Michael Waitze

Asia/US Tech Analysis, Founder Interviews, and Intelligent Daily Signals on AI, FinTech, and Infrastructure

[Michael Waitze @MichaelWaitze]

On today's episode of AGTP Daily, we discussed @Microsoft's launch of Scout, an always-on agentic assistant built on the open-source @openclaw framework and designed for the Microsoft 365 environment.

Unlike a conventional Copilot-style chat interface, Scout is intended to operate persistently across work systems, with a user-defined identity, memory, preferences, and task patterns that improve through ongoing feedback.

This is being framed it as Microsoft’s attempt to bring OpenClaw’s flexible, autonomous-agent model into enterprise productivity workflows...and it feels like nobody is better positioned to do this than Microsoft.

On today's agenda:

03:19 Microsoft Built Scout, Inspired by OpenClaw
50:01 DeepSeek To Raise $7BN
01:02:30 Jeff Seibert, Co-Founder & CEO at Digits

https://t.co/O9ZgQRgzso

[AGTP @AGTPinsights]

On Today's Agenda:
1. Microsoft Built Scout, Inspired by OpenClaw
2. DeepSeek To Raise $7BN
3. Jeff Seibert, Co-Founder & CEO at Digits https://t.co/HeW3s2wP7L

[Michael Waitze @MichaelWaitze]

On today's episode of ATP Insights, we discussed how and why Vietnam is emerging as Southeast Asia’s new test bed for platform businesses, where companies are not only expanding existing operations but also experimenting with new business lines across mobility automation, fintech, logistics infrastructure, AI-enabled services, and broader digital-economy partnerships.

On Today's Agenda:

04:55 - Is Vietnam the Next Super-App Battleground?
22:54 - Gary Ng, CEO at viAct
42:18 - Felix Liao, APAC Product Management Director at Denodo
01:05:19 - Matt Smith, CEO at MyPass Global
01:23:30 - Alon Kaufman, CEO and Co-Founder at Duality Technologies
01:44:50 - Darren Wang, CEO at OwlTing Group
02:06:23 - Nanda Ivens, CMO & Co-Founder at MWX AI

https://t.co/wKRerthfgw

[ATP @ATPinsights]

On Today's agenda:
1. Is Vietnam the Next Super-App Battleground?
2. Gary Ng, CEO at @aiviact
3. Felix Liao, APAC Product Management Director at @denodo
4. Matthew Smith, CEO at MyPass Global
5. Alon Kaufman, CEO and Co-Founder at @DualityTech
6. @owltingdarren, CEO at @owlting
7. @NandaIvens, CMO & Co-Founder at @mwx_ai

[Michael Waitze @MichaelWaitze]

On today's episode of AGTP Daily, we discussed the significance of Alphabet announcing an $80 billion equity capital raise to fund a major expansion of AI infrastructure and compute capacity.

@Google says customer demand for AI solutions and services is exceeding available supply, and that the new capital is intended to help scale its global compute base.

On today's agenda:

04:45 Alphabet Is Raising $80B for AI Investment
46:53 Pre-ChatGPT Startups Face a Reckonin

https://t.co/5IJ59bn0n6

[AGTP @AGTPinsights]

On today's agenda:
1. Alphabet Is Raising $80B for AI Investment
2. Pre-ChatGPT Startups Face a Reckoning
3. Salesforce Has a Stake in Anthropic https://t.co/Yl1CijWOTV

[Michael Waitze @MichaelWaitze]

On today's episode of AGTP Daily, we discussed Nvidia and Microsoft announcing RTX Spark, a Windows-on-Arm PC platform built around an Nvidia “superchip” combining an Arm CPU, Blackwell RTX GPU, large unified memory, and Nvidia’s AI/graphics software stack.

The idea here is that the PC is being repositioned as a local agentic AI machine, not just a productivity endpoint. Nvidia says RTX Spark systems can run on-device agents, large local models, creative workloads, and RTX gaming in thin laptops and compact desktops.

