ASCENT

Fangdi Pan & Linda Zhang

ASCENT podcast is your in-depth look at the fastest-growing Asian businesses. We deliver exclusive, deep-dive research into the strategies, struggles, and secrets to success of Asia's top market leaders and tech companies. Whether you're an investor, founder, or just curious, this is your backstage pass to the business revolution happening in Asia and beyond.

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Avg 1 hr 46 min
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S2 · E5
August 21 · 2 hr 5 min
Bambu Lab
Bambu Lab is a Shenzhen-based desktop 3D printer company founded in 2020 by former DJI engineer Dr. TAO Ye. In just five years, Bambu Lab went from an unknown startup to the world's largest 3D printer manufacturer, capturing an estimated 35–43% global market share and shipping over 1.5 million units in 2025 alone. This episode tells the full story: how a team of five DJI engineers — including Dr. Tao Ye, known internally as "Dr. Turbo" — applied drone-grade robotics to solve 3D printing's oldest problem (speed and reliability), and turned a stagnant hobbyist category into a multi-billion-dollar consumer electronics business. We trace the technology's full backstory — the 1980s origins of SLA, SLS, and FDM printing, the open-source RepRap and Prusa community that seeded the entire desktop 3D printing industry, and the cautionary collapse of MakerBot — before diving into how Bambu Lab's 2022 Kickstarter launch of the X1 printer upended an industry that had assumed consumers would never adopt 3D printing at scale. We also unpack the engineering behind Bambu Lab's core innovations (CoreXY motion systems, the Automatic Material System/AMS, Lidar-based print monitoring) and the controversies now defining its second act: a cable recall, a Pop Mart/Labubu IP dispute, ongoing Stratasys patent litigation, and a bitter clash with the open-source community over OrcaSlicer and firmware lockdowns. 👉 Subscribe & Follow: ASCENT Podcast on Substack 📖 Episode Chapters 00:01:45 Introduction & Dr. Tao Ye’s Achievements at DJI 00:17:15 The Founding Five: Walking Out of DJI to Build Bambu Lab 00:22:05 A Short History of 3D Printing: The Birth of SLA, SLS and FDM 00:30:22 Open Source Roots and the Patent Expiration That Changed Everything 00:47:30 The Lost Decade: MakerBot's Collapse and the Rise of Creality, Elegoo & Anycubic 00:55:10 Stealth Mode to Kickstarter: Launching the X1 01:01:04 Making a Game Changing 3D Printer: CoreXY, AMS, Lidar, and DJI-Grade Engineering 01:11:01 More Product Lines and the MakerWorld Community 01:17:30 New Challengers: Snapmaker, HeyGears, and a DJI-Backed Rival 01:34:25 Growing Pains: Recalls, IP Infringements, Litigation, and the Open Source Revolt 01:56:25 Final Thoughts: Why We Think Bambu Lab Ascended 🚩 Correction 1:52:29 legal fees to cover Jarczak if he gets sued, not Bambu
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S2 · E4
June 28 · 2 hr 10 min
miHoYo (Creator of Genshin Impact)
How did three anime and gaming nerds turn a cash-strapped dorm hobby into a multi-billion-dollar global empire? This episode explores the fascinating history of miHoYo, the powerhouse studio behind Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail, and Honkai Impact 3rd. Driven by their iconic philosophy, "Tech Otakus Save the World," founders CAI Haoyu, LIU Wei, and LUO Yuhao navigated a relentless journey. Long before capturing astronomical revenues and establishing themselves as China's third-largest gaming giant behind Tencent and NetEase, these Shanghai Jiao Tong University engineering students bonded over their love or Neon Genesis Evangelion, survived on mere thousands of downloads and faced harsh interrogation from a skeptical investment community. This episode traces how the studio survived critical, high-stakes milestones. From winning initial funding through entrepreneurship competitions to securing their one and only angel investor, they repeatedly went "all-in," reinvesting every cent of the company's income into their next game in development. Bypassing standard mobile gaming strategies, they leveraged a crucial partnership with Bilibili during China’s 2013 smartphone explosion and splurged on premium Japanese voice actors to completely capture the core otaku demographic. We also examine miHoYo's hyper-productive live-service culture, flat organizational structure, and the dramatic split that saw CAI Haoyu step down to pursue a 2030 vision of a virtual reality world powered by emotional AI large performance models. modern mobile game development and live-service success. 👉 Subscribe & Follow: ASCENT Podcast on Substack 📖 Episode Chapters 00:03:12 Introduction & Gathering of the Three (but Actually Four) Otakus 00:16:00 The Spirit of miHoYo: Cai's Manifesto & the Debut Project: The Legend of Saha 00:23:10 FlyMe2TheMoon: Another Tribute to Neon Genesis Evangelion 00:40:57 Houkai Gakuen 1 (Zombiegal Kawaii) & 2 (Guns Girl Z): How Gacha Made a Real Difference 00:53:49 Honkai Impact 3: The 3D Bet That Paid Off 01:03:19 Genshin Impact: Zelda Crisis and Liyue Triumph 01:22:18 Never Underestimate Fans: Genshin 1st Anniversary Review-Bombing 01:26:42 Genshin Impact Economics Explained: Gacha 01:30:22 Investment Bucket I: Expanding The Game Portfolio, Pipelines & Failure Graveyards 01:37:55 Investment Bucket II: Philosophically Interesting Technology Bets 01:45:05 Splitting Paths: Gaming Development vs. Frontier Cutting-Edge AI Research 01:55:26 Company Culture and Our Final Thoughts on the Future of miHoYo 🚩 Correction 1:28:48 50/50 mechanism halves the chance of a time-limited 5 star character is drawn, not double
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S2 · E3
May 1 · 1 hr 49 min
CATL
How did a kid from a small mountain village in Fujian end up building the company that powers one in every three electric vehicles on the planet? This episode explores the rise of CATL (aka the “TSMC of batteries”) and its founder, Robin Zeng. It begins with CATL’s predecessor, ATL, and a risky $1 million bet on a flawed battery patent that nearly destroyed the company — until it unexpectedly led to a breakthrough deal supplying Apple iPods. CATL was later spun out amid government policy shifts and EV subsidies, and scaled into the world’s largest battery maker in just six years. Its first major test came with BMW, where passing an 800-page technical audit proved it could meet strict automotive standards—unlocking global partnerships. Today, CATL continues to push its limits, expanding into grid-scale energy storage, aviation batteries, and next-generation technologies like sodium-ion and solid-state systems to stay ahead in the global energy race. 👉 Subscribe & Follow: ASCENT Podcast on Substack 📖 Episode Chapters 00:00:00 The Battery Giant You’ve Never Heard Of 00:02:30 Robin Zeng’s Origins and Early Career at TDK 00:06:26 Robin’s Mentorship Trio and the Birth of ATL 00:18:27 The $1 Million Gamble: Surviving the Bell Labs Patent Crisis 00:25:09 Path Back to the Old Employer TDK 00:35:18 Early Signs of EV’s Rise and the Scientist Who Saw the Future 00:42:42 Birth of CATL: A Spin-off Out of Necessity 00:54:57 The BMW Trial: Decoding the 800-Page German Blueprint 01:00:20 China’s Underdog Strategy: Start With Buses and LFP 01:07:11 CATL’s Breakout Era: Higher Standards, Industry Consolidation and Tesla Deal 01:22:22 The Battery King: Market Dominance and Leverage Over Automakers 01:35:27 Europe’s Failed Attempt at Creating Its Own CATL: Northvolt 01:41:50 Final Thoughts: Why We Think CATL Ascended
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S2 · E2
March 11 · 1 hr 55 min
Nestlé, Starbucks, and Yunnan Coffee
