The Most Hardcore English Teacher Just Joined an AI Investment Fund | Talking AI-Era English Learning, EdTech Products, and Career Planning with Oasis Capital GM Ben | Podcast

"I'm an aggressive optimist. AGI will definitely happen."

About Our Guest

Today's guest on Crossing is Ben, Managing Director at Oasis Capital overseeing AI investments.

Oasis Capital has been called "the most aggressive AI investor" (having backed more than 10 AI companies including MiniMax, Wuan Wucang, and Tiamat). Ben previously co-founded LAIX, which taught people to speak English and successfully listed in the United States — making him, without question, "the most formidable English teacher" among my friends.

We invited Ben to share his perspective on how we should invest, think, learn English, teach our children English, and more importantly, how we should plan our careers amid the generative AI wave — now that he's gone from "the most formidable English teacher" to joining "the most aggressive AI investor."

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🎬 Episode Timeline

Part 1: Career Stories 01:47 There would have been no LAIX without AI

12:40 Cutting-edge teams use AI first — how does Oasis Capital's internal team use AI?

Part 2: Investing at "the Most Aggressive AI Investor" 04:13 What it feels like to invest in AI at Oasis Capital

32:59 "I'm an aggressive optimist. AGI will definitely happen."

33:38 Why choose to invest in AI?

36:20 Generative AI's Waterloo moment

37:58 What happens when large model costs drop to zero?

40:36 Could San Francisco be the next Detroit?

Part 3: Education in the AI Era 15:54 How should adults learn English in the AI era?

21:58 The impact and opportunities AI brings to education

25:57 Outstanding overseas AI education products:

• Chegg 26:13
• Khan Academy 26:54
• Speak — an education company backed by OpenAI 28:14

29:32 How should we educate our children in the AI era?

• 30:17 Aesthetic sensibility, decision-making ability
• 31:05 The educational priority of "mind, heart, and hands" has changed.
• 31:57 Cultivating a love of learning is always the most important

Subscribe to the "Crossing" Podcast on Xiaoyuzhou

🚦 Subscribe to the "Crossing" podcast on Xiaoyuzhou[1]. We track the industry transformations and entrepreneurial opportunities brought by the new wave of AI technology. "Crossing" is Steve Jobs' metaphor for Apple — standing at the intersection of technology and liberal arts, where great products are born. AI is reshaping every industry; we seek out, interview, and bring together "active agents" of the AI era to explore and embrace new changes and possibilities.

👦🏻 Host Koji: Co-founder of The Fair and Tangdao, and an active participant diving into AI himself. [Koji's Jike[2], A self-introduction by Koji[3]

👧🏻 Host Ronghui: Works at a tech VC, former Silicon Valley correspondent for CBNweekly. [Ronghui's Jike[4]

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🎄 This podcast is supported by The Fair's Sound Forest Podcast Plan.

References [1] Subscribe to the "Crossing" podcast on Xiaoyuzhou: https://www.xiaoyuzhoufm.com/podcast/60502e253c92d4f62c2a9577

[2] Koji's Jike: https://okjk.co/0JSUes

[3] A self-introduction by Koji: https://www.notion.so/About-Koji-415843ab8db74235b98f8b1f67da1930?pvs=21

[4] Ronghui's Jike: https://okjk.co/0cbnYV