Episode 715: Spent $1.5m On One Sperm Race and It Went Viral | Eric Zhu - E715 - BRAVE Southeast Asia Tech: Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand & Malaysia Startups, Founders & Venture Capital VC (English)

An 18-year-old got kicked out of high school, built a data startup from a bathroom stall, and now raises millions to race human sperm on live television.

In this episode of the BRAVE Southeast Asia Tech Podcast, Jeremy Au sits down with Eric Zhu, founder of Aviato and Sperm Racing, to unpack one of the strangest venture-backed stories in tech. Eric explains how he ran founder calls from an Indiana high school bathroom using a green screen and hall passes bought from drug dealers, why a billionaire dared him to turn sperm speed into a spectator sport, and how the first race cost $1.5 million and went viral overnight.

He also breaks down the real business behind the memes: biomarker sports, rolling up e-commerce and software brands, and running them with AI agents. Along the way he shares why he bets on young, hungry, underpriced talent, why he thinks founders are "degenerate gamblers" chasing asymmetric upside, and why AI may be the biggest inflection point since the early internet.

Watch, listen or read the full insight at https://www.bravesea.com/blog/eric-zhu-sperm-racing

BRAVE is Southeast Asia's leading tech podcast, hosted by Jeremy Au. Honest conversations with the region's top founders, investors, and operators on building startups in Southeast Asia.

New episodes every week. Subscribe so you never miss one.

Listen & Subscribe

YouTube (English), YouTube (Bahasa Indonesia), Spotify (English), Spotify (Bahasa Indonesia), Spotify (Chinese), Spotify (Vietnamese), Apple Podcasts

Follow BRAVE

LinkedIn, X (Twitter), Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp

Follow Jeremy Au

LinkedIn, X / Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Threads, Twitch

Resources

Get transcripts, startup resources & community discussions at www.bravesea.com

#SpermRacing #Startup #VentureCapital #TechPodcast

00:00 The High School Bathroom Startup

03:02 - Moving to San Francisco

04:20 - Building a Data Engine

08:14 - Lessons in Leadership

09:13 - The Genesis of Sperm Racing

10:09 - Production Chaos in LA

14:02 - The Business of Biomarker Sports

21:35 - Hiring Gen Z Talent

23:44 - The Reality of Silicon Valley

26:39 - AI and The Future of Work