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 hypeAI moats: why product-market fit isn’t enough anymoreWhat actually creates defensibility in enterprise AI (data, trust, workflows, integrations)Build vs buy in AI: when enterprises DIY vs purchase softwareWhy vertical AI agents are safer than horizontal AI wrappersCross-border expansion strategy: U.S. → Asia vs Asia → U.S.Robotics + physical AI opportunities and Asia’s hardware advantageWhy enterprise + government budgets are still under-targetedFollow the PodcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/venturecapitalfm/Twitter: https://twitter.com/vcpodcastfmLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/venturecapitalfm/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/7BQimY8NJ6cr617lqtRr7N?si=ftylo2qHQiCgmT9dfloD_g&nd=1&dlsi=7b868f1b72094351Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/venture-capital/id1575351789Website: https://www.venturecapital.fm/Follow Jon BradshawLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrbradshaw/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrjonbradshaw/Twitter: https://twitter.com/mrjonbradshawFollow Peter HarrisLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterharris1Twitter: https://twitter.com/thevcstudentInstagram: https://instagram.com/shodanpeteYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/@peterharris2812