In the west, AI and machine learning startups and tech giants of all stripes have been doing the M&A dance. Google, Apple and the like have been busy snapping up AI/ML startups and according to CB Insights, 30 companies in the space have been acquired since 2011 (five in this year alone).
Activity in Asia has been decidedly quieter, with AI research and development mostly happening at the institutional and corporate level.
In the region, it seems that Japan, South Korea and China are front runners in terms of AI activity. While Japan's Toyota is putting in $1 billion to ramp up AI research, mainly into autonomous vehicles, the South Korean government is also reportedly injecting $860 million into an AI research institute. As for China,
While big companies and governments in Asia are joining the global AI race with ample resources at their disposal, why is there a general lack of early-stage startup participation in the east?
Tak Lo, the creator of Zeroth, a new Hong Kong-based accelerator for AI and machine learning, thinks it might be a pipeline problem which starts at the early stage of startup growth.
“I think the quality of AI research and development between Asia and the west is very even. What’s missing is the volume. In the Valley, for example, everyone is doing AI and Machine Learning stuff. In London, you definitely see a lot of the same volume. In Asia, the technical expertise is there, but we need to increase the opportunities for these founders to come out and for ideas to be developed,” he said.
Zeroth's founder, Tak Lo. Photo Credit: Tak Lo
Zeroth, like Techstars where Lo was a former director, will be a mentor-driven program and startups will have support from the likes of Skype co-founder Jaan Tallinn and head of Techstars London Jon Bradford. "It's important to have these mentors because of the level of AI and machine learning expertise that they have, the familiarity with the space and their experience dealing with extremely technical companies and founders," said Lo.
Lo has also invested in AI startups through his venture fund Mind Fund which he started when he moved back to his native Hong Kong from London eight months ago. It was his time at Techstars that fueled his passion for supporting early stage ventures as he believes it’s when entrepreneurial creativity is at its most unfettered.
“I like that early stage stuff -- it’s more fun and I feel like I can add a lot more value. At Techstars, I worked with first-time and second-time founders, people who are really raw and I feel that that’s where you can make the biggest impact as those are the more ambitious ideas,” he said.
Having recently moved from London, one of the world’s most mature tech ecosystems, Hong Kong’s startup scene is nascent in comparison. Lo believes that the talent pool in Hong Kong is promising but there’ll be a lot of leg work needed to be done in terms of ecosystem building.
“There’s a lot of money in Hong Kong and it hasn’t gone into supporting startups yet. If you take a look from a social perspective, Hong Kong has only one generation of entrepreneurs. I believe the hunger is there but we need to have more people doing things at the tech component as there is a lot of raw talent here,” he said.
“Early stage capital is also important as giving little bits of money to start ideas will be good for Hong Kong. Increased angel investment activity could also fill this gap.”
[Edit 8/3] The article initially neglected to include China-related examples of AI activity.
