Geopolitics - Interconnected

Topics: VC• AI• Geopolitics•

Benchmark Invests in Manus: VC Math vs Geopolitics Math

An economically rational deal if you are a true early stage VC

Topics: TSMC• Geopolitics• Open Source•

Has American Soft Power Peaked?

Tying together DeepSeek open source week, the Oval Office meltdown, and TSMC’s new investment

Topics: Industrial Policy• AI• Geopolitics•

When Two “Presidents” Debate

What Trump 2.0 means for AI and tech, US-China, Industrial Policy, and Being an Asian American

Topics: AI• Geopolitics•

($) Do We Need Sovereign AI?

Topics: Cloud Industry• Geopolitics•

When the Houthis Found “the Cloud"

One topic this newsletter has been obsessed with over the last four years is cloud data centers. Partially because of my previous industry experience, working deeply on cloud-based tech products, partially because these data centers are just fascinating and so crucial to the global

Topics: Geopolitics• AI•

($) 10-K's and Geopolitics: AMD, Intel, Meta Edition

Topics: Semiconductor• Geopolitics• South Korea•

🏴‍☠️Traitors or Treasures: the Semiconductor Talent Conundrum

Last month, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol called the global semiconductor competition “a national all-out war.” As the home country of the world’s two largest chips manufacturers, Samsung and SK Hynix, South Korea is a global semiconductor leader in all respects. Its

Topics: Cloud Industry• Geopolitics•

US vs China: A Cloud Proxy War

The US-China tech “cold war” appears to have a new front: the cloud. According to the New York Times, both the Departments of State and Commerce are looking into new ways to restrict Chinese cloud hyperscalers, e.g. AliCloud, Huawei Cloud, Tencent Cloud, etc.

Topics: VC• China• Geopolitics•

“Hardtech” Corporate VCs Rising in China

Huawei runs a little-known corporate VC division called Habo Investment. I first wrote about Habo back in early 2021, when it was barely two years old. Yet, at that time, it had already made 22 investments, five of which have gone public on the

Topics: EVs• Ford• Geopolitics•

Ford Hearts CATL: America's Awkward Battery Deficiency

Deglobalization may be the megatrend of this decade, but it unfolds differently depending on the sector, technology, relative cost, and which country has the most leverage and most friends. In the US-China context, the United States appears to have more leverage over China in

Topics: Geopolitics•

What is Exceptional about "American Exceptionalism"

Every year leading up to July 4th, the American Independence Day, I get pensive and meditative. As a naturalized American citizen, who has sworn the oath to protect the US constitution [https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Oath_Office.htm] three times

Topics: Southeast Asia• Cloud Industry• Geopolitics•

US and Southeast Asia: A Dysfunctional Romance

Last week, Southeast Asia scored a long overdue diplomatic victory. The US-ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Nations) Summit was finally held in Washington, DC and hosted by the White House – the first time in ASEAN’s 55-year history. Symbolic victory aside, what the Southeast

Topics: Russia• Ukraine• Semiconductor•

Fog of War

The analogies of “war” are used often to describe and analyze non-war situations – businesses, sports, electoral politics. We now have a real war between Russia and Ukraine, and the “fog of war” between clarity and confusion is as thick as ever. Because there is

Topics: Meta• Geopolitics•

So What Is The American Dream?

Every July 4th, America’s Independence Day, always puts me in a reflective mood. I’ve sworn the oath to protect the US constitution [https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/Oath_Office.htm] three times in my life -- once to become

Topics: Open Source• Geopolitics• India•

[Enhanced] The Future of American Industry Depends on Open Source Tech

This post is an enhanced republication of an OpEd I wrote jointly with Jordan Schneider a month ago that was published in Wired Magazine [https://www.wired.com/story/opinon-the-future-of-american-industry-depends-on-open-source-tech/] . This enhanced version includes more information on how governments around the world are adopting

Topics: Meta• Geopolitics• Zoom•

Why Write A Bilingual English-Chinese Newsletter

It’s been three months since I published my first post on Interconnected. Since then, I’ve been writing articles on a wide range of technology and business topics [https://interconnected.blog/popular-topics/], twice a week in both English and Chinese. In this post,

Topics: Semiconductor• Geopolitics• TSMC•

Chips, Geopolitics, Elections

The interconnection between the technology business and geopolitics has become increasingly exposed, as the US-China trade war and export control continue to heat up during the coronavirus pandemic. Another less-discussed but equally important layer to this interconnection is how domestic politics and elections dictate