Delving into the depths of Vizzio CEO’s claims

This week’s On the Rise looks at the claims of Vizzio’s Jon Lee, allegedly false US Berkeley degree of Octopus CEO, and an AI deal’s impact on media. [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: - More inconsistencies in [the claims of Vizzio’s CEO]( - Octopus CEO Moehammad Ichsan and whether he [lied about his educational credentials]( - What the Axel Springer-OpenAI deal means for journalism Hello {NAME} , Learning to spot lies is a core skill for any journalist. My journalism school professors beat it into my head early on. At the [Spartan Daily]( the student newspaper at San Jose State University, we learned the old adage: “If your mother tells you she loves you, check it out.” It may sound cynical, but in the [post-fact world]( of politics and business, everything needs to be examined. And I mean everything, especially the things you don’t think anyone would dare lie about, like where they went to school, for example. In our two Big Stories for the week, the lies were so pervasive that it took five people - Terence, Lokesh, Collin, Budi, and Candice - to get to the bottom of them. Our first Big Story is a follow-up to our [January 16 exposé]( on Lee Seng Fook, the founder and CEO of Vizzio Technologies, who over 20 years earlier went by the alias Dennis Lee. Following the report, Vizzio [appointed an interim CEO]( last Friday, suggesting that Lee has now stepped down. Our team has since unearthed more inconsistencies involving Lee’s patent claims, plagiarized videos, and customer lists, among others. Our second Big Story looks at [Moehammad Ichsan]( co-founder and CEO of Indonesian waste treatment startup Octopus. My colleague Budi found at least three online sources that list Ichsan as a graduate of UC Berkeley. A spokesperson for Octopus said Ichsan attended Berkeley but dropped out. Ichsan says he only attended an online course at Berkeley and that he dropped out from a local university. The CEO says he never told anyone about such claims, but several sources contradict this. Ichsan hasn’t provided any paperwork to show that he attended UC Berkeley. Also in this week’s AI Odyssey, you can read how AI is about to upend journalism. I look at the deal between OpenAI and Axel Springer - which owns Business Insider and Politico - and what it could mean for the future of journalism and AI. -- Scott  --------------------------------------------------------------- THE BIG STORIES 1️⃣ [More cracks appear in Vizzio CEO’s claims]( After Vizzio founder’s fake Ph.D., Tech in Asia unearths more inconsistencies involving patent claims, plagiarized videos, and customer lists. 2️⃣ [Did the CEO of Indonesian startup Octopus graduate from UC Berkeley?]( While Moehammad Ichsan says that he has never told anyone about graduating from UC Berkeley, several sources contradict his claim.  --------------------------------------------------------------- AI ODYSSEY  Promising AI projects we’re noticing Could AI companies actually “save” journalism from Google? Last December, The New York Times (NYT) threw down the gauntlet against AI firms who train their large language models (LLMs) on freely available news stories. They filed a [lawsuit]( against Microsoft and OpenAI, asking for billions of dollars in damages. This case is a doozy. Microsoft and OpenAI aren't denying that AI accessed the NYT, nor that OpenAI is giving results that directly mirror their content. Instead, it's arguing that use of the publication’s stories constitutes "[fair use]( which allows copyrighted material to be used verbatim when it involves comment, criticism, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. This argument has worked in the past in other [high-profile copyright cases]( including Betamax's battle with Sony as well as Google's fight with book publishers. The NYT vs. Microsoft and OpenAI case has the potential to severely affect how AI firms are allowed to train their LLMs. But while there were plenty of headlines focusing on the impending fight between these giants, another story seems to have flown under the radar. In early December, Microsoft and Axel Springer, which owns Business Insider and Politico, reached a [licensing deal]( that allows Microsoft to use Business Insider to train its LLMs. The terms of the deal are unknown, but [Bloomberg estimates]( the deal to be worth 10 million euros (about US$10.8 million) or more. But not everyone is convinced this is a good idea. Just ask the Business Insider*’s staff who were [cut]( last Thursday, just six weeks after the deal. While *Business Insider did not directly mention the OpenAI deal as the reason for the layoffs, comments from CEO Barbara Peng seem to indicate that it was a factor. But in the long term, there is an upside. Media insiders that I spoke to acknowledge that this actually provides a new stream of revenue for media companies. That's no small victory for the media industry, which is still facing [massive layoffs]( on a regular basis. Whether or not other companies will sign similar deals with Microsoft (or other AI firms) will be a closely watched development, but it's clear the media sector has seen the writing on the wall. [According to Wired]( 88% of major media companies are currently blocking the web crawlers that AI companies use to find and access news. But there are also long-term challenges, especially if the strategy of licensing content turns out to be successful, some executives say. If readers start relying on AI apps for their news - and there are already indications that this could become a thing - media houses could see a fall in subscriptions. That could lead to a situation where media sites are more beholden to tech companies for their revenue than they are to readers. See also: [This Hong Kong startup develops AI to help banks find dirt on SMEs]( It could also pose a potential threat to tech companies that rely on advertising dollars. One tech executive I spoke to said that AI apps are better for real-time research than search engines. Recent data backs up the belief that Google search [isn't what it used to be](. So don't be surprised if you start seeing ads that used to pop up in your Google search now appearing in your favorite AI app. No announcements have been made yet, but the possibility is already [being discussed](. -- Scott  --------------------------------------------------------------- FYI 1️⃣ [Misfires and failed bets: Why school’s out for Zenius after 20 years]( The Indonesian edtech firm’s financial condition has worsened since mid-2023, to the extent that only a merger or acquisition could have saved it. 2️⃣ [What I learned about genAI from failing to scale my AI startup]( What a small side project taught one founder about the present and future of the generative AI space.  --------------------------------------------------------------- NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW Also check out Tech in Asia’s coverage of the emerging tech scene [here]( 1️⃣ [Hashing out a new collaboration]( Virtual asset firm HashKey Exchange and blockchain gaming platform Animoca Brands will explore ways to use Web3 tech in the digital entertainment sector. The latter will open an account on HashKey Exchange as part of the collaboration. 2️⃣ [Terraform Labs rings the bankruptcy bell]( Almost 18 months after the Terra-Luna crash caused almost US$40 billion in damages to the crypto industry, Terraform Labs finally seeks bankruptcy protection in the US. 3️⃣ [Ola founder’s AI startup enters unicorn club]( Krutrim, an Indian AI company founded by Ola’s Bhavish Aggarwal, has secured US$50 million in its first funding round, led by investors such as Matrix Partners India, bringing its valuation to US$1 billion. This makes the firm not only the first AI unicorn from India but also the fastest local startup to reach this status, the company said in a statement. 4️⃣ [Bad news for Microsoft’s gaming staff]( Microsoft is cutting around 1,900 jobs in its gaming division, according to a letter sent to staff by Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer. This comes over three months after the tech giant acquired US video game company Activision Blizzard for US$69 billion. 5️⃣ [Good news for China’s gaming industry]( China started 2024 by greenlighting 115 new game titles in January, making it the biggest batch of approvals in over 18 months, the South China Morning Post reported.  --------------------------------------------------------------- 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 soon! [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? 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