MetaEra launched the 'High-End Dialogue' series of interviews, where we will continue to engage with industry elites and leaders to explore the development and future of Web3.0. The subject of this interview is Wang Yuehua, a partner at Draper Dragon.
Article Author: Lesean, MetaEra
Source: MetaEra
Character Introduction
Mr. Wang Yuehua has 20 years of experience in the semiconductor industry, holding a master's degree in telecommunications engineering from National Chiao Tung University in Taiwan. He has published several professional papers on microwave technology in IEEE Transactions. After graduating, he began working in chips, semiconductors, and communications. Before becoming an investor, he worked as an engineer in R&D, technical support, sales, and as a professional manager. Draper Dragon is a top venture capital institution founded in Silicon Valley in 2006 and has invested in over 100 projects in the Web3.0 space.
Key Insights
1. Code is law, privacy is freedom, computation is power.
2. Innovation is about creating value, and the future prospects of Web3.0 are very optimistic.
3. Investment risks and returns are not separated by sector; the three observation points are people, events, and time.
4. Hong Kong should enhance cooperation between enterprises, research institutions, and higher education institutions in Web3.0, strengthening the synergy between industry, academia, and research.
5. When the top forces in Silicon Valley and Washington focus on developing cryptocurrency, it can drive Web3.0 towards a higher and faster trajectory, providing greater development platforms for young people, especially those with engineering and computer backgrounds.
6. We can be more detailed and bolder in our vision for future development, like writing a novel; everything will gradually realize through time and innovation.
Full Interview
MetaEra: Based on your past experience, you have twenty years of experience in the semiconductor industry, having worked in R&D, technical support, sales, and three entrepreneurial ventures. What foundation has this laid for you in the Web3.0 space?
Wang Yuehua: Investors from different industry backgrounds have certain industry experience and knowledge in specific sectors such as semiconductors, healthcare, and manufacturing, along with ample resources and networks. The early accumulated experience in technology R&D and management plays a strong foundational role in venture capital, especially in early-stage investments. Additionally, working in different types of companies can accumulate experience in personnel structure, resource allocation, and company management. Having interacted with large, small, and even startup companies allows for certain anticipations of pitfalls and difficulties they may encounter in the development process, which can serve as reference during investment. So, what benefits does this bring to Web3.0?
Regarding this question, we must consider what exists in Web3.0. From a foundational logic perspective, the infrastructure of Web3.0 includes AI. Basic knowledge in AI encompasses automatic control, parameter regression from the semiconductor and communications sectors, and even older technologies like voice recognition and image recognition developed a decade ago. These early algorithms related to artificial intelligence are fields that the semiconductor industry encounters. Furthermore, Web3.0 represents an upgrade of the internet; before blockchain, there was the information internet, and after blockchain, it transformed into the value internet. From information to value, internet protocols will inevitably upgrade, and this knowledge will involve encryption in computer science, computer engineering, and communications. Therefore, past experiences can help us smoothly enter the Web3.0 space.
MetaEra: Your social media signature is 'Code is law, privacy is freedom, computation is power.' Could you elaborate on what this phrase means?
Wang Yuehua: 'Code is law'—in the blockchain field, we often talk about smart contracts, which are implemented through a set of codes to realize certain conditional rules. These conditional rules are very close to legal contracts. This phrase uses metaphor; the conditional rules in the contract are presented in the form of code and ultimately executed, which is what 'code is law' means.
'Privacy is freedom' is even easier to understand; without privacy, how can there be freedom? If we have ways to maintain privacy in Web3.0, it represents complete autonomy, and user autonomy equals freedom.
'Computation is power' or computing power equals power means that today, possessing computing power equates to having a certain degree of influence, enabling AI reasoning and training, thereby affecting others.
MetaEra: Could you briefly introduce your current work?
Wang Yuehua: My current main work involves early investments in the USD digital asset fund at Draper Dragon, primarily focusing on the primary market. This can be understood as various protocols in the Web3.0 field, including games, digital identities, the metaverse, and payment-related projects. These projects are mainly teams based in the U.S., with some being purely equity projects and others having issued tokens to operate their projects.
