Edith Yeung is an early-stage investor, General Partner at Race Capital, and was among the first investors in Solana, a public blockchain platform celebrated as one of the “best venture investments of all time.”

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Edith connects founders with capital and mentorship across Hong Kong and San Francisco through initiatives like FoundersHK, and regularly writes and speaks on venture capital and women in leadership.

Join Anthony Sar, CEO and Co-Founder of Finoverse, for a conversation with Edith Yeung on the common pitfalls international founders face when raising in the US, and how to strategically grow and validate markets before entering Silicon Valley.

Connect with us here:

1. Edith Yeung- https://www.linkedin.com/in/edithyeung/

2. Anthony Sar- https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonysar/

3. Finoverse- https://www.linkedin.com/company/finnovasia/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Philip Johnston is shaping the next frontier of digital infrastructure with Starcloud, building space-based data centers to meet AI’s surging energy needs. The company raised $21M in seed funding before launching a single satellite, a “record number,” according to Philip, and has been recognized as a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer.

Before Starcloud, Philip founded Opontia, raising over $50M to acquire and grow digital-first brands. Earlier, he worked at McKinsey & Company on projects with national space agencies, and he holds an MPA from Harvard amongst many more degrees.

Join Anthony Sar, CEO and Co-Founder of Finoverse, for a conversation with Philip Johnston on the race to build orbital data centers, why AI’s growth threatens to overheat the planet, and why space may be the only place left to grow.

Connect with us here:

1. Philip Johnston- https://www.linkedin.com/in/philipjohnst0n/

2. Anthony Sar- https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonysar/

3. Finoverse- https://www.linkedin.com/company/finnovasia/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dr. Hon Weng Chong is the CEO and Founder of Cortical Labs, the company pioneering computers powered by living neurons. A physician turned technologist, Dr. Hon’s path began with projects like bringing Xbox consoles to children’s hospitals and creating diagnostic tools for childhood pneumonia.

Today, Cortical Labs has raised over $10M to build the CL1, a bio-computer powered by 200,000 human brain cells that can learn to play Pong in minutes. Researchers can rent access for about $300 a week, a glimpse into a future where biological machines may outlearn silicon by adapting in real time with far less data.

Join Anthony Sar, CEO and Co-Founder of Finoverse, for a conversation with Dr. Hon Weng Chong on the science, ethics, and implications of building neuron-powered machines, and why the next frontier of AI might not be silicon at all.

Connect with us here:

1. Dr. Hon Weng Chong- https://www.linkedin.com/in/hochong/

2. Anthony Sar- https://www.linkedin.com/in/anthonysar/

3. Finoverse- https://www.linkedin.com/company/finnovasia/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Steve Monaghan, a pioneering leader in digital transformation and AI innovation in financial services, shares his insights on the evolving role of technology in banking. With a background spanning aviation, banking, and entrepreneurship, Steve has developed groundbreaking solutions, including the world’s first AI underwriting platform for life and health insurance. A former senior executive at AIA and DBS, he has been at the forefront of leveraging technology to drive growth and redefine industries.

Join Steve and Anthony Sar, CEO and Co-Founder of Finoverse, as they discuss the challenges and opportunities of adopting AI in large institutions, the role of startups in driving innovation, and how to build trust and foster a culture of curiosity in the age of advanced technologies.

00:00 Setting Realistic AI Expectations in Banking

05:35 Balancing Risk Management and Innovation

10:34 Building Trust in FinTech and AI

23:08 The Future of Trust in Technology

33:53 Embracing AI to Amplify Human Potential

43:59 The CEO’s Role in Driving Innovation

50:55 Overcoming Fear and Balancing Expertise

01:00:25 Newton’s Laws of Organizational Change

01:03:58 Building a Rebel Alliance for Change

01:16:38 Curiosity and Continuous Learning in Innovation

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Esther Wong, the CEO and Co-Founder of 3C AGI Partners, one of the leading AI venture funds out of Hong Kong. A former founding leader at SenseTime, she steered strategic investments and raised over $5 billion to fuel Asia’s AI powerhouse. With 20+ years in high-level roles at institutions like J.P. Morgan, Barclays, and CICC, Esther blends financial acumen with tech insight.

Join Esther Wong and Anthony Sar, CEO and Co-Founder of Finoverse, for an engaging discussion on the future of AI. 

