Sharon Mirsky

Great news, very excited about this white-label partnership with China Airlines! The amazing tech powered by Rocket Travel by Agoda will be put to good use, converting #StayMiles into rewarding travel experiences. Damien Pfirsch Jane Chang Jess Ho Giuliana Riitano Gil Hazan Kris Suebjaklap   #loyalty #whitelabel #b2b #agoda #chinaairlines #traveltech #aviation

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While Southeast Asian startups are still debating the need for product managers, the top markets made their bet a long time ago and it’s paying off. Here’s what the data says 👇 📉 SEA startup funding dropped 59% in 2024 🔹 From $7B in 2023 to just $2.84B last year 🔹 Late-stage rounds fell a staggering 77%; a clear sign that investors are pulling back due to execution risk! 📉 In Q4 alone: SEA: 132 deals worth $1.9B 🇮🇳 India? 301 deals worth $4.1B; a 41% increase YoY 💡 Meanwhile, unicorns in the US, UK, and India have doubled down on product leadership because they treat the product function as a strategic engine, not a support function. 🎯 Why does this matter? Because Southeast Asia isn’t lacking talent or ambition, it’s lacking strategic product execution at scale. Most companies here either don’t hire product managers at all, or they bring in entry-level PMs and expect them to “grow into the role.” What they really need are experienced PMs who already know how to: ✅ Navigate fragmented user bases across 5+ markets ✅ Prioritize under intense resource constraints ✅ Shape product bets that align with business survival ✅ Drive real outcomes, not just ship features The question is no longer: “Do you need a PM?” It should be: “Can you afford not to have the right one?” #ProductManagement #ProductLeadership #SEAstartups #SaaS #TechInSEA #PMStrategy #Founders

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The gap between AI experimentation and real transformation isn't technology. It's asking the right question first. Last 2 weeks, I stood in front of business leaders at The International conference of business theories & practices (iCOB) in Vietnam and asked one thing: "What should you do?" Not "what tool should you buy." Not "which vendor is best." What should YOU do. Recent data tells a fascinating story: • 81% of Vietnamese users interact with AI tools daily, highest in Southeast Asia • Yet most organizations still struggle to scale beyond pilots • Vietnam's digital economy projected to hit $39 billion in 2025 • The difference between experimentation and transformation? Four foundational shifts. 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 before chasing shiny objects. Clean, accessible data. Leaders who understand AI. Culture ready for change. Most skip this step entirely. 𝗗𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘀, not algorithms. Enhance versus replace roles. Build transparency into AI recommendations. Create enabling pathways, not exit plans. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀, not silos. Don't let IT drive alone. Connect cross functional teams. Measure business outcomes, not technical metrics. 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗦𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹, 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗕𝗶𝗴. Pilot where you learn fast. Connect to strategic vision. Scale winners, kill losers quickly. The organizations succeeding aren't the ones with the biggest AI budgets. They're the ones who answered "what should we do" before asking "what can AI do." The next wave won't be about who adopts AI first. It will be about who builds readiness, designs for humans, and thinks in systems. #DigitalTransformation #ArtificialIntelligence #huysmile #Vietnam #EnterpriseAI

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Serious question. Is the Philippines going to build a strong traditional SaaS ecosystem over the next 5 years… Or are we going to skip that phase and jump straight into AI native, agentic platforms? The US and other advanced markets made a lot of money through traditional SaaS. Many venture funds in SEA built their thesis on that model. But AI is compressing timelines. If software becomes easier to build and copy, the real value shifts to deploying intelligence, not just selling tools. We are bullish on tech led service models deploying intelligence _ This should probably be a Polymarket or Kalshi question. If I were betting? I’m betting we leapfrog. What do you think?

