The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has brought an unprecedented toll on the global economy. Public health systems, industrial and manufacturing activities and global supply chains are witnessing disruption at a scale not seen before. With mounting job losses, there is a potential of a global recession in the near future. Technology, however, has been at the forefront of fighting the pandemic. How has the global technology sector fared in the COVID-19 virus world? How are startup entrepreneurs, innovators, early-stage founders responding to this disruption? How will they do business differently? For start-up entrepreneurs and innovators, fund raising and access to the next round of capital has become more critical now than before as disruptions in raw materials supply-chain, electronics value chain and inflation take on a new meaning. With these insurmountable challenges, will we see more entrepreneurial opportunities, iconic products and companies emerge? How will Asia and Silicon Valley fare in the tech startup recovery? Join Asia Society Hong Kong Center and Asia Society Northern California’s exclusive online webcast as Duncan Chiu, Co-Founder & Managing Director, Radiant Venture Capital, Peggy Choi, Founder & CEO, Lynk, Roopam Sharma, Inventor Manovue & Asia 21 Young Leader and Miles Wen, Founder & CEO Fano Labs Limited join moderator Alan Rosling, Director, ECube Investment Advisors & Chairman Griffin Growth Partners as they unravel these challenges and opportunities. 

Duncan Chiu is Co-Founder & Managing Director of Radiant Venture Capital which he founded in 2014 to focus on early stage investments into tech startups. They have already invested in more than 30 startup companies in China, US, Israel and Hong Kong. Amongst the many technology-related companies, a selected number have been listed on the Hong Kong and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges. Duncan is currently the President of Hong Kong Information Technology Joint Council, Director of Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Ltd., and Member of the Board of Directors of Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute Company Ltd. He has graduated from Pepperdine University with a BA degree in Business Administration.

Peggy Choi is Founder & CEO of Lynk, a market-leading platform that powers the knowledge economy. Its platform has potential to disrupt many knowledge and human capital-related industries and categories, allowing companies to get the specific, tailored information needed quickly and cost effectively. Before starting Lynk, Peggy worked in banking and investments in the US and UK for TPG Capital, Silver Lake Partners and Goldman Sachs. She has studied Computer Science at the University of Pennsylvania and Finance at The Wharton School. She is passionate about art and sculpture.

Roopam Sharma is the Inventor of Manovue and Asia 21 Young Leader (Class of 2018). Manovue is the world's first intelligent wearable visual assistant which employs AI and the internet. He was named among the top 100 most influential global thinkers in the world by Foreign Policy Magazine in 2019. Entrepreneur Magazine named him in their “35 Under 35” list and Forbes Asia selected him for their annual “30 Under 30” list. Roopam was inducted into the 2018 Asia Society’s Class of Asia 21 Young Leaders. He holds a Bachelor of Technology in Computer Science and Engineering from Manav Rachna University, India. 

Miles Wen is Founder & CEO of Fano Labs, one of the leading AI startups based in Hong Kong. They specialize in Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR), Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Big Data Technologies. Their technology enables machines to understand non-mainstream languages, such as Cantonese, Singlish, Thai etc. It is the first Hong Kong startup invested by Horizons Ventures, the private investment arm of Mr. Li Ka-shing. Miles is an Honorary Assistant Professor (Electrical and Electronic Engineering) at HKU, author of over 10 academic papers and an inventor of one patent. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering and a PhD in Electrical & Electronic Engineering from HKU.

Alan Rosling is Director, ECube Investment Advisors, Chairman Griffin Growth Partners and Co-Founder Kiran Energy, one of India’s first independent solar power producers which was acquired by a strategic buyer in 2018. He was the first non-Indian Executive Directors of Tata Sons, charged with internationalization of the Group. He has served as Special Advisor to the British Prime Minister in the Policy Unit. Alan is a graduate from Cambridge University, the Harvard Business School and is the author of “Boom Country? The New Wave of Indian Enterprise”. (Moderator).

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Technology and Innovation Series

From Silicon Valley to the Greater Bay Area and beyond, the global economy is now in the midst of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. In 2019, the Asia Society Hong Kong Center has inaugurated The Technology and Innovation Series to convene the world’s visionary vanguard to explore the latest trends, insights and projections on how the next phase of innovation and disruptive technology will shape the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.