ET Tan

AI ❇️ HP Way: Applying what I learned years ago in the world of AI

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I grew up in an earlier world where people mattered. Where leadership meant walking the floor Not just watching targets or managing KPIs, dashboards or manipulating systems. Those lessons – practised decades ago at Hewlett-Packard – have stayed with me through the times, every job move and every wave of change. When I first joined HP in the 1980s, the idea of leadership wasn’t about control or scale. It was about trust, contribution, and respect. Managers were expected to walk the floor, listen, and understand what was happening on the ground – we called that ‘Management by Walking Around’ (MBWA). Today, as leaders and technologists working with AI, we face a similar challenge – except now, “walking around” is now digital. Metaverse is becoming real. The systems we build make decisions, shape opinions, and influence lives. MBWA in the AI era means staying close to the data, the users, and the unintended consequences. I will call that “The AI WAY”. Like The HP Way, it’s not a process – it’s a mindset. ~~ 🌿1️⃣ PURPOSE – before PROFITJust as HP believed profit was the result of doing the right things well, the same applies to AI. The goal isn’t to replace humans; it’s to amplify what humans do best. AI that serves a genuine purpose will always create sustainable value. 🌿2️⃣ RESPECT – for PEOPLE and DATAAt HP, respect was at the core of every decision.In AI, respect must extend to data – how it’s collected, used, and interpreted. Behind every data point is a person, and behind every model is a responsibility. 🌿 3️⃣ FIELD OF INTEREST – FOCUS on what you can do bestHP focused only on fields where it could make a true contribution.In AI, that means not chasing hype – but choosing problems where AI genuinely improves outcomes. Clarity of purpose beats breadth of ambition. 🌿4️⃣ GROWTH – through LEARNINGAI is moving fast. But growth shouldn’t just mean more models or more compute – it means continuous learning: testing, adapting, and understanding the boundaries of what’s right. 🌿5️⃣ MBWA – Management By Walking Around, DIGITALLYIn the AI era, this means engaging with the people affected by your systems – users, developers, policymakers. Leadership still starts with listening. ~~ The HP Way taught me that technology and humanity don’t conflict – they are partners. And in this coming next era, as we shape how AI lives alongside us, we’ll need to remember what Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard knew all along: 👍 DO THE RIGHT THING FIRST – AND THE RESULTS WILL FOLLOW. So, what’s your perspective?

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Storage: The Unsung Hero of AI

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 If compute is how AI thinks, storage is how AI remembers. I want to start this post with a simple thank you – to the executive team at SanDisk for inviting me to deliver a keynote at their annual i3 Summit in Batu Kawan. Illuminate. Innovate. Ignite. The warmth of the welcome, the curiosity in the room, and the openness to explore that continued into dinner at the Ship Campus reminded me why I enjoy these sessions so much. Smart people. Open minds. Great conversations. We often talk about AI in terms of compute.Sometimes networks.Occasionally power. Storage rarely gets the spotlight. Even though STORAGE is ABSOLUTELY CENTRAL to AI. AI doesn’t just compute.AI ingests, remembers, retrieves, replays, and learns over time. That makes storage the system of record for intelligence itself:✅ Training data at massive scale✅ High-speed access for inference✅ Persistent memory across edge, cloud and device✅ Reliability as models move from experiment to production Without fast, scalable, and intelligent storage, AI is simply a momentary flash (pun intended). What makes Sandisk particularly interesting is the full spectrum they offer. On one end, they are one of the most recognisable consumer storage brands in the world – products that almost everyone here has used, trusted, and carried in their pockets. On the other, they are deeply embedded in emerging growth domains:✅ Data-intensive AI workloads✅ Edge and embedded systems✅ Automotive and industrial platforms✅ Devices that now think, not just store This intersection – consumer trust, industrial reliability, and AI-driven demand – is where real opportunity lies. As AI architectures evolve, storage is no longer background capacity. Storage is now strategic infrastructure. The opportunity is now for SanDisk to help shape how data is:✴️ Positioned✴️ Moved✴️ Preserved✴️ And ultimately turned into intelligence I appreciate the opportunity to share my perspectives with the team, and for the discussions with the leaders of the business – Matt, Masaaki, Prasad, BS, Rama, Shrikar, Mei and Lau – who came together from the US, China, India, and Japan. Thoroughly encouraged by the depth of engagement I encountered through the day. And the possibilities open. A BIG THANK YOU to Nirbhaya Pathak and his team for the invitation and hospitality, and the conversations that made this far more than just another keynote. The future of AI won’t just be about compute. It will be stored, accessed, and remembered. And in an AI world obsessed with speed and scale, it’s worth knowing that intelligence only endures if it has somewhere reliable to live.