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𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐆𝐂𝐂𝐬 𝐍𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐫 (𝐂𝐁𝐎) We have CEOs. We have CTOs. We even have CDOs. But the one role GCCs quietly need and rarely design for, is the Chief Bridge Officer. Here’s why: 1. 𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥-𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐆𝐚𝐩 → HQs often see execution, not innovation. Locals feel capability, but not recognition. A CBO bridges intent and perception. 2. 𝐂𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐦 → Global DNA + Indian agility needs active weaving, not passive coexistence. A CBO makes that hybrid culture intentional. 3. 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞-𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠 → GCCs are shifting from cost to product, from service to platforms. A CBO ensures the agenda is not lost in translation between geographies. I’ve seen this gap play out across multiple global GCC setups. Sometimes, leaders informally play the “bridge” role. But informality isn’t enough when the mandate is scaling to $100B+ value contribution. My provocation: Shouldn’t every GCC have a formal role whose core KPI is to bridge strategy with execution, HQ with India, present with future? Because the truth is: value gets created in the bridge, not in the silos. What do you think: is it time to stop asking “who owns the GCC agenda?” and start asking “who bridges it?” #GCCLeadership #FutureOfWork #GlobalIndia #Transformation #Innovation #Leadership Achyut Menon "AK" Amrish Kumar Viswanathan K S Supriya Shankaran (Shanks) Srinivasan Arindam Sen KPMG India ANSR Vishnu BG Susheel Kumar GCC Pulse™ Vishwanadh Raju Zinnov Amgen India Naveen Gullapalli Som Chattopadhyay

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Weekly series: Week 68 <> Reflect back on 2025 Vietnam is moving fast. And the app economy is moving faster. User acquisition has grown sharply in the last three years. Reports from Data.ai and Sensor Tower show double-digit YoY growth in installs across gaming and utility. Especially gaming. Vietnam is one of SEA’s fastest-growing markets. 68% of total app revenue comes from games. And here’s the twist 🌀 UA & monetisation now run side by side. Like two engines pulling the same plane. They push hard on paid acquisition. They target high-value users. They depend on reliable monetisation engines to pay for that growth. But what fuels these engines? Partners who understand the local monetisation pulse. Vietnam has a unique ad consumption pattern. High gaming penetration. High session frequency. High rewarded-video engagement. Some open sources report rewarded ads outperforming banners by up to 3–4x in eCPM. Studios lean on this. Rewarded ads often decide if a campaign is profitable or not. Under the hood, the tech has also leveled up. Studios are deploying everything from automated price optimisation to smarter bidder setups. They’re adopting tools that trigger alerts when revenue drops. They’re experimenting with multi-bidder stacks, machine-learning-based floor pricing, and lighter SDK loads to improve retention. The entire stack is becoming more automated and more data-driven. And the audience? Tight-knit. Hungry for insights. Vietnamese devs talk to each other more than you’d expect. Discord servers. Local Facebook groups. Gaming forums. Everyone wants the same thing — clear numbers, stable revenue, and tech. If you step back, the story is simple. Vietnam’s app ecosystem is scaling. Its UA engine is strong. Its monetisation engine must match the pace. Growth isn’t just about acquiring users. It’s about making sure every impression, every ad unit, every bidder… pulls its weight. UndrAds is headed on the path. And going forward, I'll try to pivot my Friday series towards insights like these. Until next Friday!

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Last week, I watched one of our backend engineers facilitate a co-design session with our CMO. Not "attend." Facilitate. He was gathering feedback, sketching solutions on the whiteboard, writing his own acceptance criteria based on business needs. Everyone talks about how AI is turning product managers into builders. I agree. But there's another shift happening that's equally profound, and I think we're only starting to see it. Software engineers are becoming PMs of themselves. Not just at an individual level; they're engaging with the product and business strategy at an organizational level. In the past few weeks at Serenis, I've seen this pattern repeat: engineers self-designing solutions from customer feedback, writing their own deliverables, operating with the kind of strategic context we used to gate-keep in "business roles." As AI compresses the operational time spent writing code, the best technical minds in your company suddenly have bandwidth to think about why they're building something; not just how. They're not waiting for tickets anymore. They're shaping the product. And if you're a PM who can't prototype, doesn't understand your codebase, and has no opinions on software architecture in service of long-term business goals? You're right to feel nervous. Yet, the opportunity isn't just "PMs learn to code." It's much bigger. It's what happens when your most technically fluent people are finally freed up to co-create the business with everyone else.

