Manik Bhandari, CEO and Founder of Vulcan AI, an Artificial Intelligence company that focuses on building safety and productivity solutions, joins Kopi Time. He begins by providing an overview of the tech start-up scene in Singapore, describing how the public sector, through various initiatives, nudges entrepreneurs to develop profitable solutions that are good for the society. Manik’s firm’s focus is on deploying the power of big data and artificial intelligence in agriculture, transportation, workplace safety, elder care, etc. These are areas with room for innovation, but also entail deep ethical considerations on the line between profit and good. He offers his insights on the local talent pool, the best way to enhance tech skills, and the way entrepreneurs should use Singapore’s ecosystem as a launching pad for expanding in the region or globally. Manik points out that tech does not only mean coding and engineering, with numerous high value added jobs that require a much wider range of soft and hard skills. It’s a call to action to tech immersion, but with an ethical lens.