What happens in Asia increasingly shapes tomorrow's world. Yet people still underestimate the developments unfolding in China, South Korea, and Japan—the emerging technologies, shifting markets, and groundbreaking deals. We want to change that. We talk to entrepreneurs, founders, and other inspiring leaders about their journeys, businesses, and products.
About the hosts:
Thomas Derksen is an entrepreneur, bestselling author, and content creator with over 10 million followers on social media. Recognized as one of the most influential Western voices on China, Thomas offers deep insights into the country's culture, society, and rapidly evolving digital economy.
LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/afuthomas/
Michael Broza is an entrepreneur with extensive experience in fintech and AI-powered M&A, connecting the M&A community throughout the German-speaking region. He now develops advanced AI-powered tools to enhance efficiency, primarily in the M&A sector. Based in Shanghai, Michael regularly provides insights into Asia's tech and venture ecosystems, builds strategic networks, and actively shares his knowledge through social media and direct community engagement.
LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-broza/
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Ep. 17: This Frenchman Built a Humanoid Robot in China
"I did my best. Next, do the same in France." - Jules Thevenon, The Forge Humanoid Robotics
A French founder spent 10 years in China, built a humanoid robot, and couldn't raise a cent. His engineers left for Unitree and Agibot. So he closed his Shanghai company and is starting over in France. We sat down with Jules Thevenon in Shanghai to ask why.
In this episode:
Why 10 years in China ended with closing his humanoid robot startup
The funding wall for a foreign deep-tech startup in Chin...
20 May 2026
Ep. 16: He Left Germany to Build a $100M USD China Fund
"If I help people in the West to make money in China through financial returns by investing in real China technology — maybe then they will believe it." - Rafael Ratzel, TH Capital
For years Rafael Ratzel went home to Europe trying to tell people what China is actually like. Lifelong friends called him brainwashed. So he stopped arguing and raised a $100M USD deep tech fund instead, because if he made his friends money in Chinese technology they would have to come see it themselves. Rafael l...
13 May 2026
Ep. 15: He Left the US Army to Build Asia's First AI Fund
"I did a deck eight years ago around why this is the Asian century." - Tak Lo, Komputational Kulture
The US looked at AI and saw Armageddon. China looked at AI and said this is great, we should embrace it. Tak Lo bet on that gap eight years before ChatGPT made it obvious. He went from US Army engineer to Booz Allen to London Business School to founding Asia's first AI-focused accelerator in Hong Kong in 2017, with around 50 portfolio companies, one IPO, and two acquisitions before Animoca to...
3 May 2026
Ep. 14: He Left Sweden for China to Build GPS for Robots
"The AI revolution has almost definitionally not begun until we get physical AI." - Nils Pihl, Auki Labs
Nils Pihl left Sweden for China to fix one missing piece of the internet, a spatial layer that gives robots, AR glasses, and AI agents a shared sense of where they actually are. His company Auki Labs just closed Sweden's largest retailer as its first big enterprise customer, is putting store-manager robots into shops in 2026, and is calling out Western VCs for being scared of breaking $10...
27 Apr 2026
Ep. 13: $212K Ad Spend, Amex Capped Mid-Campaign, Still Hit $1M
"I think I probably had 10k in the bank account. This thing doesn't work, then I'm screwed." - Oliver Masson, Blisstil
Oliver built sleep headphones alone for six years, burned through $700,000 of his own and his family's money, and cried in a Shenzhen hotel on his first night in China. Then he set a $10,000 Kickstarter goal and raised over $1,000,000 in 30 days.
In this episode:
Crossing $1M alone: "you're never ecstatic, just more tired"
36 prototypes to make soft foam and hard electron...
16 Apr 2026
Ep. 12: He Left Apple to Fix China's Biggest Problem for Americans
"I don't think that Shenzhen's manufacturing ecosystem will be replaced in the next decade. I don't think it's possible." - Joshua Woodard, The Sparrows
Josh grew up on the south side of Chicago, studied mechanical engineering at MIT, completed a Schwarzman Scholarship at Tsinghua, and spent four years at Apple managing iPhone and Mac camera production in Shenzhen. In April 2025 he quit to start The Sparrows, a manufacturing consultancy helping Western companies navigate China's supply chai...
8 Apr 2026
Ep. 11: He Lived in a Chinese Factory for 5 Months
"The speed at which you solve problems on the factory floor is the speed at which your product ships." - Ryan Dunwoody
Ryan was 24 when he flew to Shenzhen with a suitcase and a crowdfunding campaign to deliver. No Mandarin. No manufacturing experience. The factory gave him a bunk bed in the workers' dormitory. He took it. Five months later, the first production run shipped. Ten years later, he's still there.
In this episode:
Entrepreneurial beginnings: sex toys at 14, megaphone marketi...
1 Apr 2026
Ep. 10: She Flew to China to Scream at a Factory
"I lost everything up there when I was hiking. The monk said: Congratulations." - Denise Wu, rootique Denise started at Ogilvy in Hong Kong, launched Foodpanda as the first employee, scaled a bike-sharing startup to the US in three months, and then quit everything to build a hardware device for hair loss treatment. Alone. No co-founder, no R&D background. She spent 300,000 RMB of her own money on the first mold and flew from New York to Shenzhen to scream at a factory boss before Chinese ...
