From Singapore to Hong Kong, Kow Ping, Executive Director of WBD101, has spent the past decade pioneering wearable health technology long before the world caught on. What began as an idea to enhance workouts through music evolved into sensor-enabled hearables now poised to transform eldercare, remote healthcare, and even pilgrim safety during the Hajj.
In this candid conversation, Kow Ping reflects on his journey from building MP3 players to shaping a digital health category that Apple only recently entered. He shares what it takes to lead with empathy, why Southeast Asia’s healthcare challenges require localized innovation, and how the next generation of talent is influencing the company’s next leap forward.
Highlights
How Kow Ping is Shaping the Future of Health Tech in Southeast Asia
Q: What does a typical day look like for you as Executive Director at WBD101?
A: At WBD101, we focus on what we call hearables, earbuds with embedded health sensors that can detect vital signs, similar to what you’d find in a smartwatch.
A typical day for me involves working closely with customers, government bodies, and institutional partners to understand their healthcare pain points, and exploring how our technology can help solve them. That often means brainstorming use cases, responding to project inquiries, or collaborating on pilots and competitions.
Many of our partners are trying to navigate issues like shrinking hospital budgets or the growing burden of chronic illness in aging populations, especially in markets like Hong Kong, China, and Singapore. My role is to help translate those needs into practical, scalable solutions using the technology we’ve developed.
Q: What keeps you most excited about this work after 12 years in the business?
A: Twelve years ago, my co-founder and I pivoted from making MP3 players to embedding sensors in earbuds. Back then, smartphones weren’t common. We saw how people didn’t tire easily when working out with music. That gave us the idea: What if we could combine audio and health sensing?
We were early—maybe too early—but we’ve licensed to approximately 30 earbuds brands that have collectively over a million sensing-enabled units. Seeing big players like Apple finally release health-sensing earbuds this year (Powerbeats Pro 2) validates our vision. We also pivoted from fitness to healthcare, working with hospitals and eldercare, which keeps us deeply motivated.
Q: What’s your take on scaling healthcare in Southeast Asia, especially in underserved regions?
A: Southeast Asia is growing rapidly. In Indonesia, for example, 90% of healthcare professionals are concentrated in Java and Sumatra. But, that’s a big issue because in remote areas, people need care but lack access.
That’s why we’re building easy-to-use, accurate hearables that can be operated by non-professionals. Unlike hospital-grade devices, these don’t need trained staff to work properly. The emergence of many AI-driven health coaches could also play a huge role, especially when there aren’t enough doctors willing to travel to places like Papua or Kalimantan. So, combining both AI health coaches and easy-to-use, accurate hearables that track vital signs and that also can be used as earbuds for audible alerts, can potentially solve these pain points.
Q: What’s next in terms of collaboration, especially in Indonesia?
A: We’re looking to work with Indonesian universities, just like we’ve partnered with schools in Singapore, Malaysia, China, and Hong Kong. One area is monitoring chronic respiratory conditions like COPD, which is prevalent due to pollution, and also hypertension and arrhythmia. Customizing our tech for Indonesia is a key part of our vision.
Q: What emerging trend are you watching closely for 2025 and beyond?
A: We’re keeping a close eye on in-ear health tech. Apple’s new Powerbeats Pro 2 validates the market, but we believe hearables will go further by delivering actionable benefits, like playing calming music or blocking snoring for better sleep, or being able to detect blood oxygen level during sleep and advising users of better sleeping positions.
One specific project we’re pitching is for pilgrims going to the Hajj. It gets extremely hot, and heatstroke is common. We’re building an in-ear sensor to monitor core temperature and alert users before they overheat. This could be life-saving, especially for elderly pilgrims.
Lessons in Startup Resilience, Team Building, and Empathy
Q: What personal experience or literature shaped your leadership style the most?
There’s a contradiction in startup leadership. You need immense willpower to launch something new, but when it’s time to scale or pivot, you must be open to ideas, especially from smart investors. I learned this from the book Crossing the Chasm. Your first pitch deck often looks nothing like your tenth. You must evolve and invite others to share in your success. That openness has been one of my most important lessons.
Q: Can you tell us about your investors and how you chose them?
A: One of our angel investors is Professor Ping Ko. He was also an early investor in DJI, the drone company. His experience spans semiconductors to healthcare. Having someone like him on our board has been a huge advantage—not just for capital, but for insights, network and credibility.
