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SEA of Startups

SEA of Startups

Auteur(s): Decoding the Pulse of Founders Capital & Conviction in Southeast Asia.
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 🎙 SEA of Startups Decoding the pulse of founders, capital, and conviction in Southeast Asia. This isn’t another “startup success” show — it’s the real conversation behind what actually works (and what doesn’t) when you’re building, funding, or navigating the region’s wild, ambitious ecosystem. From Singapore’s capital corridors to Jakarta’s chaos, Manila’s energy to Ho Chi Minh’s grit — we unpack how ambition, culture, and capital collide. Expect deep dives into founder psychology, venture strategy, and the unspoken truths shaping Southeast Asia’s next decade. Hosted by Kim Yeoh and Kevin Brockland, it’s where strategy meets psychology — a mirror to the builders and believers shaping Southeast Asia. Part strategy, part soul — unfiltered, intelligent, and entirely real.

seaofstartups.substack.comIndelible Ventures LLC Gestion et leadership Économie
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  • 🎙️ EP 17: 680 Million People. 11 Regulatory Systems. 1 Opportunity: Turning ASEAN’s Chaos into Capital.

    🎙️ EP 17: 680 Million People. 11 Regulatory Systems. 1 Opportunity: Turning ASEAN’s Chaos into Capital.
    Oct 29 2025
    THIS WEEK'S REALITY CHECKThe 47th ASEAN Summit just wrapped in Kuala Lumpur. Trump was there. China's Premier showed up. Everyone talked about integration.Meanwhile, the smartest founders in Southeast Asia are betting on something completely different: That the chaos isn't a bug—it's the entire competitive moat.This episode unpacks why ASEAN's fragmentation might be its biggest strategic advantage, and what founders need to do in the next 24 months before the window closes.WHAT WE COVER🌏 The ASEAN Integration ParadoxWhy 58 years of "working toward unity" might be missing the pointThe middle child syndrome: Too big to ignore, too fragmented to dominateWhy EU-style integration would probably destroy what makes SEA interesting💰 Why Silicon Valley Keeps Failing HereGoogle, Uber, Amazon—the graveyard of Western tech in Southeast AsiaHow Grab succeeded where Uber failed (hint: it's not just execution)The competitive moat that only local players understand🎯 The Strategic Non-Alignment PlaybookMalaysia's simultaneous partnerships with China, UK, and U.S.Singapore's multi-ecosystem strategyHow to become the Switzerland of the tech cold war🏙️ The Tier One City ThesisWhy KL has more in common with Bangkok than with Alor SetarHow to think about regional expansion without waiting for perfect alignmentThe borderless team concept that actually works⏰ The 24-Month WindowWhy the next 2 years determine the next 2 decadesWhat happens when ecosystems lock inFive tactical moves that separate exits from shutdownsKEY QUOTES"What looks like chaos is just Southeast Asia building its own operating system." - Kevin"Grab took 12 years to navigate 11 different regulatory systems. That's not a bug. That's the training ground that creates anti-fragile companies." - Kimberly"The tier one cities have more in common with each other than they do with tier two cities in their own countries." - Kevin"Strategic non-alignment isn't fence-sitting. It's positioning yourself as the translator when two superpowers don't speak the same language." - KimberlyFEATURED DATA POINTS🌏 ASEAN population: 680 million people (3rd largest market globally) 💰 Combined GDP: $4+ trillion 📊 ASEAN age: 58 years old (middle-aged in geopolitical terms) 🚀 Grab market presence: 12 years across 8 countries 🏢 SEA Group: 10+ years building in fragmented markets 🏛️ Number of ASEAN regulatory systems: 11 different frameworks 💳 Payment structures: 10+ different systems across regionTACTICAL TAKEAWAYS FOR FOUNDERSIf you're fundraising:Default to regional thinking from day onePlan for 24-30 month runways (not 18)Map policy advantages across markets systematicallyIf you're scaling:Build borderless teams with deep local knowledgeStudy government priorities in each marketEngage regulators as partners, not obstaclesIf you're entering SEA:Don't wait for perfect alignment—it's never comingFocus on tier one cities firstBuild for fragmentation, not uniformityRESOURCES MENTIONED📄 47th ASEAN Summit Outcomes (May 2025) 📄 Malaysia-US Trade Agreement Details 📄 ASEAN Digital Economy Framework 📄 Startup ASEAN Summit Agenda🔗 CONNECT WITH US:💼 LinkedIn: Kim Yeoh and Kevin Brockland 📧 Newsletter:https://seaofstartups.substack.com/ALSO ON: Apple Podcast and Youtube TAGS:ASEAN, Southeast Asia, startups, venture capital, regional expansion, fragmentation, competitive strategy, market entry, emerging markets, Grab, SEA Group, government relations, cross-border business, tech ecosystem, strategic partnerships This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit seaofstartups.substack.com
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    35 min
  • 🎙️ EP 16: The $1 Trillion AI Feedback Loop: Why OpenAI's Circular Deals Will Either Create the Future or Collapse Like Cisco in 2000