Time Stamps:

04:00 - @Microsoft Next PC Bet Runs on @nvidia Silicon
47:15 - @Meta Launches Subscription Plans
01:02:24 - William Bao Bean (@williambaobean), Managing General Partner at Orbit Ventures (@OrbitVenturesVC)

https://t.co/W8eNrtdXwA

[AGTP @AGTPinsights]

On today's agenda:
1. Microsoft’s Next PC Bet Runs on Nvidia Silicon
2. Meta Launches Subscription Plans
3. William Bao Bean, Managing General Partner at Orbit Ventures https://t.co/h5Cf7wMo0B

[Michael Waitze @MichaelWaitze]

On today's episode of ATP Insights, we discussed how Huawei is trying to reframe China’s AI-chip constraint as a systems-engineering problem, not merely a lithography problem. Its “Tau Scaling Law” argues that performance can be improved by reducing signal/data-movement delay across devices and larger systems, rather than depending primarily on transistor nanometer shrinkage.

Huawei says related techniques such as LogicFolding can improve density, power efficiency, and speed by stacking and reorganizing chip components more tightly.

This is also feels like a very strategic sanctions workaround, because China remains restricted from accessing the most advanced EUV lithography tools used by TSMC and others.

Separately, China has added AI chips to its official “secure and reliable” procurement assessment system for the first time. The new category covers AI training and inference chips, and certifications are valid for three years. This gives government agencies, central SOEs, and state-linked buyers a formal procurement channel for domestic AI accelerators.

https://t.co/5pY4e3wUKj

[ATP @ATPinsights]

Today's agenda:
1. China Rewrites AI Chip Design Strategy
2. Rubens Peculis, CTO at Otivo
3. Mark Keough, Executive Director at SkillsAware
4. Snir Levi, Founder & CEO at Nominis https://t.co/UAdOQ8W1WX

[Michael Waitze @MichaelWaitze]

On today's episode of AGTP Daily, we discussed how @nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told CNA that blaming layoffs on AI is a “lazy” explanation and often does not match the timing or reality of corporate restructuring. His point was not that AI has no labor impact, but that CEOs should not use AI as a convenient public-relations wrapper for layoffs already driven by cost pressure, restructuring, margin targets, or management choices.

Huang argued that the better framing is skills displacement rather than job extinction. His line was: people are less likely to lose jobs directly “to AI” than to people who learn to use AI better.

He also emphasized the need for a more balanced narrative around AI adoption, including training, regulation, and industry readiness.

https://t.co/UUe25lUNrP

@OpenAI @DuckDuckGo

[AGTP @AGTPinsights]

1. Jensen Huang Says CEOs Are Just Too Lazy
2. OpenAi Commits $250MM to Help AI Disruption
3. DuckDuckGo Sees Spike In Search
4. Bob Blakley, CPO at Mimic
5. Sam Kaplan, Founder at Remix https://t.co/eEtrhSA13f

[Michael Waitze @MichaelWaitze]

On today's episode of ATP Insights we discussed how Singapore’s 2026 growth story is being pulled in two directions.

The upside is the AI capex cycle: stronger demand for memory chips, servers, semiconductor components, disk media and related electronics is lifting manufacturing, wholesale trade, exports, and investment expectations.

The downside is geopolitical and energy risk from the Middle East conflict. MTI and analysts warn that a prolonged conflict could raise energy costs, disrupt supply chains, hurt petrochemicals and energy-intensive industries, and create input shortages for semiconductor production.

Singapore is still benefiting from AI demand, but the growth forecast is not a clean “AI boom” story; it is an AI boom sitting on top of energy, trade, and supply-chain fragility.

We also had some amazing guests on the show including @Gavriel_Cohen the team behind @NanoClaw_AI.

https://t.co/jkOcbPhWrU

[ATP @ATPinsights]

On today's agenda:
1. Singapore Rides the Global AI Boom
2. Ilya Kravtsov, co-Founder at Ringkas
3. Gilbert Leung, CEO & co-Founder at Novo AI
4. Robin Lee, Chief Growth Officer at Confide Platform
5. Michael Gladishev, co-Founder and VP R&D at Legion Security
6. Michael Davies, Founder at Nextvestment
7. Gavriel Cohen, co-Founder and CEO at Nanoco

[Michael Waitze @MichaelWaitze]

On today's episode of AGTP Daily, we discussed how Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet and Google did a Q&A about Google’s AI strategy with Nilay Patel (@reckless) at @verge .

This strategy has led to a company-wide restructuring around Search, YouTube, Google Cloud, Gemini models, and AI infrastructure. Pichai says Google reorganized after the ChatGPT shock by combining Brain and DeepMind, centralizing AI infrastructure, creating more direct AI product reviews, and pushing Search to move faster.

He describes Google as now operating from a shared Gemini infrastructure layer across products, rather than treating AI as separate product experiments.

