Episode summary
Economy of Scale: SMEs & Startups (Sponsored Content) | Bloomberg Businessweek
Bloomberg Businessweek Daily
· · 14 min · Hosts: Carol Massar, Tim Stenovec
Summary
The episode argues that scaling a startup now means moving much faster, thinking global earlier, and adapting to AI as a baseline expectation rather than a niche advantage. The host speaks with a founder of Valio Health and a VC from Antler about how capital, talent, and customer insight shape whether companies can grow beyond an early-stage product. The VC says investment has become more concentrated in certain regions and especially in AI, while the founder says startups now have to rethink themselves as AI-first companies much the way businesses once had to become mobile-first.
The discussion also frames the bar for success as rising sharply. The VC says the speed to scale is much higher than it used to be, with more companies reaching $1 billion faster, and that founders need deeper understanding of customers rather than just polished decks. The founder says chasing unicorn status is no longer enough and that the market now pushes founders toward even bigger ambitions.
Dubai is presented as a launchpad because of its openness, talent density, connectivity, and growing ecosystem of founders and scaleups. Both guests say companies increasingly use Dubai as a base to build global corridors into the US, Southeast Asia, North Africa, and the GCC, rather than treating the city as only a local market.
Key takeaways
- The VC says AI is taking the lion’s share of startup capital, and expects that concentration to continue.
- The founder argues startups should treat AI the way companies once had to treat mobile: as a core operating shift.
- The VC says the speed to scale is now much faster, with more companies hitting $1 billion in under two years.
- Both guests say Dubai works best as a global launchpad, not just a local market.
- The founder says ambition has risen from chasing unicorns to thinking in terms of trillion-dollar outcomes.
Notable quotes
“AI has been taken the line share. Um and that's something that we foresee. we believe will continue to happen”
“you need to incorporate AI maybe even start thinking or rethinking uh becoming an AI first company”
“the speed to scale is insanely different. As of today, I think the last stat was 20% of the unique one post 2023 like hit 1 billion in less than two years”
“I think the Northstar keeps getting higher and higher for a founder”
“Dubai was a perfect place to set up something up. Uh it was great because uh we were bringing healthcare at home”
How the episode opens
Because you're listening to this Bloomberg podcast, we thought you'd be interested in a sponsored podcast called Economy of Scale, produced by Bloomberg Media Studios and the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism. It delves into the changing dynamics of business growth from innovation to capital and investment. Here's a recent episode. Scale has become synonymous with Dubai, a metropolis shaped by constant growth.
In 2025, the Emirate retained its position as one of the world's leading destinations for green field foreign direct investment. But scale isn't just about size. Globally, it can be the difference between success and failure.
Whether bringing breakthrough technologies to market or building smart infrastructure that will shape the cities of tomorrow. Welcome to Economy of Scale. In this series, we'll explore one central question.
What does it really take to scale? I'm your host Jacob Grees and in this episode we'll be looking at the first stage where scale is truly tested inmemes and startups. To discuss this and more I'm joined here in Dubai by Sundit Sani, CEO and co-founder of Valio Health, a health tech provider that recently surpassed the milestone of 1 million orders and by Raman Asansa, managing partner of Antler, an early stage VC fund with a global footprint of enterprising portfolio companies.
Sundep Raman, thank you so much for joining us. I want to start with a global outlook when it comes to SMMES and startups. 2025 saw an increase when it comes to global bench capital funding the likes of Bane and Company reporting quarteronquarter increase for Q4 2025 around 12%.
Roman, does that track with what you've been seeing in reality and do you expect that growth trajectory to continue? Yes, we do about 400 investment every year across 27 places in the world.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- ai growth
- startup scaling
- vc funding
- unicorns
- global business ecosystems
Watch the episode
Watch “Economy of Scale: SMEs & Startups (Sponsored Content) | Bloomberg Businessweek” on YouTube
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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