Imagine you're a French missionary in the 1800s, trekking through the mountains of southwest China. You plant some coffee seeds — partly out of habit, partly out of hope. You probably never imagined those seeds would one day supply Nestlé, attract Starbucks, and help birth a domestic coffee brand that would open more stores than McDonald's has in the entire United States. Yes — that's Luckin Coffee. And that's China. In this episode of ASCENT, we trace 150 years of coffee history in a nation that was never supposed to drink it. From Cold War export deals to Nestlé's quiet supply chain takeover. From Starbucks introducing the latte to a tea-drinking public, to a ferocious retail war that's reshaping the entire global industry. And underneath all of it: the mountains of Yunnan — one province that grows over 98% of China's coffee, and is now pushing the boundaries of specialty fermentation in ways that have the world's top roasters paying attention. China's coffee story isn't just about scale. It's about a country figuring out, on the fly, how to be both the factory and the tastemaker. That tension — between industrial muscle and boutique ambition — is what this episode is really about. 👉 Subscribe & Follow: ASCENT Podcast on Substack 📖 Episode Chapters 00:02:12 Coffee as a House Plant: French Missionary Sows the First Seed in the 19th Century 00:06:15 1950s: Coffee as an Export for the Soviet Bloc 00:21:05 1980s: The Nestlé Revolution - Building the Supply Chain 00:46:26 Creating a Coffee Kingdom: Nestlé’s Quality Standards and the 4C Certification 00:51:01 1990s-2000s: Starbucks and the Initiation of Chinese Coffee Culture 01:05:57 The Shift to Specialty Coffee (& Coffee Economics 101) 01:20:11 The Midas Touch: Yunnan’s Experimental Fermentation 01:29:10 2010s-2020s: The Great Retail Coffee War in China 01:34:47 Luckin vs. Starbucks 01:46:28 Final Thoughts: The Future of Chinese Coffee Industry 🚩 Correction 00:21:10 Nescafe came to China in 1988, Nestle started its business in China in the 1870s 01:03:24 Price in 2011 not in 2021 01:29:40 30k Luckin stores in 2025, 13k was 2023 number
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S2 · E1
January 31 · 1 hr 56 min
Manus AI
This episode explores the playbook behind the meteoric rise of Manus AI, the startup that redefined the "AI agent" landscape and secured a historic acquisition by Meta for over $2 billion. In just nine months, Manus went from a stealth spring launch to a $125 million revenue run rate, earning its reputation as China’s "DeepSeek moment." We dive into the technical breakthrough of "computer use"—the frontier where AI agents move beyond chatting to actually operating virtual workspaces to build websites, conduct deep market research, and analyze data like a human professional. We trace the company’s high-stakes origins, from the previous startups of its three co-founders to the ZhenFund partnership that acted as the ultimate catalyst. Finally, we analyze why Meta bet $2 billion on a 9-month-old product and what this means for the future of WhatsApp, small businesses, and the global AI arms race. 👉 Subscribe & Follow: ASCENT Podcast on Substack 📖 Episode Chapters 00:02:30 Meta's $2 Billion Bet on Manus AI 00:05:48 Understanding the Leap from LLMs to AI Agents 00:12:12 The Tool Geek: Red XIAO (CEO) 00:27:38 The Scientist-Builder: Peak JI (Chief Scientist) 00:45:54 The Product Philosopher: “Hidecloud” Tao ZHANG (CPO) 00:56:14 The Catalyst: ZhenFund 01:09:30 Start of Butterfly Effect and Monica 01:15:54 The Great Pivot: Killing an AI Browser to Build Manus 01:25:04 Going Viral: The Launch That Shocked the Global AI Community 01:36:43 Meta's Plan? WhatsApp, SMBs, and the Future of Productivity 01:52:55 Poem: The Spirit of M - By Manus 🚩 Correction 00:29:20 Million RMB, not million USD
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S1 · E8
Dec 31, 2025 · 38 min
Holiday Special