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109 Chinese Car Brands?!

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109 CHINESE CAR BRANDS?! WHAT???  When I first saw this chart, I had to double-check it. That’s one hundred and nine carmakers, all in one country! From “Luxury” down to “Low-cost.” (Thank you Reddit.) At first glance, it looks insane. Violates all business school strategy text books. Why would any government or industry allow this kind of fragmentation? Wouldn’t it be more efficient to focus on a few national champions? But that’s the paradox of China’s EV boom. Then again, perhaps it’s genius. “LET A THOUSAND FLOWERS BLOOM” It’s a phrase from old China, but it captures what’s happening now. The government didn’t try to pick winners. It simply let a thousand flowers bloom – allowing ideas, technologies, and business models to compete freely. Some flourished. Many will wither. But through this chaos, China has built the world’s most complete EV ecosystem – from batteries and semiconductors to software, motors, and charging networks. This approach compressed 30 years of industrial learning into a single decade. The results are shaking the world. German automakers – once untouchable in engineering and prestige – now find themselves outpaced in software, cost, and speed. Even Tesla’s cost advantage increasingly depends on its China-based supply chain. This isn’t just a price war. IT’S A CAPABILITY WAR. China’s crazy, chaotic, capitalistic model has produced competitors now storming global markets. WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? Most won’t survive. The pyramid will shrink. But the survivors? They’ll be battle-hardened, globally capable, and export-ready. In China, they call it “involution” (内卷 nèijuǎn) – a term originally describing the contraction of the uterus after childbirth, so the body can grow strong again. Exactly as evolution works in nature – only the best adapt and endure. Those who survive will redefine global automotive economics. LESSONS FOR MALAYSIA AND ASEAN There’s a clear takeaway for us – as Malaysia stands in the spotlight this week. We cannot choose our national champions, no matter how much our leaders might wish to. The market will decide. What governments can and must do is provide the ‘fertiliser’ for the ‘flowers’ to bloom – the policies, incentives, and ecosystem that help good ideas take root, grow, and flourish. Encourage experimentation. Invest in the ecosystem, people, and talent – not just assembly lines. Support batteries, materials, and chip design – the invisible backbone of the EV revolution. This applies not just to Malaysia, but to ASEAN as a whole. Real transformation will always look messy, competitive, and creative in its early stages. When you let a thousand flowers bloom, for sure, not all will survive. But those that do, will change the world. Does Malaysia just want to survive and make money? Or make a real impact within ASEAN? Original Linkedin post here. 

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Podcast with Salah Nasri, International Semiconductor Industry Group

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Thank you Salah Nasri for organizing this podcast! Photo: Ellen Wendelin Loh, ET Tan & Salah Nasri What makes a risky tech bet pay off? Here’s the formula. In this Semiconductor Leadership Podcast episode, ET Tan — former HP & Seagate Technology leader and a pioneer in R&D — breaks down the difference between bold innovation and costly missteps: Start with insight — deeply understand the real market need. Engineer precisely — combine tech elements to deliver what the market craves:Faster. Smaller. Cheaper. Whether you’re building next-gen chips or launching a startup, ET’s advice cuts through the noise:→ Don’t chase trends. Solve pain points.→ Innovation wins when it meets urgency with clarity.→ Tech is a tool — leadership is the multiplier. Full episode highlights:• The million-transistor breakthrough at HP• Why UK & US innovation cultures differ — and what Penang can learn• How Malaysia can lead in the next global semiconductor wave  Listen now and get a masterclass in product-market fit, leadership, and turning vision into velocity.  Link to original article.