00:00 Introduction and Esther Wong’s Expertise

04:25 Innovation in AI Infrastructure vs. Applications

06:10 Commoditization of LLMs and the Evolution of AI Giants

10:55 Risks and Biases with Intelligence Technologies

15:37 The Future of AGI and Society

23:08 Bioengineering and Neurocomputing

30:30 Metaverse and Augmented Reality

44:07  Esther’s Investment Philosophy and Predictions

58:07 Space Technology and AI Development

1:03:53 Challenges in AI Applications and Infrastructure

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Antoine Blondeau, a 25-year veteran entrepreneur, investor, and AI pioneer who developed technologies behind Apple’s Siri and predictive text systems used worldwide.

As Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Alpha Intelligence Capital he is managing a $500M fund that backs breakthrough AI startups globally.

Antoine Blondeau joins Anthony Sar, CEO and Co-Founder of Finoverse, to share rare insights on building scalable AI businesses that matter.

00:00 - Lessons Learned from 25 Years in AI

04:06 - Common Mistakes in Startups

09:59 - Promising Areas for Productivity, Healthcare, and More

11:30 - AI’s Role in the Future of Entertainment

12:52 - Transforming Healthcare with Technology

16:49 - Personalizing Education and Lifelong Learning

20:08 - Trust and Adoption of AI Systems

23:37 - Intelligent Technology’s Impact on Jobs and Workforce Evolution

38:16 - Nvidia and the Future of Computing Infrastructure

44:57 - AI Meets Crypto: Opportunities and Challenges

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join the extraordinary Karen Hao, an award-winning journalist and investigative reporter, and Anthony Sar, Co-Founder and CEO of Finoverse, as they explore the intersection of cutting-edge technology and journalism.

Karen, the acclaimed author of Empire of AI—winner of the Best Technology Book of the Year Award and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Nonfiction—shares her journey from traditional journalism to becoming a leading voice in artificial intelligence reporting. Anthony, as host, brings his expertise in technology and innovation to guide this captivating conversation.

This episode dives into Karen’s in-depth research on OpenAI, covering critical topics like:

00:00 From Engineering to Investigative Journalism

03:59 The Disconnect at OpenAI

07:11 Cognitive Dissonance in Silicon Valley

9:58 The Pursuit of Artificial Intelligence

12:22 The Dark Side of AI Measurement

14:52 The Ethics of Recreating Human Intelligence

18:11 The Impact of AI on Employment

22:23 Effective Altruism and AI

30:27 The Secrecy of OpenAI

32:40 The Coup at OpenAI

41:55 The Role of Family and Personal Allegations

47:01 Anthropic vs. OpenAI

52:23 The Environmental Impact of AI

55:29 The Future of AI Development

1:02:08 A Call to Action for Ethical AI

Prepare to confront the ethical dilemmas at the heart of AI development in this thought-provoking discussion.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode, we’re joined by Samantha Yap, Founder and CEO of YAP Global. Samantha and her team aim to share the stories of crypto companies and projects that are bringing true value to the world.

We discuss:

- The challenges for PR in the crypto industry.

- Why finding quality crypto PR talent is difficult.

- The common misconceptions about crypto in the media.

- The most relevant marketing channels for crypto companies.

- Common mistakes traditional media companies make when entering the crypto space.

- Why crypto domains and wallets need to serve a real function.

- What success looks like for crypto PR campaigns.

- The importance of having a crisis communication plan in place.

- Advice for newcomers looking to enter the crypto PR space.

Thanks for listening to Waves in the Finoverse, brought to you by Finoverse. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review to help get the word out about the show. And be sure to subscribe so you never miss another insightful conversation.

Resources: 

- https://yapglobal.com/

#Fintech #Crypto #Web3

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode, we’re joined by Aleksander Leonard Larsen, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer at Sky Mavis. As a leading developer of blockchain games and infrastructure, Sky Mavis aims to further the mission of building player-owned economies.

We discuss:

- How Aleksander transitioned from competitive gamer to business founder.

- The current scale of blockchain gaming.

- Differences between blockchain games and traditional games.

- Details about what it means to “play and earn.”

- The importance of developing games that induce a flow state.

- Why it's vital to align gaming incentives between players, developers and speculators. 

- Challenges with gaming interoperability.

- Why digital scarcity requires the use of a blockchain. 

- How to build virtual worlds that people find value and meaning in.

- Challenges with placing blockchain games within traditional app stores.

Aleksander Leonard Larsen - https://www.linkedin.com/in/psycheout86/

Sky Mavis - https://www.linkedin.com/company/skymavis/

Thanks for listening to Waves in the Finoverse, brought to you by Finoverse. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review to help get the word out about the show. And be sure to subscribe so you never miss another insightful conversation.

