Web Summit's Casey Lau on Why China is Moving Faster Than Anyone Realizes

So yeah, I, uh, with our discussion today, thought we'd organize, uh, into kind of two key themes.

I mean, first being your broad observations around the tech world, uh, from your perch, uh, atop Web Summit.

Yep.

And, and then second is a little bit of glimpse into China where e- earlier this year you spent some time and, quite a bit of time, like a few weeks, right? Going deep into what's happening in the tech scene there.

So maybe just to get us going, um, around kind of the global view on tech, would love to just get your observations, 'cause you mentioned shows in all corners of the globe, like your observations around, you know, maybe some insights you're seeing and comparative insights around maybe different, um, countries or, or regions.

Is, is the tech scene at parity around the world, or are you seeing different trends emerging from different places? You know, um, would just love maybe a broad summary of what you're seeing, uh, from the different shows around the world.

Yeah, definitely.

Well, let's be honest, the, the whole thing is between the US and China.

There's really not much else to talk about the rest of the world.

[laughs]

Um, unfortunately.

Um, y- the Ca- the Canada event, uh, you know, what happened in Canada, quantum computing is a big, is a big thing there.

Clean tech is a big thing.

Um, and then l- going into entertainment and things like that, it's big.

Um, so I feel like they're gonna find a niche in Canada, uh, for, for the tech.

But from what I've seen, it's everybody in the Bay Area, San Francisco, versus everybody in China in terms of who's working harder, who's innovating faster, who's raising more money.

Um, and so th- that war is definitely happening, and that's what I see.

When I'm in Europe, I see a little bit of too much regulation holding back a lot of the innovation there, and so I feel a lot of people there are frustrated with that stuff.

Maybe it's for the best, you know, of long term.

Mm.

Uh, we don't know exactly right now, but if you're just looking at the artificial intelligence, uh, market industry, um, it's definitely all in China and the US' hands right now, and everybody's just kind of watching on the sidelines to see what happens.

Yeah, I mean, it's super interesting, and I think, you know, you, you bring up a lot of interesting points around, you know, how people are approaching technology and innovation in different regions, right? And I think, um, you know, we have been looking at that a lot and kind of thinking about, you know, what are the ways that China's really bringing this to life? You know, one of, one of the areas is kind of, you know, constraints.