China Innovation Decoded

For the first episode of this new season on Microsoft, we invited Jason Tsao, AI and Area Transformation Lead of Microsoft Greater China Region. Jason received his Bachelor’s Degree from Duke University in Electrical Engineering and then went on to pursue a Masters in Engineering Management at University of Ottawa. He joined MSFT as a License Executive in Beijing responsible to establish business process for cloud in China and prior to his ATL role, Jason was the M&O lead in Taiwan since FY18 and Chief of Staff of GCR CVP since FY17. In this episode, Jason discussed with us what takes a company to bring AI in, the relationship between AI and human as well as the potential ethical challenges behind AI application. Today, with Jason Tsao, we learn about his past careers and the impact AI has brought to various industries and human life.  Show Notes0:59 Personal experience 2:39 Day to day life surrounding the topic of AI 6:17 Case of a shipping company 7:36 You need a sharing culture to bring AI in 9:20 You need a culture that encourages failing 12:25 The need of cooperation with different teams 13:57 AI has transformed the OCR technology 15:01 Microsoft research Asia's investment in AI 18:12 Will AI replace human intelligence 23:50 AI and creativity 30:17 Will AI inhibit human interaction 31:35 Business opportunity behind understanding the user’s emotion sign 33:54 When will AI be able to represent full human intelligence 35:15 AI and ethics40:14 AI for good initiative 42:06 Advice for AI startups 

SummaryLab has always been a place where the newest ideas and innovation emerge. So what does a smart lab look like? This episode we invited Kenny Li, CEO and Co-founder of our Batch five startup iLabService. Kenny received his Bachelor’s Degree from Zhejiang University and then went on to receive his Masters from Nanyang Technological University. He came back to China around 2010, and his follow-up careers were mostly in lab-related industries. In 2016 to 2017, Kenny started iLabService as a Co-founder. iLabService focuses on providing automatic solutions to all labs, aiming to create smarter labs. Kenny’s ultimate goal is to help scientists to become more efficient through digital transformation, advanced analytics and automation. Today, with Kenny Li, we learn about his past careers and how he has used his industrial know-how to make a difference in the lab industry. Show Notes0:33 Introduction1:06 Kenny’s personal experience2:04 How did Kenny get involved in lab service4:01 Problems encountered when iLabService first started6:02 Risks involved in the business7:31 How iLabService was born8:59 A global business goal9:48 Can a Chinese-specific solution be copied and pasted to other countries10:43 How ‘smart’ can iLabService be12:08 The most valuable lesson Kenny has learned from YC15:05 A transition from an engineer to a CEO15:50 The most important thing in doing well in a CEO role17:07 In-depth knowledge and accumulated experience, determining factors for to B start-ups18:38 Team structure20:54 Challenges encountered and overcome22:20 Plans for the future

This episode we invited Steve Wang, COO and Co-founder of Tezign. He received his Bachelor’s Degree from ZheJiang University and then went on to receive his Masters from Columbia University. He is an expert of A.I. and a World Economic Forum Global Shaper. Previously he worked in U.S. and In 2015, he joined Tezign as a cofounder. Tezign is a creative and marketing supplier platform and data intelligence solution trusted by world's leading brands. In Tezign, Steve focuses on developing leading mar-tech products and also participates in many research projects of “Design A.I. LAB”. Today with Steve Wang, also known as Wang Zhe, we learn about his experiences in the West, and how he brought his knowledge back to the East.1:23 Intro  1:57 Steve's personal journey  2:53 How Tezign was born  4:05 Tech + design  4:33 Why Tezign chose this area of focus 5:54 Challenges faced when they first started  7:22 What’s Tezign’s biggest advantage  11:02 Why chinese market  14:23 How design thinking is different in china  16:15 Future of Tezign  18:14 How Tezign deals with corporate innovation  19:26 Tezign team structure  

