Talent Gaps, AI Adoption & Southeast Asia’s Startup Winter, China Subsidies & Sequoia’s Split - E626

Jeremy Au explored how talent, policy, and capital flows shape startup ecosystems across Southeast Asia, India, and China. The discussion covered talent strengths and weaknesses across countries, the role of industrial policy and government subsidies, the challenges of building large language models outside the US and China, and the impact of US China geopolitical tensions on venture capital flows.

01:18 Southeast Asia talent rankings: Jeremy explains Asia Partners’ view that Singapore and Indonesia rank higher in talent, while Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia sit in the middle, and Thailand lags.

04:01 Quick commerce lessons: He compares how India’s delivery startups slowed timelines to survive, showing why founders must adapt to market development levels.

05:10 TSMC and industrial policy: Jeremy highlights Taiwan’s deliberate investment in semiconductors as a case study of state-driven strategy creating global champions.

07:30 Policy shapes business: He outlines the chain: “Policy leads to law, law leads to business, and business leads to everything else.”

15:08 Sequoia’s split: Jeremy explains how US–China tensions and new rules like reverse CFIUS forced Sequoia to separate its US, China, and Southeast Asia/India arms.

Watch, listen or read the full insight at https://www.bravesea.com/blog/talent-gaps-rising

Get transcripts, startup resources & community discussions at www.bravesea.com

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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bravesea

English: Spotify | YouTube | Apple Podcasts

Bahasa Indonesia: Spotify | YouTube | Apple Podcasts

Chinese: Spotify | YouTube | Apple Podcasts

Vietnamese: Spotify | YouTube | Apple Podcasts