Inside Kumu: layoffs, exits, and ineffectual bets

This week’s On the Rise looks at Kumu’s employee exits and dismissals, a new ride-hailing player in Vietnam, and the need for global governance in AI. [Read from your browser]( On the Rise 🚀 Welcome to On the Rise! Delivered every Tuesday via email and through the Tech in Asia website, this free newsletter breaks down the biggest stories and trends in emerging tech. If you’re not a subscriber, get access by [registering here](. --------------------------------------------------------------- IN FOCUS In today's newsletter, we look at: - [What’s behind the spate of layoffs and voluntary exits at Kumu]( - A new ride-hailing player is born in Vietnam - Belling the cat called generative AI Hello {NAME} “What’s the place like?” This is a question I’m often asked by friends, Romans, and countrymen (well, not Romans, but you know) about working at Tech in Asia. While you [can DM me]( for the answer, I realize my response isn’t always just about Tech in Asia. Instead, it’s somewhat colored by all the workplaces I’ve been at before. I think what you are saying about your office is also at least partly a reflection of what you’ve experienced in the past. The experience for those who’ve recently worked at Kumu, the livestreaming platform headquartered in the Philippines, has been somewhat bittersweet. Take the example of one person who was at a company party only months after Kumu had seen a second round of layoffs: “We were joking at that time saying, ‘We're gonna party today but we’re gonna get laid off tomorrow, maybe,’” they said. The third round of dismissals came soon after. In the last year, nearly 50% of its staff have exited in a mix of layoffs and resignations. Collin and Candice unpack what went down at Kumu in this week’s premium story. The story cites how some of Kumu’s bets didn’t pan out. These bets include spending on creating premium intellectual properties and paying out huge sums to top livestreaming influencers in a bid to acquire new users. Allegedly, not much was done to retain them. We have another special story for you - this one’s an introduction to the new kid on Vietnam’s ride-hailing block. Pham Nhat Vuong, the billionaire behind conglomerate Vingroup and electric vehicle manufacturer VinFast, has kickstarted an electric-vehicle ride-hailing service called Green SM Taxi. Considering the vast resources backing this newbie, Green SM Taxi might just be a player worth watching in the game that Grab has dominated for the nine years in Vietnam, reports Huong. You know what else is all-dominating these days? AI. More on this fantastic beast and its governance in AI Odyssey. -- Nikita  --------------------------------------------------------------- THE BIG STORIES 1️⃣ [Kumu’s struggles: layoffs, departures slash workforce by almost half]( The Philippine livestreaming firm has seen big bets not panning out and ex-employees allege frivolous spends costed them dearly. 2️⃣ [Vingroup founder’s EV play revs up Vietnam’s ride-hailing race]( The billionaire behind both Vingroup and VinFast is betting that his new EV venture can resurrect competition in Vietnam’s ride-hailing landscape.  --------------------------------------------------------------- AI ODYSSEY Promising AI projects we’re noticing. 🎶 Slow down you crazy child, governance awaits you Say you want to ban or slow down X - a product of your choice. You know the one thing that’ll absolutely guarantee that X thrives and its tribe grows? A clarion call to slow it down. When the likes of Elon Musk put their names in support of a letter that calls for [a pause in AI research]( it’s bound to spur a reaction from other notable names [like Bill Gates](. The official letter itself has been decried by some of the [supposed signatories and researchers]( cited in it. But this was another reminder to delve into the idea of global governance for AI - the metaphorical Moby Dick that researchers, lawmakers, and businesses will likely attempt to pin down in the foreseeable future. Italy currently has a [ban on OpenAI’s ChatGPT]( due to privacy concerns. The move has [reportedly inspired]( other European countries like France, Ireland, and Germany to consider following suit. While Italy has singled out OpenAI owing to its popularity, the maker of ChatGPT has [already announced]( that it’s looking to resolve data privacy concerns. These concerns spill over to other generative AI platforms too. While rules and regulations are taking shape in [the UK]( and [the US]( China’s [guidelines are already out](. Besides espousing a certain world view - like having socialist values - China’s [guidelines