AI founders and investors are no longer operating in a neutral global market. The US–China divide is forcing hard choices on capital, technology, and market access . ASEAN is where those choices become unavoidable.This roundtable is not about observing the shift, but about operating inside it. How do you build and scale an AI company when alignment is no longer optional? How do you avoid being locked into one ecosystem too early — or worse, without realising it?We will challenge conventional thinking by looking at ASEAN not just as a region, but as a distributed system — where diaspora networks act as extensions of capital, talent, and market access across the US, China, and beyond. The discussion will focus on turning geopolitical constraints into strategic positioning: structuring optionality, managing dependencies, and designing companies that can take advantage from the current framework.The objective is simple: leave with a clearer view of where you are exposed, where you have leverage, and what to do about it.Thought Starter Questions:
- What does a “geopolitically resilient” AI company in ASEAN actually look like in practice in terms of structure, partnerships, and go-to-market?
- How should ASEAN AI startups structure their funding strategy to avoid being pulled too early into either the US or China ecosystem, and what trade-offs does that create in terms of valuation, speed, and control?
- How can ASEAN diaspora networks be actively leveraged as strategic infrastructure for capital, talent, and market access rather than treated as passive connections?
- Are ASEAN-based expats building locally embedded companies, or effectively operating as extensions of foreign ecosystems ? And what does that imply for long-term resilience?
- If you had to prioritise today, would you optimise for speed (capital and scale), control (technology and IP), or flexibility (multi-market positioning) and what risk are you implicitly accepting?
- Where is your company (or investment thesis) structurally dependent on either the US or China? And what breaks first if that access is restricted?
Information for attendees:
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