The Need for Collaboration

Thailand’s AI industry faces significant challenges due to its fragmented structure. Unlike leading global markets with well-defined AI value chains, Thai startups often have to manage everything independently—from infrastructure (datacenters and servers) to end-user applications. This “do-it-all” approach requires substantial resources and expertise, which many startups lack, ultimately stifling their growth and innovation.

The AI Startup Alliance envisions a collaborative ecosystem that encourages specialization, reduces redundancies, and fosters innovation across the entire AI value chain. By working together, these startups hope to build a more competitive AI industry that aligns with global standards.

Four Pillars of Collaboration

The Alliance is built around four key dimensions of cooperation:

1. Building an AI Developer Community
   The Alliance plans to establish an AI Developer Group to address Thailand’s lack of awareness and expertise in AI development. This initiative aims to:
   • Promote education and understanding of AI development and applications.
   • Create resources like YouTube playlists, tutorials, and guides for developers.
   • Encourage collaboration among developers and software houses to adopt modern practices like API-first and infrastructure-driven business models.
2. By fostering a culture of knowledge sharing and collaboration, the Alliance hopes to empower developers and bridge the technological gap between Thailand and leading AI markets.
3. Joint Research Initiatives
   Collaboration in research is another priority for the Alliance. By pooling resources and data, startups can reduce redundancies and accelerate innovation. This joint approach will:
   • Enable faster technology development.
   • Lower costs for data acquisition and AI model training.
   • Facilitate knowledge sharing across different domains.
4. Access to High-Performance Computing
   The availability of GPUs, particularly cutting-edge models like the H100, is critical for AI startups to scale their operations. The Alliance aims to secure access to GPUs to support its members in expanding their businesses and catering to a broader user base across Asia and beyond.
5. Investor and Founder Community
   The Alliance will connect Thai AI startups with global investors and events to enhance their visibility and growth potential. By sharing information on venture capital (VC) networks and international events, the Alliance aims to provide Thai startups with opportunities to showcase their innovations on the world stage.

Empowering Stakeholders Across the AI Ecosystem

The AI Startup Alliance seeks to benefit all players within the AI ecosystem:

• Developers & Software Houses: Gain access to educational resources, project examples, and tools to enhance AI integration into their applications.
• System Integrators (SIs): Upskill in AI use cases through online resources and request demos, handbooks, and catalogs to incorporate AI into their solutions.
• Startups: Access training, consultation, and go-to-market support to enhance their AI applications and business models.
• Venture Capitalists (VCs): Connect with the Alliance to discover AI-focused startups and recommend relevant events and partners.

The Alliance’s Mission and Goals

To amplify its impact, the Alliance will also produce edutainment content on AI technology, develop regional knowledge-sharing initiatives, and create a Southeast Asian AI researcher community. These efforts aim to deepen collaboration across borders and elevate Thailand’s position as an AI innovation hub in Asia.

The collaboration will run for six months, concluding on December 31, 2024, after which the Alliance will evaluate its achievements and chart the way forward.

Founding Members of the AI Startup Alliance

The five startups leading this initiative are:

1. AThenaAI (athenaai.co)
2. Perceptra (perceptra.tech)
3. Eidy (eidy.cloud)
4. Gowajee (gowajee.ai)
5. Float16 (float16.cloud)

Each startup brings unique expertise and a shared vision of fostering innovation and creating a thriving AI ecosystem in Thailand.

‍