    🎙️ EP 16: The $1 Trillion AI Feedback Loop: Why OpenAI's Circular Deals Will Either Create the Future or Collapse Like Cisco in 2000
    Oct 16 2025
    Your grandmother probably thinks AI is just fancy autocomplete. Your investors think it’s the next industrial revolution. Both might be right. And that’s exactly the problem.Welcome to the most expensive game of musical chairs in human history.In October 2025, OpenAI—the company that made you question whether your job is safe—signed roughly $1 trillion worth of deals. Not over decades. Not in theoretical future value. One trillion dollars in commitments that locked together the biggest names in tech like a high-stakes game of Twister.Nvidia committed up to $100 billion to OpenAI’s data centers. AMD followed with tens of billions more. Oracle inked a $300 billion cloud contract. Each company took equity stakes in OpenAI while simultaneously becoming its customer and supplier.It’s beautiful. It’s terrifying. And if you’re building anything in Southeast Asia, it’s about to force your hand.The Flywheel That Might Break the WorldHere’s what’s actually happening beneath the surface of those press releases.OpenAI needs computing power—not just a lot, but an almost incomprehensible amount. We’re talking 20 gigawatts worth of data centers. That’s the output of 20 nuclear reactors, running continuously, just to train the next generation of AI models.They can’t pay for this upfront. So they’ve structured deals where chipmakers like Nvidia essentially finance OpenAI’s infrastructure in exchange for guaranteed orders. Nvidia’s money buys data centers filled with... Nvidia chips. Which OpenAI uses to train AI models. Which drives demand for more Nvidia chips. Which justifies Nvidia’s stock price. Which gives Nvidia more currency (in the form of valuable equity) to invest in... OpenAI.See the loop?Now multiply this across AMD, Oracle, Microsoft, and a web of cloud providers and startups. Everyone is simultaneously the investor, the customer, and the supplier. Capital flows in a perfect circle, each deal reinforcing the next, each rising stock price validating the previous bet.This is either the most sophisticated value-creation flywheel ever constructed, or it’s vendor financing on steroids.The Cisco Parallel Nobody Wants to Talk AboutIf you’re over 35, you remember what happened to Cisco Systems.Late 1990s. Internet boom. Cisco was the arms dealer of the dot-com gold rush—selling routers and networking equipment to every startup that raised venture capital. Their stock went parabolic. They briefly became the most valuable company on Earth.Then came the vendor financing strategy. Cisco would invest in or loan money to internet companies... so those companies could turn around and buy Cisco equipment. Revenue exploded. Wall Street cheered. Cisco executives became billionaires.Until the music stopped.When the dot-com bubble burst in 2000, Cisco discovered that a huge chunk of their “revenue” was actually just their own money cycling through customer companies. Those customers went bankrupt. Cisco’s stock dropped 90%. The playbook that seemed genius became the textbook example of bubble economics.Nvidia’s $100 billion stake in OpenAI looks uncomfortably similar.Is this time different? Maybe. AI is real in a way many dot-com businesses weren’t. ChatGPT has 200 million users. Companies are deploying AI in actual workflows, not just buying vaporware.But here’s the uncomfortable question: How much of AI’s current growth is real demand versus artificially inflated demand created by these circular financing arrangements?Why This Matters for Southeast Asia (And Why You Have Less Time Than You Think)While this trillion-dollar poker game plays out in Silicon Valley and Shenzhen, Southeast Asia is being forced to make a choice it didn’t ask for.Do we join this ecosystem on whatever terms we can get? Or do we try to build our own capabilities knowing we’re years behind?The honest answer: We need to do both. And we have maybe 24 months before the window closes.Here’s why the timeline is so tight.Right now, these mega-deals are still being structured. Standards are still fluid. The technology stack is still evolving. There’s room for regional players to position themselves as integration layers, deployment partners, or specialized service providers.But once these circular deals lock in—once Nvidia’s chips only work seamlessly with Microsoft’s cloud which only optimizes for OpenAI’s models—the interoperability window slams shut. You’re either inside the ecosystem or permanently outside it.And if you’re outside? Good luck competing when your opponent has access to computing power you can’t afford, AI models you can’t replicate, and partnership networks you can’t penetrate.This is the new digital divide, and it’s being drawn right now.The Robot Revolution Nobody’s Pricing InIf the AI investment loop was just about software and cloud services, we could debate whether it’s sustainable. But there’s a second wave coming that changes everything: ...
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    50 min
  • 🎙️ EP 15:When Regulators Win: What Singapore's Robotaxi Rollout Reveals About the Future of Deep Tech"