What a year it's been! To all our amazing listeners, thank you for joining us on this wild ride through 2025. Ever wonder who else is tuning into ASCENT with you? Or what company totally blew Linda & Pan away this year? We've got all that and more packed into our special holiday episode! Building ASCENT has been an incredible journey, and your support has been the fuel. We couldn't have done it without you. Now, we're gearing up for Season 2, and we want YOU to help us make it epic. Hit the link in our show notes to fill out the form to help us shape Season 2 of ASCENT! Happy holidays, everyone! Let's get into the show. 🙋 Help shape Season 2 of ASCENT! 2-Minute Form Here 👉 Subscribe & Follow: ASCENT Podcast on Substack 📖 Episode Chapters 00:01:01 Seven Companies of 2025: Insta360, DeepSeek, Red Bull, Xiaomi EV, Pop Mart, Game Science, ANTA 00:04:51 Numbers Reveal! Where are Our Listeners - Top Cities & Top Countries 00:13:56 “Company of the Year” - Linda’s Pick & Pan’s Pick 00:24:48 “Things That Should’ve Been Included in the Episodes But Oops We Forgot” - Linda’s Pick & Pan’s Pick
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S1 · E7
Dec 5, 2025 · 2 hr 8 min
ANTA (The Owner of Arc'teryx)
When you think of the biggest names in sportswear, who comes to mind? Nike, right? The undisputed king. And Adidas, the eternal number two. For decades, that’s been the story. A two-horse race.But what if I told you there’s a third giant? A company that, in just the last few years, has quietly become the third-largest sportswear brand in the world, with a market value that’s now neck-and-neck with Adidas. And what if I told you that you probably own something made by this company, but have no idea? Ever worn a pair of FILA sneakers? Played tennis with a Wilson racket? Gone skiing with Salomon boots? Or maybe you’ve coveted one of those high-end Arc’teryx jackets? All of those iconic brands… are owned by the same company. A company you’ve likely never heard of: Anta Sports. In this episode, we will discover how Anta Sports rose from a rural Chinese workshop to become the world’s third-largest sportswear empire, challenging giants like Nike and Adidas. We will uncover founder Ding Shizhong’s high-stakes strategies: surviving the post-Olympic inventory crisis with a radical Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) pivot and transforming FILA into a fashion powerhouse. Finally, we dissect the audacious "Snake Swallows Elephant" acquisition of Amer Sports (Arc'teryx, Salomon, Wilson), revealing the financial engineering behind Anta's multi-brand global dominance. 👉 Subscribe & Follow: ASCENT Podcast on Substack 📖 Episode Chapters 00:02:16 Anta's Humble Origins and Ding's Beijing Hustle 00:23:19 The Prince of Gymnastics vs. The Underdog 00:34:49 Pivoting to the NBA: Conquering Basketball 00:50:00 The Inventory Hangover: Surviving the Post-Olympic Crash 01:03:47 The Fila Bargain: Buying a "Dead" Asset 01:24:17 Snake Swallows Elephant: The Amer Sports Acquisition 01:46:20 Potential Future for Anta: Opportunities and Risks
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S1 · E6
Nov 1, 2025 · 1 hr 46 min
Game Science (Creator of Black Myth: Wukong)
This episode dives into the inspiring journey of Game Science, the Chinese studio that defied industry giants with their global hit, Black Myth: Wukong. Discover how disillusioned Tencent veterans Feng Ji and Yang Qi bet everything on a single-player, PC-only game rooted in Chinese mythology. We trace their decade-long quest from compromise to triumph, exploring the creative philosophy, financial risks, and artistic passion behind a game that sold millions in days. This is the story of proving a small studio could conquer the global stage and redefine what's possible for Chinese game developers. A must-listen for gamers and entrepreneurs alike. 👉 Subscribe & Follow: ASCENT Podcast on Substack 📖 Episode Chapters 00:01:02 Intro 00:01:59 CEO Feng Ji’s Journey from Science Major to Game Junkie 00:11:26 The Artistic Talent Behind Wukong: Yang Qi 00:18:10 Source Material: Journey to the West and the Game's Backstory 00:30:47 The Predecessor: Lessons Learned from the Tencent Asura Project 00:38:42 Game Science is Born: Survival and Compromise 00:47:55 Building a Myth: The Six-Year Grind of Black Myth: Wukong 01:04:45 The Hype After the Trailer: Game Science's Response to Media and Investment 01:31:14 What's Next? Zhong Kui, Expectations, and the Future of Game Science