In this episode YiPin Ng tells us how he went from an engineer at Sun Microsystems to founding Yunqi Partners and how he got into the world of investing. He then explains the many factors that contribute to his decision when investing such as the idea, its team, and most importantly the founder. He then explores the idea of starting your own business and fitting in a startup such as learning from your mistakes and determining to try again. We conclude the discussion with the future of AI and the idea of traditional and corporate VCs working together. Throughout this podcast we learn many insights from Yipin surrounding startups and VCs with many examples to back them up.  Yunqi Partners specializes in AI, big data, cloud computing, fintech, B2B, and other industries, with assets totalling billions of RMB.Shownotes: 1:13 Getting to know YiPin2:32 How Yipin got into the world of investing5:28 What fascinates Yipin the most about investing and what keeps him in the industry7:07 Core qualities of a founder 9:38 Breaking rules10:51 Why Yunqi chooses to focus on AI, cloud computing, and autonomous driving13:22 Yunqi‘s focus on AI for good14:54 Selecting criteria18:38 Deal sourcing 19:50 Advise for any aspiring entrepreneurs 21:32 Finding your role within a startup25:48 Future of AI 29:10 The future of VCs with more and more corporate VCs emerging

Today we brought in Walter Benadof, COO of DefinedCrowd, and Aya Zook, their General Manager of Asia-Pacific. DefinedCrowd is Microsoft for Startups backed leading AI and big data startup focused on crowd-sourcing data collection of speech and language. They focus on providing language data for established corporations looking to expand their horizons. Now, they are looking to expanding onto the global market. They already have offices in Seattle and Japan and is looking to expand into China through Microsoft. In today’s episode, Walter and Aya will share their experiences and insights from China trip. 1:26 What propelled them to start a company like DefinedCrowd?2:12 How did they come up with the name DefinedCrowd?3:17 Their experience in China and why they decided to come at this time5:57 Go China dinner6:51 Specific example, understanding challenges in expanding the business7:53 Differences between US and China innovation ecosystem9:00 Is China big enough of a market9:33 Future Plans for DefinedCrowd10:33 What suggestions would they giver foreign startups similar to them?11:39 What does the Chinese people want?13:14 How they identify Microsoft as a valuable partner14:00 Differences and similarities between Microsoft for startups in Shanghai compared to Seattle14:39 Takeaways from CES Asia

Today we have invited Andi Chen, COO and Co-founder of Whale, a leading IoT & AI startup in China focusing on retail experience and data solution. Whale is dedicated to enlightening the future of retail by driving sales transformation through real-time content interaction based on customer behavior perception. In today’s episode, Andi will share the idea of future shop and how Whale is using its technology to enhance customers' shopping experience.0:56 Why Andi and Jerry started Whale4:27 Ideas of the future shop 7:00 Market trends in China and other countries9:58 Market focus – Mainland China, Japan and Europe etc.11:25 Personalised and customised experience of Whale13:14 Role shifting of shopping guides – from providing basic information to personalised advice14:50 How Whale improves the ultimate efficiency of sales16:23 Company structure of Whale19:10 Categories of Whale’s products focus – volume products or experience-oriented products?21:09 Challenges Andi encountered22:48 Company value25:06 Future plan of Whale28:05 Advice for young startups

Technology as we all know can be used in many ways and sometimes even abused, and that's the case with AI. It is not unusual that some people might use the technology in ways that are detrimental to the society. In this episode, we have invited startup founders from our portfolio Perspicace, NextVPU and also Managing Partner from Chengwei Capital to have a discussion on the meaning of AI for Good, the foreseeable future of AI and how it is shaping our society.  1:35 Panelists intro  3:56 What is AI for good in your opinion? 8:59 Conflict between AI for Good and profitability  10:53 AI trend in China  12:16 How older people deal with new technology  13:59 How to manage risks associated with AI  22:09 What values should we abide by? 26:29 The future of AI  

Today we have a special episode with one of our alumni startups, MINIEYE, in Shenzhen. Founded in 2013, MINIEYE is one of the earliest companies in China that conducted research on autonomous driving and ADAS products. MINIEYE is dedicated to providing reliable sensing solution for vehicles by utilizing AI technology and just the beginning of this month, MINIEYE has closed series B financing led by NavInfo. I had a great time visiting MINIEYE’s office and had a quick conversation with one of the co-founders Qicheng Wang.  1:07   Intro  1:53   Why the co-founders at Minieye don’t drive  3:05   Why did they come back to China and how did they start Minieye  4:32   Why did he drop out  6:07   The first step and challenges  7:20   Product first  10:02 Ending  