23 Mar 2026
Ep. 9: This Frenchman Built 3 Hardware Companies in China's Toughest City
"Don't be afraid to pivot." - Laurent Le Pen Laurent moved to Shenzhen in 2007 when nobody knew the city. He watched the iPhone launch live from a Philips Mobile office, built the first million-dollar Kickstarter smartwatch out of Shenzhen, pivoted when Apple entered the market, co-founded an oral care brand that became #1 in Poland, and just launched an AI productivity device in Japan. 18 years, three companies, one city. In this episode: His grandfather was a French soldier in China during ...
3 Mar 2026
Ep. 8: He Designed Robot Labs for MIT. Then Realized All the Parts Came from China.
"Guess how many companies in the US make actuators for robots? Zero." - Tuo Liu, Robotuo Tuo grew up in Shenzhen, spent a decade in the US designing robotics labs for MIT and Harvard, and moved back to build the largest open-source robotics community connecting global founders with Shenzhen's hardware ecosystem. His maps of 150+ humanoid companies in China went viral. His verdict: the next decade of robotics will be built in the Greater Bay Area. In this episode: "Raise in SF, spend in Shenzh...
25 Feb 2026
Ep. 7: He Borrowed $300,000 to Build a Physical AI Tamagotchi
"I believe I will do it." - Irving Gao, Sweekar 200 people received Irving's first AI robot. One month later, only 1 was still using it. He crashed, pivoted, took out ¥2,000,000 (~$300,000) in personal loans, and built Sweekar – the world's first physically growing AI pocket pet. CES media called it "breaking news." In this episode: How he gave up a PhD at USTC to take out a $300K loan and start a companyWorking at Unitree Robotics, SenseTime & Shanghai AI Lab before going soloThe first p...
18 Feb 2026
Ep. 6: He's 23 and Visited 500 Robot Companies in China
"Look for a really honest team that is iterating fast. A lot of demos are fake." - Francesco Crivelli Francesco (23) grew up between Switzerland and Chile, had 30% school attendance, slept in immigrant housing as a teenager - and ended up at UC Berkeley building robots. In 2 months in China, he visited over 500 robotics companies and now builds a platform to deploy robots in the real world. What we cover: Why every hardware founder needs to come to ShenzhenThe real cost of deploying a robot (...
11 Feb 2026
Ep. 5: He Used ChatGPT to Build the Smartest Dog Toy at CES
"My dog is so lonely at home. I want to fix that." Jacky is 24. He scraped 1 million social media comments, fed them to ChatGPT, and built a smart remote-control ball for dogs in Shenzhen. Featured at CES 2026 and covered by CNET, PePeHola lets you play with your dog from anywhere in the world. Kickstarter launches February 26. In this episode, we discuss: • AI-powered market research: How ChatGPT analyzed 1 million comments to find the real problem • The InnoX Academy: Backed by DJI's co-fou...
4 Feb 2026
Ep. 4: Why Your $500/Month Pilates Studio Is A Scam
"It's a rich people sport." Pilates sessions cost $100 each. Monthly memberships run $500. Eric, a designer from Shenzhen, said: "We could do better." He built a smart, foldable Pilates reformer in his apartment. 48 hours after launching on Kickstarter: $400,000 raised. In this episode, we discuss: • The "rich people sport" problem: Why Pilates costs $500/month and how Eric is changing that • From back pain to business: How chronic desk job pain led to a $400K Kickstarter • Shenzhen speed: 3D...
28 Jan 2026
Ep. 3: He Built an AI Grill That Could Replace Your BBQ
Sean is from Zibo, China's most famous barbecue city. At just 24, he co-founded Cozytime and built the Lumo, an AI-powered smart grill that brings real charcoal-style barbecue indoors with zero smoke. Supported by InnoX, the accelerator founded by DJI's creator, Sean and his team trained their AI on over 100kg of meat. The Lumo uses infrared technology instead of hot air, giving you that authentic smoky flavor right in your apartment. In this episode, we discuss: • From BBQ Capital to Tech Fo...
22 Jan 2026
Ep. 2: She Got Abu Dhabi Royals to Invest Millions
Audrey Quan went from college student to founder with investments from Abu Dhabi's royal family. At just 20-something, she built an AI company that impressed some of the wealthiest investors in the Middle East. In this episode, Audrey shares her journey from studying mass communication in China to creating AI digital humans and translation devices that caught the attention of investors in Saudi Arabia and Abu Dhabi. In this episode, we discuss: • The Royal Investment Story: How Audrey attract...
12 Jan 2026
Ep. 1: He Quit His Job in Germany and Moved to China
"I quit my job in Germany and moved to China without knowing what I wanted to do here. For a lot of people, it's crazy. For me, it makes no sense to stay in Europe." In the premiere episode of The asiabits Podcast, Michael (Co-founder of Asiabits) shares the unfiltered story of why he traded the German countryside for the high-speed chaos of Shanghai and Shenzhen. We dive deep into why Europe is "ignoring" the Asian Century, the reality of the AI race (DeepSeek, South Korea's battle plan, and...
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