Cross-Border VC: Scaling AI Startups Between Asia and the U.S. (Wally Wang)

In this episode of The Venture Capital Podcast (VC.fm), hosts Peter Harris and Jon Bradshaw talk with Wally Wang, Founding Managing Partner at Scale Asia Ventures and a Business Insider Seed 100 (2025) investor, about identifying AI winners early — and scaling them across the U.S. and Asia (Japan, Korea, APAC).

Wally brings a unique mix of experience as a machine learning scientist (NYU / CMU / Microsoft), a former operator (YC-backed Pebble, acquired by Fitbit), and an enterprise founder who helped grow DataVisor (raised $150M+). Today, he backs AI infrastructure, enterprise AI agents, cybersecurity, developer tools, and robotics, with a strong cross-border thesis that helps founders expand globally and access strategic distribution partners in Asia.

We discuss:

• How to evaluate “real” AI founders vs hype
• AI moats: why product-market fit isn’t enough anymore
• What actually creates defensibility in enterprise AI (data, trust, workflows, integrations)
• Build vs buy in AI: when enterprises DIY vs purchase software
• Why vertical AI agents are safer than horizontal AI wrappers
• Cross-border expansion strategy: U.S. → Asia vs Asia → U.S.
• Robotics + physical AI opportunities and Asia’s hardware advantage
• Why enterprise + government budgets are still under-targeted

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