Today our guest is Tiger Yang, President and Co-founder of Apex Technologies. Tiger and Jimmy, two co-founders at Apex, actually met each other their freshman year as lab partners for electrical engineering and computer sciences at UC Berkeley. They started developing their interests in enterprises on improving efficiency in the marketing field. And when they decided to come back to china, Apex technologies was born.   0:57 Why Tiger and Jimmy decided to come back to china and start Apex Technologies  2:37 How Apex Technologies keeps innovating in the age of AI and Big data  8:07 Factors influencing people’s choices   13:16 Industries of focus  17:07 Industries that are challenging to tap in19:12 Personalised marketing and data driven internal decision making 24:23 How Apex Technologies helps reshape services and solve security issues  25:15 Apex Technologies’ competitive advantage  29:35 The future of AI  32:44 General advice for our audience who are interested in starting up in China   

Are you sometimes annoyed by the information overflow or tired of going through endless searches to find the information you need? Today we have invited Ye Chen (Alex), CEO of Tigerobo, a microsoft for startups powered AI-based financial search engine startup that is aiming to revolutionise the info searching experience.  0:37 Why Alex started Tigerobo  1:27 Why Fintech industry  3:06 Fintech market in china  4:30 The importance of timing 6:00 Market competitiveness 8:47 Examples of the Tigerobo search function   11:50 Challenges Tigerobo is facing right now in china  16:54 Next step for Tigerobo 18:58 Entering foreign market   20:22 Optimising user experience for different markets  24:30 Why starting in China first  25:20 How Tigerobo CEO divides up his work  

Today our guest is Sophie Sun. As the MD of Innovation hub China and Vice President of Strategy and transformation China, Sophie is in charge of working with startups to bring new innovative solutions to the company. We are going to decode how Merck is reinventing itself from a traditional pharmaceutical company to a tech company that constantly innovates. Show Notes: 0:50 Why Sophie joined Merck and the values of Merck  3:56 Innovation in China and impact Chinese innovation bring to the world  6:49 How does Merck work with startups  10:25 Accelerator program at Merck China  11:34 Challenges international startups face when they enter China 15:26 Is mental health something Merck looking at? 17:06 Journey as a female leader in the science and tech field  21:30 How to join Merck China Accelerator program and how to connect with Sophie 

Several years ago, “walking around” was still the most efficient way of management in millions of factories in China. People in the factory still use paper and pen to collect and record data, and managers had to consistently walk around the factory to monitor the process. When Black Lake Technologies kicked off, things started to change. After graduating from Dartmouth, Yuxiang started his career in Wall Street like many other outstanding Ivy League graduates. His primary task was to help large Chinese industrial clients acquire overseas factories. Instead of sticking to the finance track, Yuxiang soon realized the real gap between German factories and Chinese ones. Trying to figure out the pain points in Chinese factories and explore the practical solutions for manufacturing, Yuxiang decided to started working in a factory himself…1:09 Realising the gap between Chinese factories and German ones3:25 Realising the potential market of Chinese enterprise sectors4:11 Team gathering and kicking off5:21 Struggle and failure of the first trial7:20 Crossroads between giving up and keeping going 9:52 Becoming a worker in a factory 12:56 Exploring the cruxes of inefficient production & management 14:50 Inspirations from factory workers 18:12 Do something different (AB testing)21:20 Targeting privately-owned factories 22:32 Right solution at the right time24:45 Helping Chinese factories catch up with advanced factories overseas26:01 Black Lake’s global strategy and its china focus

Today we have invited Jill Tang, Co-founder of ladies who tech. Jill Tang has been living and studying in Australia for a long time until she came back to China and joined her co-founder Charlene Liu to start Ladies Who Tech, focusing on raising awareness of the lack of women in the STEM industries and helping companies have more diversity. In today’s episode, we will take you on a journey with Jill Tang and we are going to explore the hidden reasons as to why we are actively talking about this female leadership topic in the first place.