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It takes a village to raise a child

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We already know what works in education – the question is, will the whole village get involved?“IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO RAISE – and educate – A CHILD.” That was the theme of a recent discussion I joined at the Khazanah Research Institute with a distinguished panel of educationists, moderated by the acclaimed Imran Ahmad. What a privilege! The proverb reminds us that you cannot depend on parents alone – or government alone – to raise a child. You need the whole community. Education already receives the largest share of Malaysia’s national budget. About 20%, or RM85 billion in 2026. So why do we still hear the familiar complaint that “the government isn’t doing enough for education”? I’ve lived and worked in the UK, the US, Malaysia – and yes, even Singapore – and heard the same thing everywhere. Even in Finland, often seen as the world’s best education system, people there still debate what’s wrong. Our panel listed many issues that sound familiar: 🤷‍♂️ Falling standards and teacher training gaps🤦‍♂️ Bullying, ethics and character development🙏 Too much central control, too little school empowerment🙅 The STEM vs TVET divide🙋‍♂️ Widening social gaps🤔 Lack of parental involvement But we also have bright spots worth recognising: 👍 Malaysian graduates and professionals thriving globally👌 Private institutions gaining international recognition💪 Local universities attracting overseas students The panel concluded that we already know what works: ✅ Start early – children who begin learning at 4 or 5 have a real head start✅ View TVET as part of STEM – both need a base in science and maths✅ Build leadership and values early – through capable, inspired teachers ✅ And the successful “Trust Schools” pilot funded by Khazanah – 10 schools in Johor and Sarawak, with over RM300 million invested – showing that collaboration and accountability can transform learning outcomes. But not deployed. Here’s the key insight:These lessons don’t belong to the government alone – they belong to all of us, the whole village. There must be open sharing of learnings and trust between govt and the public. Only when both sides listen and learn from each other can lasting change happen. The “village” includes every voice – parents, professionals, raykat, and yes, everyone here on hashtag#LinkedIn. We can’t just complain about what’s wrong. We need to talk more about what we want to see more of – the values, curiosity, and character we hope the next generation will carry. Because when the village speaks – consistently and collectively – the system starts to listen. If we want our public schools to thrive again, the village must care for all its children – NOT JUST OUR OWN. Maybe it’s time we stop outsourcing the village. What do you think? Thank you, Dr Mohamed Yunus Yasin, for the invitation and for organising this discussion.

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47th ASEAN Summit, 27-28 October 2025, Kuala Lumpur

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In case you haven’t heard, US President TRUMP WILL BE VISITING MALAYSIA FOR THE 47th ASEAN SUMMIT, alongside the Heads of State of Brazil, South Africa, India, and Canada.And yes, even President Putin might attend. It’s a BIG MOMENT for Malaysia 🇲🇾 All 10 ASEAN leaders will be here, joined by Timor-Leste, our member-in-waiting. The gathering reflects ASEAN’s growing role as a stabilising force and economic powerhouse in a world that’s becoming increasingly multi-polar. Amid global tensions, ASEAN has remained a Zone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality (ZOPFAN) – a vision declared in 1971 to keep Southeast Asia free from external interference. This was later strengthened in 2003 through the Bali Concord II, which marked a shift from strict neutrality toward an ASEAN Community of deeper economic and institutional integration. The theme for the 2025 Kuala Lumpur ASEAN Summit “Inclusive, Resilient, Sustainable ASEAN” means: 💪 Ensuring youth, women, MSMEs, and rural communities are not left behind💪 Making sustainability about long-term resilience, not just slogans💪 Supporting the smaller and less-developed ASEAN states With this as the backdrop, a small select group was convened to a closed-door Roundtable to discuss, comment, and make suggestions on many of the sensitive issues on tariffs, trade and technology that may be brought to the Summit. And of course, about what POTUS may bring up. What an honour to be invited. And to contribute perspectives shaped by years of working across technology, policy, and human development in the region and elsewhere around the world. ASEAN’s future will be written right here in Kuala Lumpur, KLCC on 26-28 October. It’s a privilege to play a small part in preparing PMX for this momentous meeting. (No, nothing discussed will be revealed here.) What does it mean to local businesses and the general public except for the road closures during the summit? 😉 Watch this space for future posts. 🙏 Terima Kasih to Khazanah Nasional Berhad, Khazanah Research Institute, Asian Strategy & Leadership Institute, and the Prime Minister’s Office for the invitation.

