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.

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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

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.

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

What if I told you one of the most exciting new players in the competitive field of large language model wasn't founded by a Stanford or MIT AI PhD straight out of a top lab, but by a quant trader?

Was this quant trader (LIANG Wenfeng, LWF) “the man who solved the Chinese market”? To what extent was his quant trading business develop within China?

Why did LWF pivot from quant trading to LLM development?

And the most mysterious of all, how was LWF (the founder of DeepSeek) able to compete among giants in and out of China, while all the other LLM giants are much better equipped than him?

In this episode of Ascent, we're diving into DeepSeek, but not just any AI LLM story, we will be going through the founder’s journey, how he embarked on his first half of the career as a quant trader and creating a quant trading firm, and how did that quant trading firm later transitioned into an LLM company, which led to product we all know today - DeepSeek. Join us as we unpack this fascinating transition.

Tune in to DeepSeek’s story!

00:00 Intro

04:23 Liang Wenfeng's early life and education

08:16 Inception of the quant trading journey

18:47 Becoming quant king: building a billion-bollar empire

31:00 The hoarding (of GPUs) begins

39:53 Liang Wenfeng's vision for China's quant future

46:48 The 2021 challenge and fund drawdown

50:29 The pivot: from trading to AGI

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: 59:24 - it should be 600 billion not 6 billion parameters

(And guess who generated the show notes this time ... DeepSeek!)