Why Google Asia startup boss sees enormous growth potential for AI startups in Asia

The passion of Asian Millennials and Gen Z is one of the many reasons Mike Kim. Google’s Head of Startups for the Asia Pacific, sees strong growth potential for AI startups in the region.

“Young people in Asia want something now,” Kim said in a video interview via Google Meet.

“AI enables people to access some of the best resources, be it health or finance, at the touch of a button.

Kim realized that Asia needed speed. Raised in Silicon Valley, he worked for about a decade in the United States at tech companies such as LinkedIn and mobile game maker Zynga. Then, in late 2014, Kim, an American of Korean descent, moved to Seoul to join Woowa Brothers, South Korea’s leading food delivery company. And get a first-hand look at the country’s thriving culture. “In Korea, we call it ‘ppalli-phallic [culture],” said Kim, which means “fast, fast” in Korean.

Kim joined Google for Startups two years later as Asia Pacific Partnership Manager. A year later, he was promoted to Google’s Head of Startups for the Asia Pacific and moved to Singapore. Another busy hub for startups in Asia, where Google has its regional headquarters.

In his role as supervisor of Google’s startup support department in the Asia Pacific. Kim sees promising growth opportunities for AI startups in the region. Thanks partly to government support for the growing technology, immense talent pool, and a chaotic population looking to be based in Seoul.

AI For Pet is an example of an AI startup increasing in the Asia Pacific. Founded three years ago by Euna Hur, AI For Pet runs a smartphone app that can detect eye. And skin diseases in cats and dogs using phone cameras and AI algorithms. The startup is working on expanding its diagnostic capabilities to include gum disease and joint disorders.