The Asiabits Podcast
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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The Asiabits Podcast
Ep. 6: He's 23 and Visited 500 Robot Companies in China
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"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 Shenzhen
- The real cost of deploying a robot (hint: the hardware is only 1/5)
- What happened when their robot destroyed a restaurant
- How he ordered 16 motors in 2 hours (try that in the US)
- Why most robotics demos are fake - and what investors should look for
About Francesco Crivelli:
Swiss-Chilean robotics founder, UC Berkeley (EECS), Columbia Engineering. Building a robot deployment platform bridging Silicon Valley software with Shenzhen hardware.
Francesco's company - Intuition Core:
Website: intuition.dev
LinkedIn: Intuition Core
X/Twitter: @intuitioncore
Links:
Newsletter (free, daily): asiabits.com
YouTube: Watch the video version
Thomas on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/afuthomas
Michael on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/michael-broza