the beginning. He helped fight the defining derivatives battle with BitMEX in 2018, then built OKX’s institutional business from scratch. Today, he’s deeply involved in the group’s global licensing and regulated entities, while creating bridges between crypto and traditional finance, including OKX's landmark tri-party custody arrangement with Standard Chartered Bank. He's a recognized voice on the convergence of traditional and digital markets, institutional crypto adoption, and global regulatory compliance and has appeared on CNBC, Bloomberg and in the SCMP, CoinDesk and Cointelegraph as a commentator. Before crypto, he was at JPMorgan and AIG, so he has a rare front-row perspective on both the old financial system and the new one. Lennix’ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennix-lai-808abb1a/   OKX: http://www.okx.com/   Watch, listen or read the full insight at https://www.bravesea.com/lennix-lai-okx-ai-agents-defi  BRAVE is Southeast Asia's leading tech podcast, hosted by Jeremy Au. Honest conversations with the region's top founders, investors, and operators on building startups in Southeast Asia. New episodes every week. Subscribe so you never miss one. Listen & Subscribe YouTube (English), YouTube (Bahasa Indonesia), Spotify (English), Spotify (Bahasa Indonesia), Spotify (Chinese), Spotify (Vietnamese), Apple Podcasts Follow BRAVE LinkedIn, X (Twitter), Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp Follow Jeremy Au LinkedIn, X / Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Threads, Twitch Resources Get transcripts, startup resources & community discussions at www.bravesea.com 00:00 Introduction 02:04 From banking to crypto 03:53 Why blockchain 08:26 The future of DeFi 12:21 Tokenized equities 14:35 Agent-to-agent marketplace 18:38 Building for agents safely 21:43 Agents moving value 25:09 Advice for agentic finance builders 27:36 Early adoption results 31:30 Staying the course #DeFi #AIAgents #Crypto #Blockchain #TokenizedStocks #Stablecoins #AgenticFinance #FutureOfFinance #FinTech #Bitcoin #Web3 #CryptoPodcast #TechPodcast #SoutheastAsia #Singapore #HongKong