We also talked about the hiring of @colinjfleming as the new CMO at @OpenAI and why it matters!

https://t.co/YgSLtWNT3x

[AGTP @AGTPinsights]

On today's agenda:
1. Q&A With Sundar Pichai - CEO of Google and Alphabet
2. Colin Fleming - New OpenAI CMO, Business
3. @veradittakit, Managing Partner at @panteracapital https://t.co/1I89aC2RcD

[Michael Waitze @MichaelWaitze]

This feels like it should be VERY true.

[Florian Roth ⚡️ @cyb3rops]

I think AI coding hype follows roughly four stages:

1. Amazement

You try it and can’t believe how much code it generates from a few prompts.

2. Expansion

You start more and more projects because shipping suddenly feels cheap and fast.

This is also the phase where people start convincing everyone around them:

- coworkers
- management
- friends in other companies

because nobody wants to “fall behind” in 6–12 months.

That creates a massive snowball/FOMO effect.

3. The grind phase

You realize the generated code has architectural issues, sloppy mistakes, weird abstractions, duplicated logic, broken edge cases, etc.

So you start:

- re-prompting
- switching models
- increasing reasoning effort
- reviewing fixes
- generating fixes for previous fixes

And suddenly you spend your days reviewing AI-generated pull requests instead of building software.

4. Realization

You realize AI coding increases output much faster than it increases certainty.

The code still needs:

- review
- testing
- ownership
- architectural understanding
- long-term maintenance

Usually by expensive senior engineers.

And the interesting thing is:
this whole cycle can take many months or even more than a year because people become socially and professionally invested in the narrative themselves.

Once teams, managers, and entire companies have been convinced that this is the future, it becomes psychologically and politically very hard to later say:

“Actually, the ROI is much lower than we expected.”

[Michael Waitze @MichaelWaitze]

Business strategy matters.

Technology matters.

Capital allocation matters.

The C-suite and the board matter.

But the story that gets told about all of them may matter more.

Narrative, obviously, does not replace execution.

But, it determines how execution is understood.

That is why I think @OpenAI hiring @colinjfleming matters.

OpenAI has finally figured out that it is losing the communications battle.

To be fair, at the scale of OpenAI, communications is not marketing.

It is strategy.

https://t.co/6pbJfhubim

[Michael Waitze @MichaelWaitze]

On today's episode of AGTP Daily, we discussed how we completely believe that AI coding tools are useful. We also understand that enterprise AI usage is becoming expensive and harder to connect directly to measurable business output…but these are still early days.

We focused our conversation how @Uber COO Andrew Macdonald said the company is finding it harder to justify its AI spending because higher token consumption has not yet shown a clear proportional link to more useful consumer-facing features.

He specifically referenced internal discussions after Uber CTO Praveen Neppalli Naga reportedly said Uber had already exhausted its 2026 Claude Code budget early in the year.

https://t.co/atyndjyyRs

@AnthropicAI

[AGTP @AGTPinsights]

On today's agenda:
1. UBER COO Says Harder to Justify AI Spending
2. IBM Spins Off Quantum Chip Foundry
3. Shani Fargun, VP of Healthcare at Stack AI https://t.co/IeJaHDJjuT

[Michael Waitze @MichaelWaitze]

On today's episode of AGTP Daily, we discussed how Microsoft is reportedly winding down most internal Claude Code licenses and moving thousands of employees toward GitHub Copilot CLI, Microsoft’s own agentic command-line coding tool.

Reporting suggests Claude Code had become popular inside Microsoft, but Microsoft is now pushing employees toward Copilot CLI because it wants one Microsoft-shaped agentic coding interface for its own workflows, security expectations, and engineering needs.

Cost also appears to matter: the cutoff aligns with Microsoft’s fiscal year-end on June 30, making cancellation a clean operating-expense reduction.

There is also a strategic angle for Microsoft as well. Microsoft likely wants model optionality, but interface ownership. Microsoft can still sell Claude through Foundry, use Claude in Microsoft 365 Copilot, and still refuse to let Anthropic own the developer workflow surface inside @Microsoft.

https://t.co/shfANC6JMd

@AnthropicAI @OpenAI @Dell @modal

[AGTP @AGTPinsights]

On today's agenda:
1. Microsoft Cancels Anthropic Licenses
2. Modal Labs Raises $355MM, Why It Matters
3. Dell's AI Factory Business Is On Fire https://t.co/c6fbgeaoE4

[ATP @ATPinsights]

AI investment fails when employees aren't brought along on the journey. That's the pattern Kara Bombell of Ethicai sees across organizations.