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Setting the table for success starts with knowing exactly whom you’re serving. Here are 11 𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐈𝐂𝐏 𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 from a recent workshop I ran with Tau Ventures founders. Every company, from pre-customer to multi-million ARR, had to answer the same question: 👉 Who exactly should we go after? Yesterday, we wrapped up the second part of Rainmakers' ICP workshop for TAU VC portfolio companies. We used Rainmaker’s tools to pressure-test ICPs across 4 critical lenses: -> Go-to-market fit -> Product fit -> Friction level -> Reachability Each founder walked away with a sharper ICP, and a repeatable process to revisit it as they scale. But the real gold came from the shared patterns. Here are the 11 key lessons that hit hard across the board: 1. ICP work is ongoing, not one-time Every stage brings new challenges. Your ICP should evolve with the business. 2. ICP changes as the company matures Early-stage ICP focus is fundamentally different from later-stage focus. 3. Focus directly impacts momentum Scattered ICP = scattered execution. Clear focus = velocity and repeatability. 4. Changing ICP affects every part of the business New ICP means new product, new messaging, new pricing, all at once. That shift multiplies execution risk. 5. Changing ICP resets the flywheel Switching ICP = losing referral momentum and relearning the market. It’s effectively starting over. 6. Sales cycle length determines what you can sell Short cycles = near-term roadmap. Long cycles = promises on future features. Misalign that, and deals stall. 7. Avoid markets that require capabilities you don’t have Defense and regulated industries need lobbying, compliance, and trust infrastructure. Without it, demand means nothing. 8. Geographic expansion requires cultural readiness Asian markets, for example, demand language and cultural fluency. Market size alone won’t cut it. 9. Early-stage ICP must be executable Sell to customers your product can serve today. Don’t chase logos you’re not ready for. 10. Low-hanging fruit accelerates learning SMBs and fast buyers = faster feedback loops. Long approval cycles = delayed traction. 11. Transactional and complex sales behave differently SMB ≠ Enterprise. Different sales motions need different people, tools, and expectations. The sharper your ICP, the faster you move. The messier it is, the more you stall. If you haven’t revisited your ICP lately, it may be time to set the table again. Huge thanks to Tau Ventures, Moran Zilbershtein, and Hadar Pizanty for initiating and hosting the workshop. Looking forward to seeing these founders put it all into motion.

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Cultural friction as a velocity multiplier. In global tech, the default guidance is cultural alignment, it's wrong. I fundamentally disagree with the premise. Trying to force a unified, homogenized culture, making Thailand operate like North America, Western Europe, or vice versa, is a strategic error that sacrifices competitive speed for superficial peace. The tension between diverse operating models is the lever we use to accelerate. At SmarterTravel, we manage a highly effective bi-continental operating system built on leveraging inherent differences: The American impulse "Move fast, iterate aggressively" vs. the Thai discipline "processes rigor and systemic validation" yielded results of speed with architecture. Using American aggression to dictate the pace and the Thai precision to ensure that the architecture holds. I believe companies should stop trying to smooth out cultural differences and should operationalize them (my first choice of word was weaponize) - this is how you build a resilient, high velocity global machine. #CulturalFriction #GlobalTech #CrossCulturalLeadership #HighVelocityTeams #OperatingModels

