Agnes AI: This is How You Win Southeast Asia

In this episode of the Convo AI World Podcast, Derek Zheng interviews Bruce Yang, Founder and CEO of Agnes AI, discussing the platform's meteoric rise to a $100 million valuation and its acquisition of 3 million users in Southeast Asia. They explore Agnes AI's positioning as a mobile-first, "sovereign AI" that blends productivity with social networking, distinguishing itself from competitors like Manus through a focus on local cultural nuances and social algorithms. Bruce shares insights on their technical architecture—including the proprietary Ava model and token-efficient code agents—and explains their strategy of prioritizing daily active users over immediate monetization by offering premium features for free. The conversation highlights the collaboration with Agora to power real-time group chat features and concludes with Bruce's vision for the future of AI-native social networks and voice-first interactions. Check out video episodes and subscribe to the Convo AI Newsletter at podcast.convoai.world