Kristie Neo: Southeast Asia’s Mood Shift, Middle East Optimism & Gen Z’s AI Job Crunch – E619

"I think only the US and China deserve to be compared to each other, and we see that rivalry take place. Emerging markets are very different from Silicon Valley and other tech and talent hubs. Within the emerging market landscape, it is worth doing more comparisons across global emerging markets, often called the global south, such as the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, and LatAm. There are more interesting comparisons and parallels across these ecosystems. We have seen fund managers like Saison Capital spending more time in LatAm, deploying funds into Brazil and Mexico. There are valuable learnings and lessons that we can borrow from different ecosystems." - Kristie Neo, VC & Startup Journalist

Jeremy Au and Kristie Neo compare Southeast Asia and the Middle East, exploring how mood shifts, tariffs, scandals, and cultural codes are shaping technology and finance. They discuss Southeast Asia’s dampened atmosphere after 2021, the role of sovereign wealth in the Middle East, and how generational challenges meet an AI-driven job market. Their conversation unpacks scandals like eFishery, co-founder disputes in Vietnam, startup archetypes in Southeast Asia, and the global expansion of Chinese firms. They close by reflecting on how organizational cultures differ across regions and why code-switching leaders succeed.