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🚀 Another player in shared mobility market executed the super app approach… and on a massive scale... 🌏 👉 Grab operates with a 46 million monthly user base across 8 countries. In 2024, it generated US$ 2.8 billion in revenue with a 19% growth rate 📈Naturally, aiming for more growth - the super app play makes total sense at this scale. 🤳 In October 2025, Grab (Southeast Asia’s leading ride-hailing platform) launched “partner apps,” letting users access external services (from eSIMs to bike rentals) inside the Grab app. What’s now inside Grab: 🚲 On-demand bike sharing. Users can find and rent bikes via Grab’s map. 🚗 A P2P car sharing platform (Singapore only) that enables app-based car rentals from nearby owners, with keyless unlock and insurance included. 🌍 Global eSIM mobile data for travelers (covering 180+ countries). Grab users can purchase international eSIM directly through app for instant connectivity abroad. 🚌 A bus and ferry ticketing platform spanning over 200 operators in Singapore and Malaysia, letting users book intercity transport within the app. 🎮 An entertainment mini-app offering casual games and short video dramas to watch on the go. Grab users can play games or stream content within the app and earn rewards. In my opinion, a very interesting strategy. However, I’m not fully convinced how the entertainment/games component fits into this model, it feels outside the user’s core mobility needs. But we’ll see, maybe it brings an unexpected edge. And Grab is not alone… other mobility platforms are building their ecosystems 🌐👇 🇪🇪 Bolt: 200M+ users in 50+ countries. Services include ride-hailing, scooters, food delivery, and car sharing - helping them hit €2B revenue in 2024 and 17% growth rate 💶 🌍 Careem: now active in 13 countries, with 50M+ users. After adding food, parcels, and payments, Careem saw a 900% user growth back in 2020 and owns nearly half the ride-hailing market in MENA now 📊 💡 Why super app? 1) ARPU & LTV growth – once users are in, they’re onboarded to more services, boosting revenue per user per month 2) Engagement & retention – more services = more reasons to return = higher stickiness 💥 Results? Grab reported multi-service users spend 4× more and transact 2× more often than single-service users. ⚙️ 🚀 That’s exactly what we saw at ATOM Mobility when we first introduced multi-service support - the core service (whether it’s car sharing, scooter sharing, or ride-hailing) is always the backbone, but when you layer the right additional services and do it smartly it gives operators a real competitive edge. Sources: https://lnkd.in/dFzK4V2J https://lnkd.in/dceMRAxr https://lnkd.in/dRxeNV_f #SuperApp #Grab #Bolt #Careem #Micromobility #Ridehail #ATOMMobility

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🚀 The SEA Startup Playbook is Being Rewritten The "growth at all costs" era isn’t just slowing down—it’s officially in the rearview mirror. I recently sat down with AsiaTechDaily to discuss the "new reality" for founders and investors across Southeast Asia. While the headlines often focus on the "funding winter," the real story is about the caliber of companies being forged in this climate. At Capital JDI, we’re seeing a fundamental shift in what it takes to build and scale. Here are three takeaways from our conversation: 1️⃣Sustainability is the new "Blitzscaling": Profitability used to be a Year 5 goal; now, it’s a Day 1 conversation. Investors aren't just looking for a "moat"—they’re looking for a bridge to self-sufficiency. 2️⃣The Venture Studio Advantage: In a cautious market, the "lone wolf" founder model is evolving. Strategic partnerships and venture building frameworks are providing the operational backbone that raw capital used to buy. 3️⃣Resilience Over Hype: The founders winning right now are those who have traded "vanity metrics" for rock-solid unit economics. Building in public during a downturn is where the most iconic companies are made. It’s tougher, yes—but the foundations are much stronger. Nevertheless, at Capital JDI, we remain committed to empowering the next generation of founders navigating this new reality. Special thanks to the team at AsiaTech Daily for the feature and for the deep dive into the ecosystem's future. Read the full interview here: https://lnkd.in/g8Ta-XxE #SoutheastAsia #VentureCapital #Startups #CapitalJDI #FounderMindset #TechEcosystem #Entrepreneurship

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Just came from the ASES Manila x Globe Telecom event. Back in 2012, we started Kalibrr—what became the first Y Combinator startup in Southeast Asia. At the time, there was no real startup ecosystem here. No local capital. No appetite from corporates to work with early-stage teams. Today, I spoke to a room full of students and builders who are already thinking globally. It’s a very different landscape now—and that’s a good thing. I shared a few hard-won lessons I wish I had heard earlier: 🔹 Your first idea probably won’t work. Kalibrr started as a job training platform. We had to pivot to job matching when the model didn’t scale. You learn by shipping, failing, adjusting. 🔹 AI isn’t a moat anymore. Everyone has access to similar tools. The real advantage is distribution—who you can reach, and how well you understand their problems. 🔹 The best product doesn’t win. The clearest message does. If your buyer doesn’t immediately understand what you do and why it matters, you won’t get the meeting. 🔹 Culture compounds. At Swarm, we built around a few values—craft, excellence, collaboration, problem-centricity—and hold each other to them. The ripple effects go beyond the company. 🔹 If you’re early in your career, pick learning environments. Optimize for pace, feedback, and standards. That experience builds faster than job titles do. Thanks again to ASES Manila and Globe for hosting today’s event. The next generation is more ready than ever. Alexis Collado Ashley Ko Sharan Mansukhani