    🎙️ EP 15:When Regulators Win: What Singapore's Robotaxi Rollout Reveals About the Future of Deep Tech"
    Oct 9 2025
    When Regulators Win: What Singapore's Robotaxi Rollout Reveals About the Future of Deep TechWhile Silicon Valley's AV companies fought regulators and burned billions, Singapore just orchestrated the future of transportation. WeRide partnered with Grab. Pony.ai partnered with ComfortDelGro. Both launching in 2025.This isn't just about self-driving cars. It's about how deep tech scales when you work WITH regulators instead of against them.Meanwhile, Series A funding collapsed 23% year-over-year. Fundraising timelines stretched to 3.5 years for many companies. The easy money era is over.This episode connects autonomous vehicles, strategic partnerships, and the brutal fundraising reality of 2025. If you're building deep tech or raising in Southeast Asia, this is required listening.WHAT WE COVER🚗 The Singapore AV StrategyWhy WeRide + Grab partnership changes everythingWhat Pony.ai brings to ComfortDelGroHow Singapore's Land Transport Authority orchestrates (not just approves) innovation💸 The Series A ApocalypseFunding down 23%, deal volume down 18%Median time Seed→Series A: 20 months (but 3.5 years for many)Hot sectors vs cold sectors: Where money is actually flowing🎯 Strategic Partnerships vs Solo ExecutionThe question every deep tech founder must askWhy being a vendor means you have no leverageHow to become a strategic partner instead🔥 The AI Hype Reality CheckWhat investors actually ask about AI startupsHow to tell if you're AI-washing your pitchWhen to force the AI angle (hint: never)📊 What's Actually Working in 2025The death of triple-triple-double-double-double5 things Southeast Asia founders must internalizeWhy government backing is your fastest path to scaleIn This Episode:[00:00] Intro: Continuing from climate tech and policy dynamics [02:01] WeRide + Grab and Pony.ai + ComfortDelGro partnerships in Singapore [05:22] US vs Singapore AV playbook: Chaos vs orchestration [10:13] Why Punggol is the perfect testbed for autonomous vehicles [15:16] Building trust through strategic partnerships and familiar brands [18:24] The fundraising apocalypse: Series A down 23%[22:06] Hot vs cold sectors: What's actually getting funded in 2025 [25:12] The death of triple-triple-double-double growth expectations [27:24] Why Southeast Asia needed this correction[31:52] Practical advice: Extended runway planning for founders💡 KEY TAKEAWAYS:✅ Strategic partnerships > solo execution in deep tech✅ Series A funding is down 23% YoY—plan for 2x longer fundraising timelines ✅ If you're a vendor, you have no leverage. Be a strategic partner. ✅ Singapore's government-orchestrated approach scales faster than Silicon Valley's chaos ✅ Extended runway (24-30 months) isn't optional—it's survival📊 FEATURED DATA POINTS & SOURCES :📉 Series A dollars deployed: Down 23% YoY 📉 Series A deal volume: Down 18% YoY ⏱️ Median Seed→Series A time: 20 months (up to 3.5 years for many) 🚗 WeRide autonomous driving: 50M+ kilometres 🚗 Waymo 2024 rides: 4M+ rides, 96M projected miles by mid-2025 🇸🇬 Pony.ai-ComfortDelGro MoU: July 2024 🇸🇬 Grab Ai.R launch: September 2025SOURCES: Grab Singapore press release (Sept 2025) Pony.ai investor relations announcements (Sept 2025)Land Transport Authority AV trial dataCarta Series A market reportWaymo operational metricsFOR FOUNDERS LISTENINGIf you're fundraising right now:Plan for timelines 2x longer than you thinkRaise 24-30 months runway, not 18Have burn reduction plan BEFORE you need itIf you're building deep tech:Identify established players who need youPosition as strategic partner, not vendorWork WITH regulators, not around themIf you're in Southeast Asia:Stop copying Silicon Valley playbooksGovernment isn't your enemy—it's your accelerantBuild for the market you're actually in🎙️ ABOUT SEA OF STARTUPS:Sea of Startups is your weekly reality check for building in Southeast Asia. Hosted by Kimberly Yeoh and Kevin Brockland, we cover what's actually happening in the ecosystem—no fluff, no hype, just the truth about fundraising, regulation, and what it takes to build here.🔗 CONNECT WITH US:💼 LinkedIn: Kimberly Yeohhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/weiisyuenyeohacmacgma/ | Kevin Brockland:https://www.linkedin.com/in/kbrockland/📧 Newsletter: https://seaofstartups.substack.com 📌 MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:WeRide (autonomous vehicle technology)Grab (Southeast Asia ride-hailing)Pony.ai (Chinese AV company)ComfortDelGro (Singapore transportation)Waymo (Google's AV division)Cruise (GM's AV company - shut down SF operations)Land Transport Authority SingaporeCarta (startup cap table platform)🏷️ TAGS:#AutonomousVehicles #Singapore #StartupFunding #SeriesA #SoutheastAsia #VentureCapital #Waymo #Grab #WeRide #PonyAI #DeepTech #AIStartups #FundraisingTips #StartupStrategy #TechInvestment #SmartCities #Robotaxi #ComfortDelGro #LandTransportAuthority #SEAStartups💬 JOIN THE CONVERSATION:What are you seeing in your market? Are strategic ...
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    33 min
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