Q: How do you manage your time and team, especially as a founder who wears many hats?
A: I’ve come to accept that personal and professional life are deeply connected. Instead of trying to separate them, I let one inform the other. Over dinner during a festive season, for instance, a casual chat with a relative unexpectedly helped solve a business problem—simply because I was open about what I do.
As the person leading our sales and marketing, I’m constantly networking and pitching. That doesn’t fit neatly into work hours. In fact, one of our healthcare products was inspired by my own mother’s experience during COVID—proof that personal insights can lead to business solutions.
Earlier, I admired leaders who worked long hours daily, but I later saw the toll it took on their personal lives. Now, I focus on being present, whether with my team or loved ones. It’s less about balance and more about integration—sharing openly and letting meaningful connections happen naturally.
Q: Have you ever had a personal moment that deeply influenced your company’s product?
A: Yes. During COVID, I worried about my elderly mother in Singapore. She couldn’t meet friends, which impacted her mental health. That inspired us to create a hearable system that could monitor vital signs and connect elders with care providers. We pitched the idea at the Hong Kong I&T Grand Challenge and won around HKD 800,000 (USD 120,000). That prototype is now being deployed by hospitals. It was a turning point for us, combining empathy with innovation.
Q: How do you work with younger team members like Gen Z and interns?
A: I’ve learned to give them space to try—even if it means letting them make mistakes. We hire a lot of Gen Z and host 8-12 interns each summer from high school to university. One intern even helped us win that COVID-era competition from Singapore. These experiences train me to listen more, talk less. I still coach during critical moments, but I try not to micromanage.
Q: What have you learned about how people respond to health data, both from your own experience and from others?
A: Yes, and I’d like to add some perspective here. It’s not just about people in rural or urban areas—it’s about behavior everywhere. If you ask anyone, “Do you care about your health?”, almost everyone will say yes. But if you ask, “Did you drink eight cups of water today?”, many people will hesitate. Some might even say, “Does coffee count?”
The truth is, when people are empowered with accurate health data—like their heart rate, weight, or sleep—they’re more likely to make better decisions. That happened to me during COVID. At the start, I weighed 91 kg. Using my heart rate–monitoring earbuds helped me understand my limits during exercise. Combined with regular tracking on a weighing scale, I lost 15-20 kg. That kind of visibility made it easier to take action.
But not everyone responds that way. Some people already know they shouldn’t drink or smoke—and they still do. Even with the right data, some will act, and some won’t. That’s not unique to any one place, it’s human nature. But when people are ready, data can be a powerful trigger for change.
Q: Do you have any personal mantra or quote you live by that you would like to share to others?
A: Yes, I do have something that’s really stayed with me, though it’s not originally my quote. A friend shared it with me, and I found it very powerful.
I graduated in computer engineering, and yet I now work in healthcare. I’m not from a clinical background, but I often find myself being the one talking to universities, professors, and healthcare partners, convincing them to collaborate with us.
The quote that helped me is this: “Don’t reject yourself before others reject you.”
A lot of people hold themselves back. They say, “I’m too shy,” or “I can’t do it.” But the truth is, the other side hasn’t even said no yet you already told yourself no. You’ve rejected yourself before giving others a chance to decide.
That mindset can make you lose opportunities. For me, believing in myself first—even without the conventional background—allowed me to step forward, engage, and grow.
Kow Ping’s Blueprint for Empathetic Innovation in Health Tech
Whether it’s empowering interns, reimagining eldercare with in-ear sensors, or building heat-protection wearables for pilgrims, Kow Ping’s story is a blueprint for mission-driven innovation rooted in Asia’s health challenges.
His track record proves that with the right timing, strategic pivots, and a willingness to listen, even niche technologies can scale into global relevance. For investors and leaders watching Asia’s healthcare evolution, Kow Ping represents a rare blend of deep tech insight and human-centered design.
Kow Ping is also actively seeking collaboration with universities and academic institutions across Southeast Asia—particularly those exploring the role of wearables in population health, eldercare, and chronic disease management. These partnerships reflect his belief that the next wave of innovation must bridge research, community, and care.
In the end, it’s a reminder that even in the high-stakes world of business, conviction and empathy are still a founder’s most powerful tools.
Highlights
Read the Chinese article here.