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S1 · E5
Sep 26, 2025 · 1 hr 41 min
Pop Mart (Maker of Labubu)
Step into the world of Pop Mart (泡泡玛特)—the Chinese collectible toy giant that turned “ugly-cute” designer figures into an international sensation. In this episode, we reveal founder Wang Ning’s journey from a small Beijing shop to a multibillion-dollar brand leading the global blind-box craze. What key business foundations did the Pop Mart team lay before launching Labubu to enable such massive worldwide success? 🔑 What You’ll Learn Pop Mart’s Rise: From humble Beijing beginnings to global blind-box dominance. Design to Factory to Store: Behind the scenes of how Pop Mart identifies artists and creates blind-box designs. Business Model Secrets: The gamified blind-box strategy driving explosive growth. The Labubu Effect: How one IP became a global hit thanks to social media. Whether you’re into designer toys, collectibles, or retail strategy, this deep dive shows how Pop Mart built a worldwide following—one blind box at a time. 👉 Subscribe & Follow: ASCENT Podcast on Substack 📖 Episode Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction: the “ugly-cute” monster that blew up the internet 00:05:00 From CDs to grid shops: Wang Ning’s college hustles 00:12:02 Surviving the early years: cash-strapped and cornered 00:16:03 The VC lifeline: how Mai Gang’s faith saved Pop Mart 00:24:58 Sourcing the management team from MBA class 00:30:40 The great pivot: from licensing to IP powerhouse 00:41:03 The blind-box formula: Molly, Labubu, and the gamified craze 00:57:34 Behind the scenes: from artist discovery to store sales 01:16:37 Global expansion: from partnerships to full control 01:34:55 Our take on why Pop Mart succeeded
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S1 · E4
Aug 15, 2025 · 1 hr 59 min
Xiaomi EV
Today we are covering a company that built its name on viral smart phones and a "magic touch" for creating every kind of smart home appliance imaginable. We're, of course, talking about Xiaomi. This company, which started far from the automotive world, has just launched its first two EV models, and the result is stunning. The SU7 sedan and the YU7 SUV have become one of the most wanted and pre-ordered EVs in China. It also made the fastest EV sports car in history so far. This is Xiaomi EV. 👉 Subscribe & Follow: ASCENT Podcast on Substack 📖 Episode Chapters 00:00:59 Intro 00:02:47 The “Tony Stark” of China: the story of Lei Jun 00:10:41 Building an empire: the Kingsoft years and the founding of Xiaomi 00:25:18 More than phones: a breakdown of Xiaomi's business lines 00:34:17 Blacklist, boardrooms, and a big decision: how a crisis led to the EV venture 00:45:09 The EV hunger game: navigating a “game of elimination" 00:57:17 The SU7: a masterclass in smart EV manufacturing 01:17:15 The "Halo effect" of Ultra: how racing puts Xiaomi on the map 01:33:17 The numbers game: sales, market share, and industry trends 01:39:54 Demand outruns the factory: the production challenge 01:45:15 The fastest to profit: Xiaomi's future and global ambitions
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S1 · E3
Jul 9, 2025 · 2 hr 1 min
Red Bull
Today, we dive into the fascinating story of a global powerhouse that, on the surface, appears distinctly Western, yet boasts surprising Asian roots. This isn't just a company that sells a drink; it sells a feeling – the promise that "gives you wings." It's a brand that established dominance not through traditional advertising, but by deeply embedding itself in the worlds of niche sports, adrenaline junkies, athletes, artists, and innovators, cultivating an exceptionally strong and loyal following within these high-influence communities. Instead of mere ad placements, it operates like a full-fledged media company, producing high-quality documentaries, films, music, magazines, and other digital content, often with the product subtly, or even entirely, in the background. Yes, you have guessed it, we're talking about Red Bull. In this episode, you'll discover its humble beginnings in Asia, its journey to Europe, its groundbreaking marketing and content creation strategy, its evolution from sports sponsor to team owner, why you can find at least four different Red Bull cans in China, and the ongoing legal battles it faces. 