Tony Zhao
Independent strategic partner for technology companies entering Japan & Asia.
I help founders and leadership teams turn insight, trust, and cross-market relationships into real partnerships, market entry, and long-term strategic outcomes.
Tokyo --:--·Singapore --:--·San Francisco --:--
Based in Tokyo & Silicon Valley
What I do
Insight. Connection. Execution.
I work with selected AI-native founders and companies at moments when market entry, strategic partnerships, trust-building, and execution need to come together.
I do not simply introduce people. I help founders understand the structure behind opportunities: who matters, what trust is missing, where leverage exists, and what path is worth pursuing.
Insight
Understanding the real structure of a market, opportunity, or relationship.
Connection
Building high-trust links between founders, partners, capital, and market nodes.
Execution
Turning strategic direction into concrete next steps, partnerships, and outcomes.
Who I work with
For founders entering complex markets.
I work best with founders who are building AI-native companies, expanding across markets, and facing questions that cannot be solved by simple introductions or generic advice.
- AI application companies
- AI agent companies
- AI-native consumer platforms
- Creator economy / entertainment AI companies
- Cross-border technology companies
- Founders entering Japan, Southeast Asia, or other complex trust-based markets
How I work
Selective by design.
I only work with a small number of founders and projects at a time. Before going deep, I prefer to define the role, expected contribution, attribution, and commercial structure clearly.
This protects the work, the relationship, and the long-term upside for everyone involved.
Clear role
What I own — and what I don't — is defined before the work begins.
Clear attribution
Contribution stays visible and acknowledged, not absorbed.
Clear economics
Commercial structure is agreed early, so incentives stay aligned.
Long-term alignment
I optimize for relationships and outcomes that compound over years.
Current focus
AI-native companies entering Japan and Southeast Asia — where trust, partnerships, distribution, creator ecosystems, and strategic market entry decide who wins.
Today that means partnerships, go-to-market, strategic BD, market entry, and M&A for a small number of high-potential AI-native companies.
Next step
If the opportunity is real, let’s talk.
I am open to serious conversations with founders, operators, and investors working on meaningful AI-native opportunities.