Waves in the Finoverse

Matt White is the AI CTO at the Linux Foundation. He just got back from visiting DeepSeek, Moonshot, Zhipu, Qwen, and Minimax in China.

In this episode:

- What he saw inside China's top AI labs that the West doesn't know

- 4 Chinese breakthroughs US labs are quietly building on

- Why export controls backfired and forced China to innovate faster

- 150 humanoid robot startups, China builds the body, America builds the brain

- The biggest mistake enterprises make with AI

- Where he'd put $1M in AI right now

Chapters

00:00 Intro

00:54 Inside China's AI Labs

09:43 DeepSeek's Culture & the Distillation Debate

17:03 Open Source Models vs Commercial APIs

27:28 How Startups Should Choose Their AI Stack

41:17 Agentic AI Safety & Multi-Agent Systems

53:08 Enterprise AI Mistakes & Where to Start

01:08:26 The Future of Agentic Commerce & One-Person Companies

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Maxim Afanasyev has been coding large language models for over 20 years, long before the AI boom. He's an applied AI expert who's worked at McKinsey building AI transformations and now leads AI strategy at Alphabet.

Maxim and Anthony discuss why 95% of AI applications don't deliver bottom-line impact, the global shortage of applied AI experts (only 200 mature professionals worldwide), and why banks are solving yesterday's problems instead of tomorrow's value propositions.

They cover why LLMs became persuasion machines by learning human biases, how customers are now smarter than banks because of AI agents, and why agentic payments will force financial institutions to rethink their entire business model. Maxim also explains why cutting 20% of your workforce signals that your CEO failed at transformation.

00:00 Intro

01:08 Coding LLMs 20 Years Ago in a Soviet-Era AI Lab

06:02 How RLHF Turned Neural Networks into Machines for Persuasion

10:48 From AI Winter to AI Hype: What Actually Changed

13:40 Why 95% of AI Applications Fail to Deliver Bottom-Line Impact

20:22 The 200 Applied AI Experts Problem

25:27 How to Nurture Applied AI Talent Through Experimentation

32:52 Why Bank Chatbots Create Dead Weight Loss

42:48 How AI-Smart Customers Are Breaking Legacy Banking Models

52:08 Asia's Lead in AI Adoption & Why Banks Must Rethink Value

01:04:14 Agentic Payments, Trust & the Renaissance of Physical Experience

01:16:25 Agents, Regulation & the Future of Human-AI Interaction

01:25:00 AI Deepfakes, Recruitment Fraud & the URL-to-IRL Shift

01:35:04 Why CEOs Who Cut Jobs for AI Are Really Admitting Failure

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As this year sets a $200B record for AI funding, Esther Wong and Antoine Blondeau debate over the future of AI investing at Hong Kong FinTech Week x StartmeupHK Festival 2025.

Wong is a former SenseTime executive and one of Asia’s leading AI infrastructure investors, and Blondeau is an early OpenAI investor and a pioneer behind the foundational technology that became Siri.

The two investors sit down with Anthony Sar and tackle the biggest question shaping AI investing today: will the real returns come from AI infrastructure or AI applications?

It’s a rare, unfiltered look at how the smartest people in AI are thinking today.

Connect with us here: 

Esther Wong: https://www.linkedin.com/in/esther-wong-76a6a410a/

Antoine Blondeau: https://www.linkedin.com/in/antoineblondeau/

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

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

Timestamps

00:00 Trailer

00:55 Introduction

02:14 Current State of AI Investment

04:19 Infrastructure vs. Application Layer

06:38 Future of AI and Investment Strategies

19:03 Advice for New AI Investors

24:13 Final Thoughts and Advice for Founders

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From Jamie Dimon and Larry Fink to even President Trump, everyone is moving toward crypto.

In this conversation, Richard Teng, CEO of Binance, one of the world’s largest digital asset ecosystems with 300 million users, explains why this shift is happening now.

Recorded live at Hong Kong FinTech Week, Richard shares what he is seeing behind the scenes as crypto begins to outpace traditional finance and as governments around the world approach him to rethink their digital asset strategies.

Connect with us here:

Richard Teng: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-teng-3497b527/ 

Binance: https://www.linkedin.com/company/binance/ 

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

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

00:00 Trailer

00:59 Transformation in the Financial Sector

02:11 Institutional Adoption and Market Maturity

08:28 Compliance and Regulatory Challenges

12:22 Global Crypto Adoption and Strategic Moves

20:09 AI and Blockchain Convergence

23:01 Personal Insights and Advice for the Future

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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/

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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/

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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/

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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

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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

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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

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