Resources:

- https://www.skymavis.com/

#Fintech #Crypto #Web3

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode, we’re joined by Antonio Juliano, Founder & CEO at dYdX. As an industry-leading decentralised exchange, dYdX aims to increase the adoption of a variety of crypto financial services and products.

We discuss:

- The important role of transparency for DeFi platforms.

- Antonio’s view of the current state of the DeFi industry.

- What dYdX does and what problems it’s trying to solve.

- Why financial services should be run by code instead of intermediaries.

- What full decentralisation means in DeFi.

- Current challenges in scaling DeFi.

- Details around governance within DeFi platforms.

- How decision-making and management work at dYdX.

Antonio Juliano - https://www.linkedin.com/in/antoniojuliano/

dYdX - https://www.linkedin.com/company/dydx/

Thanks for listening to Waves in the Finoverse, brought to you by Finoverse. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review to help get the word out about the show. And be sure to subscribe so you never miss another insightful conversation.

Resources:

- https://dydx.exchange/

- finoverse.com

#Fintech #Crypto #Web3

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode, we’re joined by Andre Cronje, Director at Fantom Foundation. Fantom develops high-performance, scalable and secure technology that supports a wide range of decentralized applications (dApps) and services on the Fantom Network.

We discuss:

- Some of the stigmas and challenges surrounding the DeFi community.

- The need for DeFi culture to mature and be taken more seriously.

- Andre’s role at Fantom Foundation and the types of projects he's been working on.

- The difference between trying to regulate cryptocurrencies and regulating crypto service providers.

- Some of the barriers to the adoption of the decentralized web.

- Specific use cases aligned with Fantom's capabilities.

- Details around how Fantom increased its transaction and consensus speeds.

- The blockchain tech improvements that are necessary for the decentralized web to really flourish.

- The importance of gas monetization for dApp developers.

Resources:

- https://www.fantom.foundation/

Thanks for listening to Waves in the Finoverse, brought to you by Finoverse. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a review to help get the word out about the show. And be sure to subscribe so you never miss another insightful conversation.

#Fintech #Crypto #Web3

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What will the internet of the future look like? Will it be a place of freedom, creativity, and connectivity? We ask Sam Hamilton the Creative Director of Decentraland how his dream of a digital future is coming to fruition. What is it like walking down a 3D virtual street, going to a VR concert, or designing your next outfit inspired by a Metaverse Fashion show?

Decentraland is hosting its annual Decentraland Metaverse Fashion Week next week, so if you want to check it out head to mvfw.org.

For more on this and all our episodes head to www.finoverse.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How do you spot the unicorns of the future? How do you figure out what will be the next big thing in FinTech? Initialized Capital invests seed money into the early-stage start-ups of the Web3 world and it's Brett Gibson's job to find founders with a dream we can all believe in. And they have a good track record - from investing in Coinbase to Reddit to Rippling - they've definitely backed some winners.

For more on this and all our episodes head to www.finoverse.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the second part of our International Women's Day special, where we are talking with Sheila Warren, Chief Exec of the Crypto Council for Innovation. Toady we look at crypto criminal behaviour, the internet before the internet, and the impact of crypto on the war in Ukraine.

For more on this and all our episodes head to www.finoverse.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To celebrate this International Women’s Day 2023 our guest today joins us for a special two-part interview. With us is Sheila Warren, Chief Exec of the Crypto Council for Innovation. In this first part, we’ll be covering what the US is investing in and how China is influencing the crypto eco-system.

Listen to the second half of our discussion with Sheila Warren out tomorrow!

For more on this and all our episodes head to www.finoverse.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is FTX the new swear word? How will the world react to the new regulations spreading across the crypto globe? We speak to Angelina Kwan about how she felt the moment she realised FTX was going under. We find out how it's impacted the global crypto markets, from the US to China to Dubai and beyond. Plus we will give you insights into new regulatory announcements hot off the SFC press here in Hong Kong.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week we are trying to work out how we can get more cryptos into your wallet. With bonus coins up for grabs, will spend-to-earn bring crypto to the masses? How do you go from a good idea to a deal with VISA? We speak to Bloom Coin's founder Justin Chan to find out. 

For more on this and all our episodes head to www.finoverse.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Can you crack the crypto code? Can data predict the market? We catch up with the founder and CEO of Coin Metrics Tim Rice to find out what the data is telling us and how to use this information. Does having a blockchain node in your office really give you inside intel?

To find out more head to www.finoverse.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.