Venturous Group Venturous Group

Drawing from 36 years of private equity experience, the CEO of HPEF Capital Partners, Marcus Thompson, summarises his three decades of learning in one hour. Since the PE asset class's boom in the 1980s, Marcus has navigated through evolving markets from the UK to Asia, witnessing the private equity scene's rise post-SARS in 2004. This journey led him to discover the "secret sauce" to running a successful PE firm, including disciplined due diligence and strategic exit timings, and why private markets have outshined public ones consistently. Marcus will also share his long-term vision for PE investments, emphasising the importance of looking beyond current trends to anticipate the next 3-5 years.

Dr. Jingfeng Xu, who leads Digital Services for Arup in Australasia, shared his insights during a Venturous Webinar, emphasizing his belief that sustainable development encompasses all aspects of life, with digital technology playing a ubiquitous role. He highlighted the early stages of Smart Buildings technology, stressing the crucial need for property owners to adopt property technology innovations. These innovations are essential for assessing and enhancing facility management, improving energy efficiency, and reducing carbon emissions, among other benefits.

In a world where purpose-driven investments shape a sustainable future, Mr Andrew Chia, Senior Investment Manager of Taronga Ventures, explores the synergy of innovation and sustainability in the built environment, drawing insights from their portfolio. He shares insights into evaluating investment proposals, emphasising expansion potential, team dynamics and alignment with strategic partners. Andrew also highlights the rising trend of AI and automation in Proptech.

Numerous organisations possess substantial data assets. As AI gains momentum, a select few are keen on harnessing AI's potential to unlock value from their data reservoirs. Zühlke's Managing Director of Technology, Keya Desai, adeptly unravels the path to becoming an agile, data-driven entity. She underscores AI's authenticity and its potential to significantly impact our lives. Keya contends that AI's utility extends to nearly every industry, with only a scant 2-3 exceptions. Looking through an investor's lens, Keya envisions AI as a prudent, long-term investment, recognising tangible outcomes may take 3 to 5 years to fully materialise.

At the heart of Anacle's vision lies real estate management, and with unwavering conviction, Alex Lau, CEO of Anacle Systems, passionately championed the cause of Smart Buildings. With an enlightening demeanour, he showcased the unprecedented possibilities that await in the world of IoT, where costs have plummeted by 70% and installations have accelerated, thanks to cutting-edge innovations. Alex fervently asserted that the time has come for buildings to shed their excuses and wholeheartedly embrace smart technology.
Venturing further into the captivating realm of AI, Alex shared transformative scenarios where its magic could truly shine. As the enthralling closing Q&A session approached, he struck a powerful chord by emphasising the pivotal role of government initiatives in driving Smart City projects, thereby inspiring private enterprises to follow the trail they blaze. Moreover, Alex underscored the allure of attractive incentives, infusing life into the notion of digital transformation for private organisations.

At the Venturous Session on May 10, 2023, Mr Glenn Wu, Co-Founder of R&B Technology Group, showcased Ari, their innovative product. Ari is a virtual industry expert powered by AI, offering deep data insights and domain expertise to property owners, helping them reduce energy consumption, carbon emissions, and overall costs. 
Additionally, Glenn emphasised the need for quantitative assessment and highlighted the challenge of low response and participation rates due to property owners' limited understanding of the solutions' benefits.
The session concluded with a Q&A session, where Glenn elaborated on R&B's company size and competitive advantages.