Tim Rowe (he/him)

Here is a fairly hilarious AI-based attempt at an English translation of the video (lnkd.in/gvtmbzvp).

I gave my usual advice that Japanese startups should globalize their teams from the get-go, to give them better access to global markets. And that Japan needs to improve its English language education in schools.

CNBC/Nikkei just released a 20 minute interview with me about innovation in Japan. lnkd.in/g9tePedS. (in Japanese)

I travel a lot, so I set out to find an AI personal trainer that could always be there. I figured "this is a perfect use of AI"! ChatGPT told me that Ray (rayfit.com) is the best. And I'm loving it. Nearly every feature I thought I wanted is already live.

Yes, I know I will have to take these for the rest of my life to keep the beneficial effects, just like statins. I'm good with that.

I know they are working on cheaper pill versions. I suspect it would save governments a lot of money in later treatment if they could find a way to make these free for everyone.

My wife just posted this comparison of what I looked like before and after trying weight-loss drugs (Zepbound, aka GLP-1s). I've got to say, I've had an amazing experience. Went from about 215 lbs down to 176lbs. I sleep better and have more energy.

Big congrats to MIT Sloan for getting the top spot in the Financial Times' MBA rankings! Proud to be a grad. ft.com/content/414d2b…

"You are the average of the 5 podcasts you listen to the most... So be careful who you choose to listen to" - global 8th most popular podcaster, Chris Williamson.

Began hunting for video editing software, to enable me to do some video podcasting. I tried the longtime leader, Adobe Premier Pro, and two fast growing AI driven platforms: Riverside.FM as Descript.com. All are interesting, but Descript is amazing.

"We meet at a time that innovation has become the world's most valuable currency." - the Prime Minister of Qatar tonight at WebSummit Qatar. I'll be having dinner with him tonight, in case you have any questions!

Diamond (a major business publication in Japan) just published a great profile of my wife, Aya, chronicling her entrepreneurial path building her Japanese food startup, Aya's Culture Kitchen. Go Aya! diamond.jp/articles/-/381…

This development also sets up Dammam in an amazing way, as the crossroads of these behemoth Gulf cities. Awesome for Dammam.

I forsee the UAE jumping on this high speed rail bandwagon. The UAE already announced they will link Dubai and Abu Dhabi with high speed rail. I suspect they will now move to link Abu Dhabi to Dammam with high speed rail, and thus to Riyadh and Doha.

For those of you who monitor little details in the Middle East, this is a big one announced today. These two countries were like, er, oil and water until recently. This means Qatar and Saudi have made up. And this link will be HUGE for the middle East. aljazeera.com/news/2025/12/8…

As an interesting point of trivia, Getaria is the hometown of both Juan Sebastian Elcano, the navigator who became the first to circumnavigate the world (Magellan died on the way), and Cristóbal Balenciaga, the designer, for whom they have a museum here.

Thanks to our friend Asier Alea, today we are eating at Elkano, one of the "top 50" restaurants in the world, in the small town of Getaria. They are relaxed and lively people here.

Aya and I are in in the Basque Country. We came to help celebrate the opening of our CIC partner, the Basque Cullinary Center's new gourmet food institute, GOe, in San Sebastian.