also say]( that the AI-generated content should be accurate, not infringe on intellectual property rights, etc. While generative AI models will need government approval before being offered to the public, the service providers will be held accountable for any violations, it adds. Call it governance or regulation, the idea of making AI safer to use and experiment with isn’t new - neither is the debate on what this could look like. In fact in 2018, at a [meeting of Partnership for AI]( a nonprofit coalition whose founding members include Amazon, Facebook (Meta), Google, Apple, and Microsoft, “the assembled engineers and philosophers couldn’t agree on the top priorities for making AI safer.” Ironically, this was the inaugural meeting in 2018 to was do the thing they ultimately couldn’t agree on the parameters for. One good thing came out of it: a growing database of everything related to the harms or near-harms involving AI. It’s called the [AI Incident Database]( and this is indexing “the collective history” of harms so as to “learn from experience so we can prevent or mitigate bad outcomes.” The AI Now institute, an American research institute that studies social implications of AI, says there’s some interpretative wiggle room in current data privacy laws like the European Union’s [General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)](. However, “the next generation of data minimization policies - bright-line rules that prohibit excessive or harmful data collection and use - show greater promise,” the institute [says in its 2023 landscape report](. Some are also advocating for the use of a [global governance body for AI](. But there are many limitations to such an oversight group, including its lack of teeth. Plus, regulating the internet is somewhat akin to boiling the ocean. But the AI genie’s out of the bottle, and temporary bans are just that - temporary. Though the overall cost of being in this game will only reveal itself in hindsight, in the meantime, the world will learn through its hits and misses. -- Nikita  --------------------------------------------------------------- FYI 1️⃣ [Gender inequality runs deep in Indonesia’s tech industry]( The country’s tech sector sees among the lowest women’s participation rates in Southeast Asia. 2️⃣ [Deepfakes and profiling: charting AI controversies]( Deepfakes of politicians, police efforts to profile gang members, and image generators have caused quite a stir, according to AI researchers. 3️⃣ [Malaysia’s ‘failed Silicon Valley’ is becoming a white elephant]( Cyberjaya may risk losing out to Kuala Lumpur if there’s no policy change.  --------------------------------------------------------------- NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW Also check out Tech in Asia’s coverage of the emerging tech scene [here](. 1️⃣ [‘Byju’s is profitable, almost’:]( Indian edtech behemoth Byju’s says it aims to be profitable in the June quarter. The firm’s previous target for the milestone was March 2023. 2️⃣ [ID edtech firm scores funding]( Upskilling platform Cakap has received fresh funding from MDI ventures and Heritas Capital. While the funding amount isn’t disclosed, this series C1 funding has given the edtech firm a valuation of over US$100 million. 3️⃣ [A travel firm’s first international outing]( NusaTrip, a Jakarta-based online travel agency, has acquired VLeisure, a B2B hotel platform in Vietnam. This is NusaTrip’s first expansion abroad as it aims to build a regional travel platform in Southeast Asia. 4️⃣ [For the love of coffee:]( Pickup Coffee, a coffee startup based in the Philippines, has raised US$26.7 million in a series A1 round. This pumps up the company’s valuation to US$119.5 million. 5️⃣ [Keeping up with the times]( Jakarta-headquartered Zi.Care, which offers digitalization services for medical records, has raised US$2 million in the first tranche of its series A funding round.  --------------------------------------------------------------- That’s it for this edition - we hope you liked it! Do also check out previous issues of the newsletter [here](. Not your cup of tea? You can unsubscribe from this newsletter by going to your “edit profile” page and choosing that option in our preference center. See you next week! [ADVERTISE]( | [SUBSCRIBE]( | [HIRE]( | [FIND JOBS]( P.S. Don't miss out on the biggest tech news and analysis. Add newsletter@techinasia.com to your address book, contacts, or safe sender list. Or simply move us into your inbox. Too many emails? Switch to a different frequency or get new content through our [preference center]( or [unsubscribe](. 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