Meet Andy Tian, Founder of Asia Innovations Group

Tell Us About The Business, How Did It Come About?

AIG was founded in 2013 by myself and Ouyang Yun and aims to enrich people’s lives worldwide through innovative and enjoyable live social products, which foster meaningful human connection. Live social connects people in the moment through voice and video.

We are an international company with 12 global offices and a multinational with expertise and background from leading global technology companies such as Google, Tencent, and Zynga.

We also have diversified and local talent teams in each market we operate who integrate local live social knowledge to foster individual market development.

We are strategically focused on serving users in underserved and therefore high growth potential markets, particularly in the Major Emerging Markets (MEMs) including Southeast Asia, Pan-India, Middle East, North Africa, and Latin America.

AIG is also enabling the gig economy to empower and reward young talent.

What sets us apart from other leading social media companies:

• Our products incorporate cutting-edge technology, advanced streaming capabilities, and a scalable global infrastructure to deliver an optimal, seamless, and authentic live social experience.

We were the first in the industry to offer two-way real-time translation powered by AI, allowing users and streamers to easily communicate and connect even if they speak different languages.

We can deliver high quality video/voice streams in real time from anywhere in the world to a user’s phone, with a backend that in real time optimizes CDN and network resources to offer the best streaming route.

We leverage our HTML5-based livestreaming front end to enable users to share live streams via other messaging apps, allowing friends to watch livestreams, and to let users play online games in the livestream session without having to leave the platform.

What Have You Learnt So Far?

As we have expanded globally, we have seen the necessity of addressing the specific needs of audiences in the regions we reach. Emerging markets are young and diverse. Therefore, they have unique needs and are not “one size fits all.” With 1.8 billion mobile internet users, companies must enter emerging markets with a mobile forward approach.

Emerging markets demand customised features for their demographics, from country, to language, culture, and religion. AIG is adapting through a localised approach that provides customisable solutions to meet these diverse needs of emerging markets. Our product development, optimisation and user experience are highly customised for audiences in each market we serve, enhancing user loyalty.

What Challenges Have You Overcome? How Have You Responded During Covid?

Our team met the challenges of the pandemic head-on and provided innovative new features during a time of global isolation, which furthered the need for people to connect authentically even while stuck at home.

Our flagship product, Uplive, enables the gig economy to thrive in communities worldwide as it gives streamers a platform to earn a meaningful income from their home, using only a smartphone. This has been particularly helpful to many whose livelihoods were paused or diminished during the global COVID-19 pandemic.

During pandemic lockdowns, Uplive also introduced a platform for musicians to perform via live stream, meeting a unique need in the industry. Over the past year, the live streaming musical performances have become the most popular content vertical on the app, helping musicians produce new content and grow their fanbase even when in person concerts were cancelled.

Beyond pioneering innovations in the live social industry, Uplive is passionate about enhancing the lives of individuals, and I’m particularly proud of how the Uplive community empowered and supported streamers amidst a global economic crisis.

What Are Your Plans For Growth?

We plan to leverage our product engine to continuously release new live social products in MEMs, that serve customised needs of particular EM markets, such as voice streaming for MENA and a dating app for Spanish-speaking countries.

We believe MEMs remain underserved due to a lack of focus from global internet players who have not created products tailored for these local users.

The overall market is still early and poised for growth as:

• EMs continue building infrastructure
• Covid has accelerated user education and demand globally

We are strategically focused on MEMs, enabling us to capture and capitalise on high growth potential markets.

According to Frost & Sullivan, the aggregate value of MEM live social markets is expected to increase to US$29.6 billion in 2024 from US$8.2 billion in 2019, representing a CAGR of 29.1%. The MEM live social markets growth potential is much higher than for China (19.8%) or developed markets (16.8%).

In the near-term we plan to increase our efforts to market Uplive in Latin America, Eastern Europe and Russian-speaking countries and market Lamour in America, Europe, and Africa.