Line abandons U.S. (for now), says AI and chatbots are the secret to winning 4 Asian markets

Focusing on what you know best often makes the most sense. In an interview with VentureBeat's editor in chief, Blaise Zerega, Line CEO Takeshi Idezawa explained his decision to focus on four Asian markets: Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, and Indonesia. A few years ago, Line sought to enter Western markets. The messaging app known for cute anime stickers encountered stiff competition from overlapping services in an overcrowded market -- from WhatsApp to Snapchat, from Twitter to Instagram, from iMessage and SMS, as well as China's WeChat, to say nothing of Facebook Messenger. Line scaled back its expansion, shelved a planned IPO, and narrowed its focus to four Asian markets.