👉 Subscribe & Follow: ASCENT Podcast on Substack 📖 Episode Chapters 00:00:00 Intro 00:03:20 Thai origins: Krating Daeng and Chaleo Yoovidhya 00:09:55 The Austrian visionary Dietrich Mateschitz 00:14:50 Conquering Europe (with a lot of bans) 00:40:48 Journey into the world of extreme sports and media production 01:07:14 From sponsorship to ownership: F1 & football 01:24:45 Same bulls, different drinks: TCP Red Bull, Red Bull Austria & Red Bull China 01:56:15 Red Bull’s legacy and future
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S1 · E2
Jun 10, 2025 · 1 hr 30 min
DeepSeek (and before it became DeepSeek)
DeepSeek is the Chinese large language model (LLM) that stunned the AI world with its low training costs and open-weight approach. This episode dives into the extraordinary founder story of Liang Wenfeng, the secretive quant trader who pivoted his billion-dollar firm, High-Flyer Capital, into a top AI competitor. How did a quantitative finance empire become the birthplace of DeepSeek R1 and V3? We unpack the innovations, the GPU hoarding strategy, the DeepSeek architecture, and the controversial pivot that positions them as a serious challenger to ChatGPT and Llama in the global AGI race. 👉 Subscribe & Follow: ASCENT Podcast on Substack 📖 Episode Chapters 00:00:00 Intro 00:04:23 Liang Wenfeng's early life and education 00:08:16 Inception of the quant trading journey 00:18:47 Becoming quant king: building a billion-bollar empire 00:31:00 The hoarding (of GPUs) begins 00:39:53 Liang Wenfeng's vision for China's quant future 00:46:48 The 2021 challenge and fund drawdown 00:50:29 The pivot: from trading to AGI 00:57:17 Innovation under constraint 01:08:31 DeepSeek's unconventional hiring philosophy 01:12:35 Future uncertain: can DeepSeek outlast the giants? 01:20:50 Ascent with open source Correction: at 59:24 - it should be 600 billion not 6 billion parameters P.S. Yes, these show notes were also generated by DeepSeek!
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S1 · E1
Apr 30, 2025 · 1 hr 15 min
Insta360
Insta360 is the world's fastest-growing action camera brand, dominating the 360 camera market with its software innovation and Invisible Selfie Stick technology. This episode of ASCENT unpacks the incredible journey of founder JK Liu, a visionary software engineer who took the company IPO this year, making him one of the youngest tech disruptor CEOs. Discover the Insta360 strategy that allows creators to "shoot first, frame later", a technique redefining content creation and giving them the edge over competitors like GoPro. We explore the full Insta360 story: from early product development (Nano, One) to its focus on the global market, strategic partnerships, and the key success factors behind its rapid evolution. 👉 Subscribe & Follow: ASCENT Podcast on Substack 📖 Episode Chapters 00:00:00 Intro 00:02:50 The journey of JK Liu 00:05:57 Early ventures of JK 00:09:02 The birth of Insta360 00:11:58 Identifying opportunities in the market 00:14:54 Product development: from Nano to Insta360 One 00:18:06 The evolution of Insta360: key products and innovations 00:39:51 GoPro vs. Insta360: a tale of two strategies 00:44:03 The importance of focusing on the global market 00:49:49 Strategic partnerships is the key to Insta360's success 00:56:11 Innovative marketing and brand ambassadors 01:01:48 Navigating IPO challenges 01:05:05 Our reviews of the key success factors
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