Is this the dawn of a new era as SEA tech turns profitable?

From balance sheets to bot fights, this week, the 60/40 Podcast breaks down where tech’s real progress is happening.

On earnings: Sea Group, Grab, GoTo, and Paytm found the profitability button in Q2, and investors took notice. The message is clear: markets now reward execution over promises. And leading the charge are these firms’ fintech arms, showing banks what real agility looks like.

On AI: GPT-5 has arrived, and while some critics were underwhelmed, the crew points out that the biggest changes are under the hood. Think less sci-fi leap and more iPhone-style incremental upgrade. For enterprises, AI that’s cheaper, faster, and less hallucination-prone is a pretty big deal.

On robots: China’s humanoid Olympics gave us slapstick robot soccer and serious industrial undertones. With 6,000 patents filed in five years and over US$1 billion invested annually, China’s not just playing games – they’re preparing for a demographic crunch and exporting robot labor.

The takeaway? Southeast Asia’s tech story has finally come, we’re still early in the AI race, and the robots are coming.

Check out the full episode on your favorite platform: YouTube | Spotify | Apple Podcasts. 

Timestamps

01:00 – GPT-5: leap forward or overhyped minor tweak?

07:30 – The three phases of AI (spoiler: we’re still in kindergarten)

11:40 – Perplexity’s Chrome bid: bold play or PR theater?

22:00 – Southeast Asia Q2 earnings: profit finally shows up to the party

31:00 – Fintech takes the spotlight (and why banks can’t keep up)

35:30 – Robots as the new factory workers (and geopolitical pawns)

47:00 – Would you buy a Chinese humanoid robot for your home?