The Industry Ministry aims to promote 50 local startups in 2019 through its new venture capital firm, InnoSpace Thailand Co.
Founded in January 2019, InnoSpace Thailand is a venture between the public and private sectors with an initial budget of 500 million baht. Partners include PTT, Siam Cement Group, CP Group, ThaiBev and Bangkok Bank.
The company is envisioned as an incubator for Thai startups and is located in the Eastern Economic Corridor of Innovation in Wang Chan district, Rayong province, adjacent to Kamnoetvidya Science Academy School and Vidyasirimedhi Institute of Science and Technology, both educational institutes under PTT.
Deputy Industry Minister Somchai Harnhirun said the venture capital firm has invested in three local startups so far in the digital tech sector.
"We will strengthen them in terms of technical business know-how and fresh capital funds," he said.
"InnoSpace Thailand has two financial programmes -- the Angel Fund and Startup Ready campaign -- and the firm will connect to overseas venture capital firms to bring our local startups to the global market and link to other foreign startups."
Mr Somchai said InnoSpace Thailand is a startup incubation project promoted by any interested sector. It expects to help create local startup unicorns in the near future.
A unicorn is defined as having a valuation of at least US$1 billion (31.5 billion baht).
The only unicorn in Thailand is Omise, a payment gateway startup, said the National Innovation Agency.
Many countries in Southeast Asia have well-known unicorns such as Go-Jek (ride-hailing service), Tokopedia (e-commerce), Traveloka (travel reservations) and Bukalapak (e-commerce) from Indonesia; Lazada (e-commerce) and Sea (gaming and e-commerce) from Singapore; Grab (ride-hailing service) from Malaysia; Revolution Precrafted (home design platform) and VNG (digital content) from Vietnam.
There are many Thai startup accelerators from government agencies and companies that support new firms, hoping to find a future unicorn.
"Innospace Thailand will provide a mechanism to incubate and develop startups at all stages and in every target industry to enhance competitiveness and help them enter the international market," Mr Somchai said.
"We will connect startups with venture capital and provide access to expertise in government agencies and private entities in Thailand and abroad."
He said Innospace Thailand can raise more funds from new partners in the near future, as well as seek cooperation with state financial institutions such as the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Bank of Thailand and Krungthai Bank.
Yesterday, Hong Kong Cyberport and InnoSpace Thailand signed an agreement to strengthen bilateral cooperation in support of startups and exploring overseas markets.
Peter Yan, chief executive of Cyberport, said the agency can serve as a one stop shop for Thai startups setting up in Hong Kong and connect them with relevant departments, organisations and service providers.
"Cyberport also provides office space at its campus at an affordable rate," Mr Yan said. "We brought six startups from the Cyberport community that are interested in the Thai market to showcase innovative solutions and business models."
Cyberport is an innovative digital community with over 1,200 technology companies. It is managed by Hong Kong Cyberport Management, which is wholly owned by the Hong Kong government.
Cyberport focuses on building five key clusters of digital tech -- e-sports and digital entertainment; fintech; artificial intelligence and big data; smart city and smart living; and blockchain solutions -- to foster the development of Hong Kong into a smart city in the long run.
