XA Network

Last week's XA Network's panel on healthcare innovation and investment surfaced some sharp takes on where the industry is heading. A few really stuck out: - Annabel Lin laid out the staggering imbalances in healthcare infrastructure — entire countries like Vietnam relying on a single radiologist, while developed markets stare down a $47 trillion chronic disease burden. - Rio Hoe (Ease Healthcare) made the case for vertical focus in digital health. Their move from women's health to obesity management wasn't just strategy — it was about building deep patient trust in one lane. - Natasha Hui Jin Ng of BetaLife shared a refreshingly practical biotech playbook: build commercial revenue streams alongside your therapeutic pipeline. It de-risks the long R&D runway that sinks so many startups. - Michael Blakey of Cocoon Capital flagged what might be Singapore's biggest missed opportunity — world-class research that hasn't yet been matched by commercial muscle. A lot to chew on, especially around how Southeast Asia's health tech scene is positioning itself for the next decade. Thanks to everyone who participated in the thoughtful discussion. #HealthcareInnovation #DigitalHealth #Biotech #Investment

Why an LLM won’t solve a 1:10,000 doctor-patient ratio. Everyone is talking about AI. But in healthcare, an LLM won't solve a 1:10,000 doctor-patient ratio. We aren't just talking about tools; we’re talking about the limits of technology and the scale of the opportunity. XA Network is hosting a candid exchange with founders and investors operating across the spectrum to discuss why the "AI-first" mindset needs a reality check on the clinic floor. State of the Industry | Annabel Lin Annabel will share her perspective across digital health, medtech, and biotech. From differing risk profiles to time horizons and capital allocation, this session will unpack how the landscape is evolving — and where conviction is forming. The Investor View | Michael Blakey— Managing Partner, Cocoon Capital. 70+ investments and a philosophy of backing "hard, unsexy problems" over market hype. The Digital Health Reality | Rio Hoe — Co-Founder & CFO, Ease Healthcare. Representing an XA portfolio company, Ease Healthcare provides a real-world look at evolving a women’s health ecosystem and building patient trust in Southeast Asia. The Deep Biotech Frontier | Natasha Hui Jin Ng — Co-Founder, BetaLife. iPSC cell therapy to provide functional cures for Type 1 diabetes, representing the long-term potential of deep biotech. Join us for The HealthTech Spectrum: Solving the 1:10,000 Doctor Gap to Unlock the 100-Year Life: 📅 Thursday, 16 April 2026 🕐 6:00 PM 📍 The Singapore Business Federation (SBF), 160 Robinson Road #06-01 SBF Center, Singapore 068914 🔗 Register Here https://luma.com/iqq8ds9a XA Members: Check the platform for member-specific registration. Guests and public attendees are welcome to register via the link above. Deep dive into the industry. Stay for the conversation. #HealthTech #AIinHealthcare #XANetwork

🎙️ The Operator’s Edge: Navigating Hype Cycles & Career Acts in SEA XA Network in collaboration with Analyse Podcast, recently hosted a live podcast at Poddster Singapore to dive into this topic. Key Takeaways: 💡 Profitability over hype The ecosystem is shifting from aggressive growth to disciplined execution and sustainable business models. 🌏 Southeast Asia’s complexity Winning in the region requires localized strategies and strong partnerships across fragmented markets. 🤖 AI’s real impact AI is enabling SMBs to scale faster, while larger companies are navigating governance and integration challenges. 🚀 Careers in tech evolve Leaders shared lessons on navigating ambiguity, staying authentic, resilient, and continuously learning, while embracing diverse perspectives. 🤝 The Evolving XA Network  Beyond investing, XA inspires community, knowledge exchange, diversity, and cross-regional collaboration that empowers operators to grow. Watch the full episode:  LinkedIn: https://lnkd.in/g3a5-zSH YouTube: https://lnkd.in/gsVmUFex 👏 Huge thanks to Bernard Leong, Diana Kane Britt, Vivek Mahapatra, Tobias 'Toby' Berger for the brilliant insights, and the Poddster Singapore team for making it all happen! #XANetwork #TechLeadership  #StartupEcosystem #AIAdoption

🤖 AI Agents: Beyond the Hype. Last week, the XA hive-mind gathered to answer: Are agents actually doing useful work yet? Hosted by XA Australia's Mike Langford, our ‘XA INSIGHTS: RISE OF THE AGENTS' event moved past the white papers to hear from founders and investors building and deploying agents in real time. Just some of the highlights: 👉 From "Ask AI" Era To "Act AI" Era: 2026 is the year we move from AI suggesting a restaurant to autonomously booking the table. 👉 Picking Winners Is Harder Than Ever. Investor are looking for those who own proprietary data and targeted workflows, but moats are still being defined. 👉 Autonomy Vs. Control: We are building autonomous agents for companies that aren't yet ready to let go of the steering wheel. High-trust cultures will be the first to scale. With thanks to our speakers: Alex Connolly, Mike Abbott, Kylie Frazer, Yash Varma 🧠 🚀🦄 🧠, Samuel Steele, Sam Crowther, Dhanish Semar. And to our Founder showcases: ProxyTwin, FOBOH, Springboards.ai, Auric, and Chime Labs. #xanetwork #AIAgents #TechInsights #AI #Investment #Innovation

There is nothing quite like the energy of Singapore! 🇸🇬 After a busy fall navigating a relocation to Mexico and establishing a SF Bay Area "drop zone," it feels incredible to be back immersed in Singapore's unique vibrancy. Our own XA Network x Analyse Podcast session was one of those vibrant and conversations! Topic—“The Operator’s Edge: Navigating the Hype Cycle”—couldn’t be more timely. While AI and venture capital move through inevitable hype phases across Southeast Asia, the real value is built only after the headlines fade. We dove deep into: The Enterprise Reality Check: What are companies actually buying in 2026? The Execution Gap: Bridging the divide between capital hype and the reality of GTM execution. The "Ambiguity" of Leadership: Navigating regional roles and the evolution into "second acts." The discussion was grounded in candid stories from those of us who have operated and invested across this region. Shout out to our MC, Bernard Leong, and my fellow panelists Tobias 'Toby' Berger and Vivek Mahapatra (Vivek- thank you for the book recommendation- "Linchpin" - by Seth Godin ). A huge thank you to Poddster Singapore, Borko Kovacevic, and Ben Draycott-Jones for hosting us at the studio—if you’re looking to launch a podcast, there is no better place to start. It’s good to be back. Catch the conversation: LinkedIn Events Video: https://lnkd.in/g3a5-zSH Full YouTube Video: https://lnkd.in/g9XHuNbn #XANetwork #AnalysePodcast #SoutheastAsia #TechLeadership #AngelInvestor #Poddster

XA Network is thrilled to be partnering with Analyse Podcast and Poddster Singapore for this special live event. If you are a founder, investor, or tech leader in Singapore and are interested in joining, see below for details and the link. #AILeadership #SingaporeTech #techInvesting

XA Network was pleased to partner with Allen Taylor and Caela Tanjangco of Endeavor Catalyst to discuss "The Macro and Micro Environments in Early Stage Investing" and share more about the mission of Endeavor and its fund, Endeavor Catalyst, with our members. 🚀 A few points really stood out 💡: ➡️ 5 markets have driven this rise in Venture Capital outside the US over the last 15 years: China 🇨🇳, India 🇮🇳, Germany 🇩🇪, the UK 🇬🇧, and Israel 🇮🇱. ➡️ Compared to 2013, when 100% (39 total) of Unicorns 🦄 were from the US, 49% (~700) of Unicorns today are from outside 🌏. ➡️ The VC landscape is shifting to two broad types of VCs: Agglomerators ↔️ vs. Specialists 🎯 (see below pic). Thanks again to Allen Taylor and Caela Tanjangco for the engaging discussion and for hosting the XA Network for breakfast! #venturecapital #ventureforgood #earlystageinvesting #VCs Tobias 'Toby' Berger, Dipendra Jain, Annabel Lin, Samuel Jeanblanc, Randal Helsdon, Urvashi Gupta, Dyan Shinto Eko Nugroho, Sze-Meng Soon, Keemin Ngiam 🔜 GDC

The XA Network closed out 2025 with a wonderful evening at our Singapore End-of-Year Drinks at 67 Pall Mall 🎊. Thank you to all the members who joined us! The night was filled with candid conversations 💬, thoughtful investing stories 💸, and exceptional wine 🍷 made for the perfect toast to reflect on the year and celebrate the impact of our community. 🙌 Thank you to all of our members being part of the network, participating in the dinners and thought leadership events, and investing in the angel and later-stage opportunities throughout 2025. We look forward to expanding the network and continuing the journey together in 2026. 🚀 #XANetwork #techleaders #angelinvestors Tobias (Toby) Berger, Guy Charusadhirakul, Vidit Agrawal, Clément Parazon, Clair Roy, brian chen, Vidit Agrawal, Siddharth C., Randal Helsdon, HungYen - Ian Chu, Mark Souza, Cifer Ong, Keemin Ngiam, Mansha Tandon, Ashnil Dixit, Ned Lowe, Annabel Lin, Thomas Merritt, Sami Kizilbash, Enric Casals Brufau, Alexander de Leon, Dyan Shinto Eko Nugroho, Julian K., Yasmin Rahmatullah, Urvashi Gupta

A couple of weeks ago, we had the pleasure of hosting an exclusive XA Industry Briefing: The Lean Agentic Enterprise – Apps, AI, and Agents, led by Vivek Mahapatra, VP of AI Product GTM at Salesforce. 🤖 Vivek guided us through much of the confusion surrounding AI adoption. He unpacked the misconceptions often held at the leadership level and redirected the conversation from LLM hype to the architectural foundations that actually generate impact & ROI. 💥 Joined by fellow XA members, the session discussed adoption patterns and the challenges and opportunities ahead across industries and various business segments. Sessions like this wouldn't be the same without finishing off with some member networking and further debate. 🍻 A big thank you to Vivek for leading the conversation, and to all our members who joined us for an insightful and engaging session. 💡 #XAnetwork #AIStrategy #TechLeadership #EnterpriseAI #MachineLearning Samuel Jeanblanc, Nupur A. Sadiwala, HungYen - Ian Chu, Anshul Gupta, Ashnil Dixit, Siddharth C., Cifer Ong, Thomas Merritt, Dyan Shinto Eko Nugroho, Vipin Sharma, Clair Roy, Tobias (Toby) Berger

We asked a few of our Aussie members what they love about XA Network. This video was created with VEO3 for a recent XA Australia event and takes inspiration from 'Creature Comforts' (for the nostalgic UK viewers 🐢). Learn more about XA Network at xanetwork.co.