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DeepSeek and Google open their AI stacks as China queues $35bn for Nvidia chips. Software is going free; scarce chips and big bills are where the risk sits. workoptional.ai/p/deepseek-a…
The Alibaba and Amazon Moment for the Global South
(Part 2 of 2)
In my view, Vietnam is well placed for this moment. Alibaba gave small sellers a shop. Amazon gave them fulfilment. AI agents can now give them a global team.
Read the full newsletter: workoptional.ai/p/alibaba-ga…
In my view, this is a moment for emerging markets across the Global South, with Vietnam well placed.
Footage: VTV
Views are my own and do not reflect the organisers, other speakers or any government body.
Research and opinion, not investment advice.
I spoke at AEF CEO 500 in Ho Chi Minh City. One line from my remarks: "Partner with all, owned at home." Get both sides of AI every weekday: workoptional.ai/subscribe
No positions in companies named.
Tomorrow in HCMC: OID panel 09:30-10:15, Skylar 4, with James Nguyen, Nguyen Khac Lich, Nguyen Tuan Huy, Doris Li Yeh. Theme: Own the Brain, 100x Entrepreneurs. RSVP: lnkd.in/gCNV_Ffx #WorkOptional #EastWestAIpha
Don't lose money selling tokens. OpenAI and Ant price AI decisions near zero; DeepSeek has reportedly raised about $15bn as MiniMax slips below its IPO price. workoptional.ai/p/dont-lose-…
Sovereign AI is the East/West story of 2026: countries want their own compute, models and data. Monday 9:30 AM in HCMC I join MOST, MobiFone and Mirapath to ask how compute becomes economic value. RSVP: lnkd.in/gCNV_Ffx @alvinfoo
DeepSeek and Google open their AI stacks as China queues $35bn for Nvidia chips. Software is going free; scarce chips and big bills are where the risk sits. workoptional.ai/p/deepseek-a…
If you're investing in AI, don't.
Unless you understand both East and West.
America has the brain. China has the traffic.
My 2-minute speaker intro, and where to book me:
workoptional.ai/speaker-and-…
The race to break Nvidia's monopoly, in 60 seconds. East and West are both building the exit ramp. Full story in EWD Issue 1: workoptional.ai/p/ewd-issue-…
EWD Issue 1 is live: China and Silicon Valley race to loosen Nvidia's grip. China AI circuit investment up 58.7%. Tenstorrent at $6.2B in a $1.5B round. Both sides want portable, low cost AI inference. workoptional.ai/p/ewd-issue-…
Elon thinks in 10 year plans.
1. 2006, Master Plan 1: a sports car, then an affordable car. The Roadster shipped in 2008, the Model S in 2012 and the Model 3 in 2017. Delivered.
3. 2023 and 2025, Master Plans 3 and 4: the sustainable energy economy, Optimus robots and robotaxis at scale. Still in progress.
The new Roadster was promised for 2020 and is now set for 2028. Late? Yes. But bet against him at your peril.
Investors who judge founders on deadlines miss the decade.
#Tesla #ElonMusk #LongTermThinking #EastWestAIpha
A 35B AI model now fits on a phone
On 15 October, Beijing's ModelBest and the OpenBMB community released MiniCPM-V 4.7. The 35B version wakes about 3B parameters per token, keeps most of the model on the phone's storage, and runs on iOS and Android with about 3GB of memory.
Three questions:
1. Which of your model calls could move onto the device?
2. What happens to per-token API revenue if the boring bulk jobs go local?
3. Allocators: who earns when edge inference is close to free, the chip, the device maker, or the app that owns the user?