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For enterprises, AI deployment is a no-brainer - the upside justifies the effort. But for SMEs? The cost-benefit analysis is different. Human/financial resource-constraints + smaller scale mean that implementation needs to be smooth as can be. And that's the challenge we’ve been solving. It's tough, but also exciting and we're getting there: ⚡️6× more AI messages last 6 months ✅ Up to 96% full resolution rate for top clients The AI revolution is underway for SMEs too! 🚀 (Read more about how our AI works 👇)

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What if your $10M ARR product was built with the budget most startups spend on four engineers? This was during a quarterly business review with one of our most successful clients. They'd built their entire product platform using our talent network across Taiwan, Vietnam, and Philippines, 18 exceptional developers for what most companies budget for a small local team. The financial impact was remarkable, but what really struck me was how the capital efficiency enabled their growth strategy. Instead of choosing between hiring engineers or investing in customer acquisition, they could do both aggressively. That's when I realized arbitrage isn't just about cost savings, it's about removing false choices that constrain business growth. When talent costs drop from 65% of budget to 35%, the extra 30% doesn't disappear, it gets redeployed into marketing, sales, product development, or extended runway. Watching their success made me understand that Second Talent's real value isn't just providing great developers at better rates, it's enabling capital allocation strategies that would be impossible with traditional hiring approaches. Sometimes the most powerful business insights come from watching your clients succeed in ways you hadn't fully anticipated. Second Talent ◼️🔸

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🚀 Just launched a full-stack production website from scratch. https://lnkd.in/gNgtFR4D is live — a luxury corporate + e-commerce platform for a premium noodle brand serving retail, B2B, and OEM clients. 🛠 Stack: Next.js 16 · React 19 · TypeScript · Tailwind v4 · Framer Motion · Supabase · Razorpay · Vercel 🎬 The homepage plays 192 JPEG frames on an HTML Canvas driven entirely by scroll position — a cinematic scrollytelling experience at 60fps. First-time visitors get auto-scrolling onboarding that cancels the moment they touch the screen. 🔥 Major problems I faced: 1. Blank Screen on First Visit 192 images = ~3.7MB. Auto-scroll fired before images loaded — broken animation. Fix: loading overlay until frames are ready + preloaded first frame in <head> + immutable cache headers. 2. Google OAuth Crashing the App Google Sign-In inserted Unicode characters into cookies. Next.js Server Components couldn't parse them — white screen. Fix: edge middleware that sanitizes every cookie value with a regex. 3. signOut() Hanging Forever Browser's Navigator Lock API caused signOut() to hang on some devices. Fix: Promise.race with 2s timeout + manual cookie/localStorage cleanup as fallback. 4. Payment Security Razorpay callbacks can be spoofed. Fix: server-side HMAC-SHA256 signature verification before recording any order. ⚡ Beyond the storefront: — Admin panel with analytics dashboard, product management, CMS, orders, leads, newsletter, coupons — Headless CMS via JSONB — admin edits go live instantly — Custom analytics tracker (no third-party scripts) — B2B lead gen pages for Distributors, Private Label, OEM — Row Level Security across 8 Supabase tables — E2E Cypress tests for the full purchase flow 📌 Building for production is a different game. Corrupt cookies, hanging promises, race conditions, payment forgery — none of this shows up in tutorials. Ship it. Break it. Fix it. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gNgtFR4D 💻 https://lnkd.in/gt3BWAMJ #webdevelopment #nextjs #react #typescript #supabase #fullstack #buildinpublic #launch