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Learning the HP way in my first job

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MY FIRST JOB WASN’T JUST ABOUT LEARNING TO BE AN ENGINEER – I also learnt how to be human at work. I had just graduated from Imperial College in 1980 and joined HP’s Telecoms Division at South Queensferry in Scotland – a small, dreary town by the Firth of Forth. As a group of young graduates, we were all put through an apprentice program that included “The HP Way”. This wasn’t your usual corporate onboarding – it was a complete philosophy of how to live, work, and lead. Around that same time, the book ‘In Search of Excellence’ came out – and HP was held up as one of the most admired and innovative companies in the world. Wow! For those of us who had just joined, that made us proud. We knew we had made the right decision. More importantly, it taught us that doing things the right way matters.These were the principles that defined Silicon Valley and became the DNA of icons like Intel Corporation, Apple, and Google. ~~ 🌿 The HP Way was built around five simple principles: 1️⃣ PROFIT is not the goal – it’s the result of doing the right things well.HP’s founders, Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard, believed the real purpose of business was to make a contribution. Focus on excellence, and profit would follow. 2️⃣ CUSTOMERS come first.We were taught to listen – to understand the customer’s problem deeply before offering a solution. It wasn’t just service. It was respect. 3️⃣ FIELD OF INTEREST – do only what you can do best.HP avoided chasing fads. That discipline allowed engineers to master their craft instead of running after every shiny trend. 4️⃣ GROWTH through opportunity, not just size.Growth meant creating space for people to learn, invent, and lead – not just expanding headcount or revenue for its own sake. 5️⃣ RESPECT for individuals.Everyone, from technician to VP, was treated with dignity. We had a culture called MBWA – “Management by Walking Around.”Managers didn’t hide in offices. They walked the floor, listened, and asked questions. They ‘turun padang’. When I moved to HP Labs in Palo Alto, those values still guided everything – from research to management. I practiced it myself. There, scientists and researchers were empowered to work with freedom and trust – the culture assumed you wanted to do the right thing. When Carly Fiorina became CEO in 1999, everything changed. 🔶 Targets replaced trust.🔶 Revenue replaced respect.🔶 Purpose became valuation and stock price. Within a year, many of us left – not because we stopped believing in HP, but because HP had stopped believing in The HP Way. ~~ I will always cherish those 20 years. They taught me how to manage people, technology, and business – the right way. Now, whenever I find a culture that values integrity, contribution, and respect, I try to practice a little of that HP Way again. And try to pass it on.

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Move over LLM. Here comes SLM

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LLMs ARE OVERRATED. FACTORIES NEED SLMs INSTEAD! When people hear “AI in manufacturing,” they think of massive LLMs, complicated deployments, and costs that only Big Tech can afford. But let’s start closer with something familiar. Take defect detection in your test and QA process. Every factory already collects huge amounts of data: Defect logs, yield reports, FA images. Collected. Collated. Categorised. The problem isn’t data. The problem is: 🌀 Too much of it (really hard to analyse to extract trends & patterns) 🌀 All static (we usually look only after issues happen) This is where AI comes in. SLMs, not LLMs. With simple data science: data analysis, data engineering, data visualisation. In other words, focused machine learning (ML) and developing models that: ✅ Spot anomalies in your test data before they happen ✅ Flag subtle trends and shifts in distributions that SPC charts might miss ✅ Correlate defect patterns across machines, lots, or even suppliers None of this requires massive hardware – or a billion dollar AI system. Most factories already have 80% of what’s needed: 👍 Historical test data (structured + unstructured) 👌 IT systems that store all this data 👨‍💻 Engineers who know the failure modes inside out What’s missing is probably just an additional layer: 👨‍🔬 Data analysts/engineers who can clean and prepare the data 🎉 Simple ML models trained to recognize patterns faster than the human eye Don’t know where to start? Here’s a high-level recipe: 1️⃣ PICK ONE AREA Start small. Defect detection is perfect because data is already available. 2️⃣ GATHER AND CLEAN THE DATA Consolidate your test logs, FA databases, and images. Focus on consistency. 3️⃣ APPLY THE RIGHT TOOL Use lightweight ML models (suggest open sources) to flag unusual patterns. 4️⃣ VALIDATE WITH EXPERTS The engineers need to confirm whether the AI’s flagged defects are real. 5️⃣ DEPLOY IN PARALLEL Run the model alongside your existing QA processes. Build confidence first before replacing anything. 6️⃣ SCALE GRADUALLY Once it works for one test stage, extend to others. Or move on to more sophisticated models – like predictive maintenance, process drift detection, or optimizing test times. ~~ The key point is: you don’t need to “import” AI into the factory. You already have it in the data. These models are just tools to unlock what’s been sitting around for years. AI in production isn’t about replacing people. It’s about giving engineers and managers sharper tools to anticipate problems, react faster, and prevent them before they happen. The question isn’t whether you can afford AI. The question is whether you can afford NOT to have AI on your shop floor. ~~ Need help getting started? Or more pointers? Get in touch. Start small, validate fast, and you’ll wonder why you didn’t begin sooner.

