Don’t fret an AI bubble

Welcome to Tech in Asia’s Sunday newsletter, your weekend brief on the biggest moves in Asia’s tech and startup world. Not on the mailing list? Register here. Got a story tip? Send it to editors@techinasia.com.

In focus

• Terence Lee on what worries him about an AI bubble, and what doesn’t
• Why tech’s embrace of young people is refreshing
• A look at the AI bubble’s unexpected casualty – your smartphone

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Hello reader,

A colleague asked me to make predictions in this newsletter about next year. I thought about it for a minute and admitted defeat.

Will funding for Southeast Asian tech recover in 2026? Who knows. Will the AI bubble burst? Maybe.

My colleague, Scott Shuey, has a nuanced take on the latter question in his latest premium article. The piece argued that the foundation layer is in a bubble, while the application layer is underinvested.

This makes sense. Suppose the companies that trained these large language models, built these data centers, and wired up the power supply were to bleed out. The advances and infrastructure left behind can still benefit the next wave of upstarts.

So should we worry about the bubble popping? Sure, if you own stocks in AI companies. For Tech in Asia, in particular, we watch for it since money follows narratives.

But given the fast-moving, flavor-of-the-month nature of tech, it’s better to worry more about what doesn’t change.

For example, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos once said that his company’s customers will always want lower prices and faster deliveries. This is why he builds his business around those two pillars.

In the case of Tech in Asia, we think our subscribers want actionable intel before anyone else. And the best way to uncover this is not through ChatGPT but via scoops gleaned the old-fashioned way: meeting up over coffee.

If I’m wrong, let me know.

Terence Lee, editor-in-chief

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Editor’s picks

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Short cuts

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China’s chip ambitions extend beyond GPUs

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Weekend watch