In addition, we have jointly established the 'Hong Kong Cyberport Draper Dragon Web3.0 Accelerator' with Hong Kong Cyberport in the second half of this year, drawing on Draper Dragon's startup incubation experience in Silicon Valley and combining it with Cyberport's Web3.0 ecosystem to accelerate the practical application of Web3.0 in Hong Kong from multiple aspects such as talent cultivation, project incubation, and investment.
MetaEra: The new regulations for virtual assets in Hong Kong officially took effect last year. As an established international financial center, Hong Kong is more cautious than other countries and regions in the development of Web3.0, including traditional financial institutions being relatively conservative. How do you view this phenomenon? How do you think Hong Kong's Web3.0 should carve out its own distinctive path?
Wang Yuehua: Finance has always been Hong Kong's core competitiveness, and with this foundation, we can continuously lay out Web3.0-related projects. Web3.0 has historically achieved high efficiency in clearing and settling through blockchain protocols, and many large blockchain projects have connected with banks. In the financial sector, Hong Kong can vigorously develop stablecoins and RWAs. With the support of compliant licenses, it can help related projects connect domestically and internationally. This compliant, open, and friendly environment is precisely Hong Kong's characteristic.
On the other hand, there is digital entertainment, which is the metaverse. Aside from AI, Web3.0 also needs to enhance human-machine interaction experiences, namely AR and VR, all of which require a machine as an interface, whether it's a mobile phone, computer, or VR glasses. Hong Kong has always had a good foundation in digital entertainment, and if Hong Kong’s unique styles, films, and so on can further develop in the Web3.0 era, it can enhance Hong Kong's competitiveness.
In terms of innovation, Hong Kong needs to enhance cooperation between enterprises, research institutions, and higher education institutions, strengthening the synergy between industry, academia, and research. Hong Kong is already very mature in finance and applied commercial fields, but innovation cannot be separated from technological talent, most of whom come from universities. Hong Kong's universities rank highly globally; if the potential for transforming and commercializing university research results can be further unlocked, facilitating relevant cooperation among the government, industry, universities, and the research community, it can further enhance Hong Kong's innovative capability.
MetaEra: The U.S. election has just concluded, and Trump is back in the White House. If Trump pushes the U.S. to become a global Bitcoin superpower, what impact will this have on Hong Kong and even China? What opportunities and challenges will arise?
Wang Yuehua: Whether driven by Trump in the United States or influenced by other factors, the pace of digital currency's future advancement will inevitably accelerate. This presents both opportunities and challenges for Hong Kong: on the positive side, as the current number one country globally, the U.S. developing cryptocurrency will inevitably encourage other countries to follow suit. When such a trend emerges, the mainland may gradually loosen restrictions, at least starting with discussions and then implementing some open policies; on the negative side, given the current conservative stance in mainland China, the U.S.'s more lenient and friendly policies towards cryptocurrency may cause Hong Kong to miss some opportunities.
But without challenges, there can be no innovation, and without innovation, there can be no further development. When the top forces in Silicon Valley and Washington concentrate on developing cryptocurrency, it can drive Web3.0 to develop in a higher and faster direction, providing greater development platforms for young people, especially those with engineering and computer backgrounds. Innovation is about creating value, and the future prospects of Web3.0 are very optimistic.
MetaEra: What does your vision of the future landscape of Web3.0 look like?
Wang Yuehua: In my view, Web3.0 can achieve user autonomy in the future. The core logic of Web3.0 in shaping the future is decentralization, which manifests in practical scenarios as user autonomy. If we think beyond the typical 'user' as humans, we can consider AI as the 'user'. For example, Elon Musk's current work on autonomous driving and humanoid robots opens up greater imaginative space when we do not limit the concept of a user to human forms.
On another front, there is the economy from above to below. The U.S. has been developing the space economy for over a decade, from satellite applications, space agriculture, and space energy to the frequently seen SpaceX rocket recovery by Elon Musk. These emerging space economies are changing various aspects of human life on Earth; on the other hand, there is the ocean economy. It's important to note that oceans account for 71% of the Earth's surface, yet our development of the ocean is still superficial. The deep sea is rich in biological and mineral resources, potentially being an infinite 'treasure trove', and just thinking about this is exciting. The French science fiction writer Jules Verne detailed submarines in his 1870 novel 'Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea', but at that time, submarines were still very primitive. Our vision for future development can be more detailed and bolder, akin to writing a novel, leaving it to time and innovation for everything to gradually materialize.