When people don't trust that their employer is working in their best interest, they use AI minimally or avoid it entirely. Kara notes this response is understandable. If the organization hasn't earned that trust, employees protecting themselves makes sense.

Ethicai was founded to moderate this conversation in a way that works for both businesses and people. The focus is on nonprofits and medium enterprise, where without structured guidance the space gets absorbed by large enterprise alone.

The second piece is helping individual employees understand their own value and which skills to develop as workplaces become more AI augmented.

[ATP @ATPinsights]

AI tools for e-commerce content are technically ready, but platforms and brands haven't caught up. That's the view of Jasper Knoben, Group CEO at Intrepid Asia.

Jasper points to two examples. AI livestreaming is not yet permitted on TikTok and is only available on select platforms. AI video generation is technically feasible today, but brand approval and adoption are lagging behind where the technology actually sits.

For TikTok, the restriction comes down to the platform's identity. Its model is built around human connection, with human hosts and creators interacting directly with viewers. Introducing AI into that loop removes something the platform considers central to its experience.

Jasper sees the gap as a timing issue rather than a technology failure. Platforms and brands will eventually adapt, but that shift will take time.

[ATP @ATPinsights]

80% of ElliQ users increased their social interactions with other humans after getting the device, according to survey data from @intuitionrobo and partner universities. @dorskuler, CEO of @intuitionrobo, describes an AI companion built specifically to push users toward real-world connection.

ElliQ prompts users toward connection in practical, low-friction ways. The device takes users on virtual tours and then suggests sharing the experience with family. A virtual trip to Paris might end with ElliQ prompting a selfie sent to a grandchild, opening a conversation between the two. The device also sends birthday and event reminders to help users stay in touch.

Intuition Robotics built a community layer into the platform as well. Twice a week, ElliQ users across the network join a shared lobby to play video games against each other. Dor says many form friendships in that lobby and continue chatting or video calling on the platform outside of the game.

The result Dor describes is an AI companion that generates real-world social activity rather than replacing it.

[Michael Waitze @MichaelWaitze]

Here is a link to the full YouTube episode:

https://t.co/y4OypqXPBC

[Michael Waitze @MichaelWaitze]

On today's episode of ATP Insights, we discussed how @OpenAI is launching OpenAI for Singapore, a multi-year partnership with Singapore’s Ministry of Digital Development and Information, backed by more than S$300 million, and centered on its first Applied AI Lab outside the United States.

The lab is meant to create 200+ Singapore-based technical roles, make Singapore a global hub for OpenAI’s Forward-Deployed Engineers, and focus on practical AI deployment across public service, finance, and a full spectrum of business verticals in the region.

[ATP @ATPinsights]

On Today's agenda:
1. OpenAI Opens an Applied AI Lab in Singapore
2. Alistair Harold, Co-Founder and CEO at Grappler io
3. Kenneth Oh, Regional Marketing Lead for a Leading FinTech
4. Dor Skuler, CEO & Co-Founder at Intuition Robotics
5. Kara Bombell, Co-Founder at Ethicai
6. Michael Batuev, Head of Global Payments at Wefi
7. Jasper Knoben, Group CEO at Intrepid Asia

[Michael Waitze @MichaelWaitze]

On today's episode of AGTP Daily we discussed how @cursor_ai reported annualized revenue has reached $3 billion, up from $2 billion in February 2026, making it one of the fastest-scaling AI application companies in the market. Further, Cursor now reportedly has 3,000+ customers paying at least $100,000 annually, which suggests real enterprise penetration rather than just developer enthusiasm.

We also covered how @AMD's CEO Lisa Su’s said AI infrastructure is moving from a GPU-only story to a full-system compute story. The first AI buildout was dominated by GPUs for training large models. The next phase will require far more CPU orchestration.

We were also joined by Ankur Shah (@ankurdotshah), the co-Founder and CEO of @straikerai.

https://t.co/xERNQzN0hB

[AGTP @AGTPinsights]

On today's agenda:
1. Cursor’s Acquired for $60BN?
2. The CPU Market Will Grow Over 35% Annually - AMD CEO
3. Ankur Shah, Co-founder & CEO at Straiker https://t.co/X4ghJU7e2Z