'technology' Category
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Plan B vs Plan[et] A
April 22, 2019When founders allocate an inordinate amount of board meeting time to explaining their “Plan B” if things don’t work out, I’ve been known to growl something along the lines of, “Every hour you spend thinking about Plan B means one fewer hour focused on achieving Plan A.” Don’t get me wrong. Contingency planning is the […]
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AI Summit Tokyo finalists
April 16, 2019Congratulations to the 6 foreign Artificial Intelligence startups selected for Nikkei’s AI Summit next week in Tokyo.
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Springtime for AI in Tokyo: Global startups invited
March 10, 2019I’ve written before about Japan’s deep thirst for innovation in the field of artificial intelligence. Another prestigious event in the domain is taking place next month: AI/SUM. Nikkei has generously offered me a few complimentary invitations to promising AI startups from Europe. Accepted applicants will receive free airfare and accommodation for Tokyo for the event. […]
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Free Revolut card (limited time)
February 16, 2019In order to be an effective investor in the fintech space I try to be a consumer of every fintech startup I can. Readers of this blog know how big a fan I am of Revolut, ever since their early days at Level 39. Revolut’s interbank rate on currency exchange and versatile cashback metal card […]
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Blockchain for brexit boasts
February 8, 2019Back in 2017 I suggested applying immutable blockchain technology to tracking the bitcoin price forecasts from the plethora of self-annointed pundits. In this same spirit of entertainment, here’s another suggestion for blockchain I wish had occurred to me: Log all the promises of the various UK politicians and talking heads about the benefits of Brexit […]
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A quick start suddenly slowed, but now LINE Quick Games are back
December 11, 2018Looks like LINE quick games are finally back after a sudden false start. I’m eagerly awaiting some official communication from LINE explaining the November shutdown. In the meantime, I encourage LINE users to give the quick games a try during the holiday downtime. Daily Sudoku (今日のナンプレ) is my favorite, but I’m biased.
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My cat ate my {insert product}
December 4, 2018Holiday season is upon us, along with holiday shopping season. Perhaps this problem has existed for a while, but it seems that fake online product reviews have jumped by an order of magnitude this year. The severity of the fake review problem first struck me this summer, when I found myself in the middle of […]
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Still crazy after all these years
November 21, 2018I first laid eyes on this beauty In Barcelona in February 2015, where she was modeling at a booth at the Mobile World Congress. Then in October of that same year, I saw her in a department store aisle in central Tokyo and decided on the spot to take her home. Everyday since, she has […]
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AI Frameworks infographic
November 14, 2018Although I am the proud investor in one promising AI startup in Japan already, most of my deal flow involving innovation in AI is still coming from Europe nowadays, most predominantly from France. France’s prowess in AI might be one of the best kept secrets in innovation these days globally. As I find myself explaining […]
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LINE Quick Game… not so fast
November 7, 2018Well, that’s embarrassing. It looks as though every single HTML5 Quick Game on LINE Messenger is undergoing “maintenance” for the month of November. This must be egg on the face for LINE, since they released the Quick Game platform barely two months ago. I quickly became a fan, mainly because I found it far less […]
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Voting day
November 5, 2018Well, I think I voted in tomorrow’s U.S. midterm elections. In addition to being taxed on my worldwide income, voting in elections is one of the perks of holding an American passport. But frankly, I cannot say for certain that my vote will be properly counted. A few years back I shifted my U.S. state […]
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Messaging platforms: a game-changer or a mobile distraction ?
September 12, 2018Here are two relevant extracts from my portfolio company CoolGames’ presentation at the PocketGamer conference in Helsinki yesterday. On the potential for games on messaging platforms worldwide: On today’s key challenge for games publishers on these platforms: Here’s a fun little 1-minute video which highlights the flow of gameplay: