Unlocking the Vision: Building the Future in the AI Era
Our INVESTMENT MANAGER Jian reflects on the transformative potential of AI
Hi, I’m Jian Kang from Bridgewest Ventures New Zealand. My journey started with Engineering and Data Science studies in China and the US, before returning to China to invest tens of millions of dollars into Biotech and AI startups.
Now, I’m excited to be part of the BVNZ team, where we’re leveraging Bridgewest Group’s global reach and deep industry networks to uncover and support emerging AI and tech ventures, especially those with roots in Aotearoa, New Zealand.
Like many of you, I’ve been thinking about how we adapt to this new era shaped by Artificial Intelligence. After reading thought leaders like Paul Graham, I believe the best thing we can do, maybe the most important thing, is to create. To build things that are beautiful, meaningful, and profound.
And right now, we have unprecedented tools to do just that. AI is not only disrupting industries but also lowering the barriers to creation. Open-source platforms like Llama, DeepSeek and Qwen are democratizing AI, making it accessible and affordable than ever. They’ve cut down infrastructure costs, promoted small model development by enabling distillation (you can even run some models locally on your laptop), popularized inference capabilities through open chains of thought, and accelerated AI commercialization.
These are opportunities we’re excited to pursue, and we think others should be too!
So, what truly excites me about AI right now?
It’s probably not the foundation models. Competing on infrastructure and ecosystem is a game for tech giants, not early-stage startups. And it’s not really a venture capital game either, it’s hard to find true alpha when consensus is high and the barriers to entry are so high.
It’s probably not the mid-layer tools either. Most tools like prompts, databases, and wrappers will be replaced or integrated as foundation models evolve and advance.
What really captures my attention is the application layer. This is where agents and products are solving real-world problems end-to-end, often in highly specialised verticals. I see transformative potential across several key areas:
Check out more below.
AI for Productivity or Service
AI is democratizing the creation of powerful, personalized tools. But the real breakthroughs happen when this technological power is combined with deep understanding of specific industry challenges.
That’s why we’re exploring ventures across a wide range of industries: healthcare, life sciences, civil engineering, construction, agriculture, clean tech, and more. We're engaging with founders who possess this crucial combination: an intimate grasp of niche pain points and the ability to translate those into tangible, AI-native solutions.
How AI could transform your industry?
Take Project DORIS as one example. With roots in oncology and leveraging proprietary data, this LLM-powered co-pilot is poised to revolutionize cancer care by providing clinicians and patients with faster, more accurate, and highly personalized support. This isn't just a technical achievement; it's a fundamental rethinking of decision-making within medicine.
AI for Insights
After meeting nearly 100 companies in the AI and Biotech space over the past few years, I firmly believe that AI will unlock previously intractable questions and reveal new truths from a range of latent possibilities. From the intricacies of biotech to the vastness of Agritech, we've witnessed how AI can illuminate patterns invisible to the human eye.
Our portfolio company MACSO.ai exemplifies this. By deploying sophisticated sensors and AI models on animal farms, they can predict disease outbreaks before symptoms appear. This early detection gives farmers the chance to act ahead of time, protecting both animal welfare and the resilience of our food supply.
This kind of deep-tech innovation demands patience and precision. But the payoff is enormous: the potential to reshape entire industries.
AI for Content
We are only scratching the surface of what's possible in the realm of AI-generated media. From immersive and interactive games and dynamic 3D environments to deeply engaging, AI-shaped user experiences, the possibilities are staggering.
Lately, I’ve been reflecting on how AI is being used in game design, not just to shape stories or power NPCs, but to shift how we experience presence, trust, and engagement. These systems have the potential to subtly guide user behaviour, influence perception, and even change how people value digital experiences.
Whether you're an engineer pushing technical boundaries or a storyteller envisioning new narratives, an artist experimenting with new mediums, or an academic exploring the societal impacts – if you're exploring how AI can redefine our interaction with content, let's connect.
Our Commitment: More Than Just Capital, We're Cofounders
At Bridgewest Ventures NZ, we believe in active partnership. We roll up our sleeves and work alongside you to build from the ground up.
A Cofounder Mindset: From day one, we collaborate closely to test and refine your product-market fit, ensuring a strong foundation for growth.
A Global Network: As part of the Bridgewest Group, we offer access to a powerful network of AI and tech companies across the US, EU, Australia, New Zealand, and China, opening doors to global opportunities.
Flexible and Enduring Capital: We are committed to supporting you throughout your journey, from initial experiments to achieving global scale.
Real-World Industry Traction: We operate large companies across diverse sectors, providing unique opportunities to pilot and validate your technology in real-world environments.
Experienced Builders: With a track record of 18 successful exits across deep-tech sectors, we bring invaluable experience and a deep understanding of the challenges and triumphs of building impactful companies.
Navigating the AI Era: Building for the Future
The rules of engagement are evolving. I’m seeing many founders that are still applying playbooks from the internet era to the world of AI. But the dynamics have shifted. AI thrives on deep vertical focus, not broad network effects.
The Internet, especially mobile Internet, creates network effects. That’s why we saw the rise of giants like Facebook, TikTok, Taobao, Uber, and Twitter. These platforms grew stronger as more users joined: more drivers attracted more riders, more sellers brought more buyers. The result was a self-reinforcing loop that often led to a winner-takes-all outcome.
But AI plays by a different set of rules. Its core strengths lie in computing power rather than connecting networks. Data availability is a major constraint, and simply adding more users doesn’t necessarily make a large language model more accurate. Instead of building massive networks, founders need to focus on specific verticals, going deep into one domain, where they can build domain-specific intelligence and solve real-world problems at an expert level. Scale vertically first. Then think about orchestrating horizontally.
If we delve into business models, taking SaaS pricing as an example, the cost of token usage in AI is significantly higher compared to cloud usage in traditional SaaS. Therefore, a seat-based model may not be suitable in the AI era. Instead, a hybrid pricing model could be adopted, where the basic subscription fee includes a certain level of usage, and any excess usage is charged on a pay-as-you-go basis.
Let's Architect the Future Together
New Zealand offers a unique environment for building the next wave of AI-driven innovation. With access to public, angel, and incubator funding, limited competition compared to other markets, and mature industries to partner with, it’s an ideal place for trial and error, fast iteration, and cost-efficient pivots.
As a deep tech incubator, we’re ready to embrace the disruption and facilitate ventures with advancement, defensibility and unique value.
So, this is a call to the builders – the creators, the domain experts, the technical minds who see the untapped potential and are driven to bring it to life. You don't need to have a crystal-clear vision of the future or your products - Nowadays where AI is still evolving, it's unrealistic to expect founders to have everything figured out from Day One. The key is having the capability to continuously build and deliver.
Take Manus, a Chinese AI startup that recently raised $75M USD led by Benchmark, as an example. The team made timely and effective adjustments in a rapidly changing environment. They didn't stubbornly stick to their initial idea but chose the most promising product direction and found the best angle at the right time. Their strong ability to pivot in this “all moving pieces” situation has led to significant momentum.
I truly believe AI is pushing the boundaries for exceptional founders, making this an era of emerging heroes! If you've ever had a bold idea about how AI could revolutionize your field – particularly in productivity and services, scientific or industrial insight, or media and creative content – now is the time to take that leap. Even if your vision is still taking shape, I encourage you to reach out.
Connect with me at jian@bridgewest.ventures or via LinkedIn.
Acknowledgements
Finally, we want to acknowledge the valuable contribution of Hadi Daoud, who recently completed an intern project with us, diligently mapping the AI landscape and talent across Aotearoa.
Some interesting insights include that mathematicians can be a better talent pool when looking for machine learning scientists, provided detailed screening metrics are used. Additionally, AI can be a double-edged sword in certain applications, with examples in specific use cases. His insights have been instrumental in shaping this call to action.
We firmly believe that New Zealand possesses the talent, the creativity, and the unwavering resilience to emerge as a leader in the AI era. Let's unlock that potential, together.