Latest Interviews
Showing 1126–1140 of 1,935 transcripts.
Clear all filters- Milken Institute1h 1m
The Rise of Blockchain: How To Trust Strangers
Adam Burden, Cory Johnson, Tianmin Liu, Sopnendu Mohanty, Kaidi Ruusalepp
Moderated by Adam Burden, a panel featuring experts from Ripple, Iki Finn, Funderbeam, and the Monetary Authority of Singapore defined blockchain's shift from theoretical trust mechanisms to production use cases that cut settlement times from days to minutes. The discussion detailed specific implementations where Ripple streamlines cross-border payments, Iki Finn traces agricultural supply chains, and Singapore's Project Ubin tests tokenized currency, while highlighting that high-volume transaction integrity remains a technical hurdle. Experts concluded that while the technology offers significant efficiency gains for financial services, supply chains, and government, its widespread adoption depends on resolving regulatory friction and ensuring that governance structures can evolve alongside the code.
- a16z59 min
a16z Podcast | The Science and Business of Innovative Medicines
Jorge Conde, Vijay Pande, Sonal Chokshi, Vas Narasimhan
Novartis transformed its portfolio through a $50 billion restructuring that divested consumer healthcare to prioritize advanced therapies, data science, and proprietary platforms for cell and gene treatments. Under CEO Vas Narasimhan, the company enforces strict "standard of care" mandates for project approval, integrates market access early in development, and invested $15 billion to own specialized infrastructure while leveraging AI for financial forecasting and pathology analysis. This strategic pivot targets a 10% clinical success rate by shifting from bespoke drug development to modular platforms and dedicated digital innovation centers, positioning the firm to address undruggable targets and future modalities like xenotransplantation.
- Milken Institute1h 0m
How China Is Transforming Southeast Asia
Kirk West, Paul Gruenwald, Robin Hu, Jonathan Woetzel, Francis Sock Ping Yeoh
Panelists analyzed the fragility of South China Sea stability, China's Belt and Road Initiative-driven manufacturing shifts, and severe environmental threats like overfishing and plastic pollution across Southeast Asia. While China projects dominance through massive infrastructure spending and trade expansion, experts highlighted significant friction points including lack of local employment, debt transparency concerns, and ongoing geopolitical posturing with the United States. The discussion concluded that sustainable regional growth requires deprioritizing conflict in favor of accelerated infrastructure development, stricter environmental standards, and renewed U.S. engagement through trade frameworks like the TPP.
- Milken Institute1h 30m
A Conversation with Howard Marks: Mastering the Market Cycle
Investment strategist Howard Marks emphasizes that historical market cycles and human psychology consistently drive asset pricing, challenging the "this time is different" narrative while highlighting the critical importance of valuation over asset quality. His analysis of structural shifts, from the evolution of bond covenants to the rise of passive investing, underscores that risk is cyclically determined by investor sentiment and liquidity rather than economic fundamentals alone. Ultimately, Marks argues that successful capital allocation requires recognizing probabilistic outcomes and maintaining sufficient resources to exploit the extreme fear and pricing inefficiencies that arise during inevitable downturns.
- Milken Institute59 min
Breaking the Bank: How Asian FinTechs Are Redefining Financial Services
Dan Murphy, Kevin Jacques, Donald Lacey, Akshay Naheta, Simon Paris
The event analyzes the rapid divergence between Asian FinTech markets and legacy systems, highlighting a strategic industry shift from consumer-focused models to B2B platformization and embedded finance. It details how insurance and banking sectors are transforming through IoT data, usage-based pricing, and regulatory consolidation, while capital flows increasingly favor late-stage firms with proven unit economics over early-stage valuations. Finally, the discussion outlines critical success factors for founders and incumbents, emphasizing that long-term partnership strategies and deep regulatory expertise are essential to navigate fragmented global landscapes and avoid commoditization.
- Milken Institute56 min
Asia's Next Frontier: Building Capabilities for Translational Research
Tanisha Carino, Christiana Bardon, Carl Firth, Annalisa Jenkins, Baiju Shah, Chris Bardone
Faster Cures and Milken Institute convene Asian policymakers and industry leaders to address the critical "Valley of Death" separating basic science from clinical cures across the region's rapidly expanding R&D landscape. The discussion highlights Singapore's strategic shift toward translational funding and data infrastructure, China's accelerated regulatory reforms, and the Harrington Project's hybrid model designed to bridge skill and capital gaps for high-burden diseases. While genomic initiatives and reimbursement changes promise to modernize access, the session concludes that overcoming cultural barriers in patient advocacy and workforce specialization remains essential for translating scientific knowledge into effective patient treatments.
- Milken Institute1h 2m
Of Tweets and Trade: U.S. Outlook
Gerard Baker, Christine BN Chin, Carlos Gutierrez, Gilbert Kaplan, Frank Luntz, Gil Kaplan, Steve Oaken, Ralph Simon
A panel of economic experts and policymakers analyzed the Trump administration's shift from multilateral to bilateral trade negotiations, citing Section 301 investigations against China and the renegotiation of NAFTA as strategies to counter state-sponsored intellectual property theft. While polling data reveals that 81% of the audience believes these policies damage global growth, experts like Frank Luntz and Christine Chin warn that the prevailing anti-trade sentiment stems from automation-driven job displacement rather than trade deficits alone. The discussion concluded that future economic frameworks must integrate new social buffers and educational initiatives like the "Education Moonshot" to address the structural challenges of the 21st-century workforce in the Indo-Pacific region.