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A2D is Southeast Asia's fastest growing startup investing platform where investors meet tomorrow's game changing startups. They, like me, believe in adding value to the Startup ecosystem by providing information that founders might not see elsewhere, yet can likely benefit from. Point in question - this content in their newsletter. HOT NEWS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA 🇹🇭 Thailand Greenlights Virtual Banks – MoF approved TrueMoney, Krungthai x AIS x OR, and SCB X x KakaoBank x WeBank to launch the country's first virtual banks 🇲🇾 Obiguard – Antler-backed AI risk detection startup secured USD 110K pre-seed to tackle early-stage AI threats  10Ants Enterprise – Urban renewal venture raised USD 500K from Wavemaker Impact to convert underused SEA spaces into SME-friendly hubs 🇵🇭 Salmon Group – Fintech firm secured USD 88M to expand credit access and innovative financial solutions across Southeast Asia 🇲🇾 Instapay – Fintech startup raised USD 3M in Series A2 from U.S. family offices and ACA Investments to scale its payments and remittance offerings 🇸🇬 Shiok Burger – Alt-burger chain raised undisclosed pre-Series A led by AC Ventures, joined by CFF Fund, SPIRAL RISE Capital, and a major Chinese food conglomerate 🇸🇬 Multiplier Holdings – AI-native pro services startup launched with USD 27.5M across seed and Series A rounds led by Ribbit and Lightspeed 🇮🇩 Amartha – Fintech firm empowering rural entrepreneurs secured USD 55M from Swedfund, Finnfund, and BIO to scale inclusive finance in Indonesia This is their website (https://lnkd.in/gmaWeCeG) and LinkedIn page (https://lnkd.in/gTeC96Pm). Well done A2D Ventures! #angelinvesting #angelplatform #founders #startups #givingback

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One thing my summer in Southeast Asia made clear: we are in a Tech sector winter. In 2024, tech companies raised just US$2.84B across ~420 rounds—down 59% YoY and 80% below the 2022 peak. H1 2025 added only ~US$2.0B, with Singapore capturing ~92% of capital. Debt financing hit a six-year high as equity dried up. The exit door is barely open. SEA IPO proceeds were ~US$3.0B in 2024, the lowest in nine years. Singapore’s main board had no meaningful tech listings—just four IPOs raising ~US$31m. H1 2025 shows more listings but still small proceeds. For VCs, fundraising by SEA managers hit a seven-year low in H1 2025. Put simply: harder to get money out, less money in. Why? Small markets, thin margins, cut-throat competition, conglomerates protecting their turf, macro headwinds… But a big factor is the string of governance blow-ups and fraud cases. The most publicized is Indonesia’s eFishery. Once hailed as an agri-tech unicorn, investigators now allege 75% of reported sales were fabricated, inflating revenues by ~US$600m. In Aug 2025 the founder was arrested for fraud and embezzlement. Investors, including Northstar, were hit so hard that the once-flagship Indonesian PE firm was absorbed by Ares Management, ending its independent run. Other scandals include Investree (license revoked after CEO’s alleged misuse of funds), Crowde (fictitious farmer loans), MyAirline (collapsed amid money-laundering probe), and Zilingo (accounting irregularities → liquidation). And that’s just what made headlines. On the ground, you hear plenty more. There’s still a path forward: focus on higher profit pools, build profit-first and AI-efficient operations, enforce strong governance, and design for real liquidity—M&A, secondaries, cross-border listings. The digital economy is still growing. The winners will be the ones that grow up fast.

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“From vibe coding to exclusive LLM deals” sounds cool on stage. But that Agoda interview was a perfect X-ray of what’s really going on. Read between the lines and you hear the same soundtrack: more AI, more bots, more ad inventory, more pressure to get you from “maybe” to “booked” as fast as possible. And all of it built on one core assumption: “The top priority of the traveler is to be 100% sure they’re getting the best price.” That’s exactly how an OTA thinks. Not how a human plans a rare, expensive, emotional trip. Real travelers don’t wake up and say, “Please bombard me with the ten top-selling destinations until I give up and click.” They wrestle with time off, safety, meaning, family, impact. Price matters... of course. But it’s one layer in a much deeper decision, not the whole story. If this is where AI goes in travel, here’s what we’re really doing: 🛑 Training machines to optimize speed to booking, not quality of decision. 🛑 Turning operators and experiences into grey, interchangeable widgets in a price grid. 🛑 Ignoring the inspiration and reflection phase where trust and loyalty are actually built. 🛑 Pushing more volume into the same “top sellers”, then wondering why sustainability is a mess. 🛑 Teaching a whole generation that “best trip” = “cheapest inventory surfaced by whoever bid highest”. The 2026 trend I care about isn’t “more AI”. It’s whether we have the guts to use AI to slow down the right moments, ask better questions, and actually respect how people choose to travel. When you look at your own AI roadmap… are you building tools that help travelers feel sure about their trip, or just systems that help you close them faster? Here is the full article: https://lnkd.in/dbhG9qE5

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