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TedxTalk @ MMU: Curiosity Ignites Creativity

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HOW CAN WE PREPARE OURSELVES FOR A.I.?Facts are no longer enough. In the age of AI, curiosity is survival. Have you noticed how fast AI is moving? Every week there’s a new course.A new feature.A new headline about jobs changing—or disappearing. Sometimes it feels like every other day. So… Can we ever catch up? Some think it’s a bubble. That it will burst. Unlikely. The big players chasing AGI may or may not get there. But “narrow AI”- the kind built into everyday tools – will keep spreading.Translators. Navigation apps. Image recognition. Office tools.Quietly reshaping how we live and work. So how do we prepare? If you’re just a user, you’re already covered.AI is running behind the scenes – optimising your food delivery or suggesting edits in your documents. But if you want to create value?To stay relevant?You need more. You need curiosity. The kind that asks: could this be done differently? could this be done better? And when it comes to the next generation… curiosity alone won’t be enough. As I shared at TEDx on 13 September 2025, Multimedia University: AI will change the world faster than any education system can keep up. We can’t hand the next generation all the answers – AI will always have more answers. But we can give them the ability to ask better questions. We need schools to change. Not just teaching kids to cram for exams. But to: Spark imagination – the power to create something from nothing. Feed curiosity – the courage to ask “what if?” and “why not?” CURIOSITY is the spark. CREATIVITY is the fuel. The future won’t belong to those who memorise the most facts. It will belong to those who can IMAGINE what doesn’t yet exist. Let’s raise children not just to use AI.But to out-think it. Because the next generation won’t just cope with the future.They’ll shape it.

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How can Malaysia keep up with rapid technology advances?

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The topic was: “THE FUTURE OF TECH ADVANCES OVER THE NEXT DECADE”.  Of course, the answer was going to be A.I. AI is evolving almost every week. As a result, AI is driving everything else: 🌀 Semiconductors.🔹 Advanced Packaging.💠 Data Centers.🌊 Power and Water requirements. ☀️ Sustainability.🏤 What our offices will look like (less people).🤼 How we work (faster). So, “HOW CAN WE KEEP UP WITH THE RAPID TECH ADVANCES?” The moderator asked the panel at MBOT’s ENTICE 2025 event this week. My answer: BE CURIOUS 🤔 Be curious about new announcements. About old ways.About how to use new tools; how to improve your work. That’s the starting point. Then go explore. Learn. As I said at the panel: “YOU DO NOT NEED TO GO TO UNIVERSITY TO GAIN KNOWLEDGE ANY MORE.” Everything is now available from the internet. Or from AI. If you know how to ask questions. Of course, formal learning is the fastest way to get foundational knowledge of any subject. But AI is moving faster than any educational system can respond. Start-ups in Silicon Valley have long ago not required you to have a university degree to join them. They just need your brains. And skills. They find talent wherever they can. 🟢 To develop a product.🔵 To build their business.🟠 To innovate. Large corporations are beginning to realise this.A certificate does not guarantee you can do any of that. CURIOSITY does. People who are curious, and then ACT.Ask questions.Look for answers. Malaysian companies need to realise this.You need curious staff to innovate.  Not just engineers with degrees.You also need managers who know how to respond and nurture innovation. I related an example of our RFID highway toll system. The idea is good. But the implementation is unreliable. How many of us had to reverse our cars at the toll gate because it could not detect our RFID tag? Many hands shot up. 🙋‍♂️ 🙋 🙅 The company has not yet shown any curiosity (or interest) to find out and fix it. How can our companies be able to show face and say our products are “Made By Malaysia”? Malu-lah. I said. By 2030, ASEAN is forecast to be the 3rd largest populated region in the world – after India and China. Expected to exceed 700 million. More than Europe. And Malaysia is smack in the right position to leverage this. If only our companies know how to do this. With the right talent. At all levels. And the mindset to Cooperate. Collaborate. And Combine expertise. With universities. With other companies. Countries.Perhaps even with their competitors. The world is our oyster.  Starting with ASEAN. Thank you to President Siti Hamisah Tapsir and Malaysia Board of Technologists for inviting me to celebrate their 10th Anniversary event. And meeting so many others there, too numerous to mention here.

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