- Milken Institute1h 1m
Investing for the Long-Term
Ian Martin, Sophia Cheng, Azmil Zahruddin Raja Abdul Aziz, Michael Rolland, Tom Tull
Representatives from Texas ERS, OMERS, Kazana National Fund, and Cathay Financial convened to discuss capital management strategies for institutional pools exceeding $700 billion in combined assets. The panelists detailed shifts toward alternative asset allocation and direct private investments to counter demographic aging, low-interest rate environments, and rising market valuations. Key discussions highlighted the tension between strict ESG governance and financial performance, alongside the necessity of avoiding crowded markets through bilateral deal relationships and active risk management.
- Milken Institute1h 1m
Hacking Health: The Future of Humankind
Jeannette Ickovics, Jeremy Cao, Julien de Salaberry, Christopher Hall, Joseph Wong, Lihan Zhou, Chris Hall, Lee Han, Julian DeSalveri, Ritesh Maishuri, Laura Entwistle, Mark Blythery, Dan Galpin
Industry leaders from organizations including Fitbit, BGI, and Meraxis convened to analyze the projected $18 trillion global health spending landscape, with a specific focus on Asia's unique demographic challenges and rapid digital health growth. The event highlighted how strategic innovations in genomics, AI-driven wearables, and early cancer detection are driving a critical shift from curative to preventative care models while navigating complex regulatory environments across diverse Asian markets. Participants emphasized that future success depends on integrating high-tech solutions with empathetic delivery, securing investment through intellectual property and execution speed, and addressing ethical gaps in genetic privacy and mental health.
- Milken Institute49 min
Media and Trust: A Global Concern
Heng Wing Chan, Stephen Salyer, Gerard Baker, Warren Fernandez, Victor Mallet, Maria A. Ressa, Doug Mellinger, Paul Grunewald
Four global journalists analyze the collapse of traditional media trust, attributing the crisis to the weaponization of social media algorithms, the concentration of ad revenue within tech giants, and a lack of ideological diversity within newsrooms. The panel highlights specific regional threats, from state-backed disinformation campaigns in the Philippines and Hong Kong to the revenue model failures that undermine investigative reporting in Singapore. Participants conclude that restoring public confidence requires platform accountability, deeper community engagement, and a renewed commitment to holding power to account despite the current fragmented information landscape.
- Milken Institute1h 5m
Investing for Immortality
Ben Clark, Elizabeth Gustilo, Drue Kataoka, Pearl Lam, Helen Lee Warren
A panel of industry leaders analyzed the surge in Asian wealth since 2014, which has elevated the region's collector base to surpass Western counterparts while driving a shift toward Western "blue chip" acquisitions and private museum expansion. The discussion highlighted a dual evolution in the ecosystem, where second-generation collectors prioritize provenance and direct patronage models alongside the integration of AI, blockchain, and virtual reality to redefine authentication and access. Ultimately, experts emphasized the necessity of balancing traditional institutional roles with digital innovation to ensure market resilience and the long-term "immortality" of artworks within a rapidly changing technological landscape.
- Milken Institute1h 1m
Smarter Cities for a Smarter World
Jonathan Woetzel, Hugh Andrew, Nayef Khalid Al Khalifa, Robert Rosenstein, Lauren Sorkin
A recent McKinsey Global Institute analysis reveals that while most global cities currently operate at only 70% maturity regarding smart technology, successful implementation demands a shift from rigid zoning to outcome-based regulation and robust public-private partnerships. Key drivers for this evolution include treating digital infrastructure as a utility, prioritizing human capital through inclusive social policies, and restructuring real estate models to accommodate e-commerce and automated logistics. Ultimately, sustainable urban development relies on strong civic leadership defining long-term visions while ensuring equitable access and clear ROI metrics across diverse markets from North Asia to the Middle East.
- Milken Institute1h 0m
A World in Transition: What Matters For Asia
Michael Klowden, Haslinda Amin, Heenam Choi, Ravi Menon, Ning Tang
The Milken Institute's fifth Asia Summit convened over 1,000 global leaders in Singapore to analyze the Asia-Pacific region's economic resilience amidst US-China trade tensions and technological disruption. Key speakers highlighted that while external financial tightening poses risks, Asian emerging markets remain structurally sound due to sounder macro fundamentals and a shifting middle class driving demand for healthcare and senior housing. The event concluded that the region's long-term growth trajectory depends on maintaining open trading systems, advancing FinTech regulation, and managing demographic transitions toward aging societies.
- a16z33 min
a16z Podcast | Building Crypto, from Vision to Reality
Brian Armstrong, Chris Dixon, Sonal Chokshi
Coinbase founder Brian Armstrong outlines a roadmap for transforming cryptocurrency from a speculative asset class into a functional utility phase by addressing critical infrastructure gaps in scalability, wallet usability, and fiat on-ramps. The industry is leveraging stablecoins and decentralized autonomous organizations like MakerDAO to mitigate volatility and enable programmable money, while predicting that an open financial system serving one billion users could emerge within five years. Concurrently, the ecosystem is fostering combinatorial innovation through reusable protocols and NFTs, aiming to displace traditional ad-based revenue models with transaction-based economies supported by regulated institutional infrastructure.
- a16z45 min
a16z Podcast | On Marrying Entertainment and Technology
Jeffrey Katzenberg, Meg Whitman, Marc Andreessen
Jeffrey Katzenberg and Meg Whitman founded Quibi with a $1 billion seed round to launch a mobile-exclusive streaming platform targeting the 25–35 demographic with high-production, short-form content. The venture leverages their contrasting backgrounds in Hollywood storytelling and technology executive leadership to secure investments from ten major studios and engineer specialized playback features for mobile devices. Operating on a dual monetization model of subscription and advertising, the platform aims to disrupt the market by offering premium narrative quality comparable to feature films rather than relying on user-generated content.