The National Innovation Agency (NIA) has initiated its "unicorn factory" project to incubate and promote local startups to become unicorns through collaboration with venture capital (VC) firms and partners, aiming to encourage global expansion.
The agency proposed the concept of a unicorn factory to the higher education, science, research and innovation minister.
The NIA is also drafting a formal proposal, said executive director Krithpaka Boonfueng.
She said the agency also believes a startup bill expected to be implemented in the near future could shape the development of that sector. A draft of the law is being examined by the Office of the Council of State.
"Both the unicorn factory project and the Startups Act will strengthen the startup development in the country over the long term," said Ms Krithpaka.
She said VC firms can provide a large amount of funding to support local startups, but they will be selective when investing, requiring transparency for operations and real potential.
Greater application of artificial intelligence (AI) is likely to occur in Thailand this year, covering business analytics, market analyses, medical process improvement, education and job creation, said Ms Krithpaka.
She said the unicorn factory project is expected to be implemented this year.
Ms Krithpaka said the project does not require a large budget, only 20-30 million baht, with the NIA acting as the project incubator to help local startups grow through market expansion and matching with VC partners.
STARTUP LAW
She said the agency will be the main conductor providing a one-stop service for startup development. All startups are required to register with the NIA for funding support.
The one-stop service means all startups only need to make one proposal for submissions to all related agencies when seeking support.
"It creates a clearer protocol for state agencies under the Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation Ministry as well as outside agencies to align operations for funding support through the same strategy, while eliminating redundancy in existing systems," Ms Krithpaka said.
Funding support will be driven through digitisation, covering startups in provinces nationwide, she said.
Thailand's startup ecosystem emerged in 2016 and the following year, the number of startups and players in tech and innovation increased as financial institutions invested more than 6 billion baht.
In 2018, the number of startups exceeded 1,500. Investments from large companies in startups that year tallied more than 30 billion baht.
The number of incubation units in government and private sectors also soared in 2018.
In 2019, policies and measures for the development and promotion of startups and an ecosystem were proposed.
From 2020 to 2022, Bangkok's innovation districts were developed to highlight the Thai capital as an Asian startup hub.
Several incubation centres were established with players from both the private and government sectors. Among them are Siam Innovation District, True Digital Park, and the Thailand Creative and Design Center.
Flash Express and Ascend Money became unicorns during these years, with their market capitalisation rising to US$311 million.
In 2023, Thailand's startup ecosystem made a big leap with more than 1,000 new startups arriving on the scene.
Startups that use generative AI are expected to attract investment from VC firms of around 6 billion baht this year, roughly half the total investment anticipated from local and foreign VCs in 2024, according to the NIA.