Corporate startups to tally $4bn by 2024
Firm to push deep tech innovation
The corporate startup community is expected to generate around US$4 billion for the country by 2024, says regional corporate innovation firm Rise Accel Ltd.
The community contributed to $400 million to the economy last year, or 0.1% of GDP.
Leading corporations play a key role in pushing digital transformation in the country through collaboration with tech startups, said Supachai Parchariyanon, chief executive and co-founder of Rise.
Rise began operating in 2017 to connect tech startups with major corporations as well as the government. The collaboration helps to enhance cooperation on innovation.
Rise has more than 200 domestic and international corporate members and 1,500 startups, half of which are foreign operators.
Corporate members have to pay a yearly fee to Rise, while startups are not charged to help them keep costs low. The startups must be in the growth stage, not the seed stage.
Mr Supachai said tech startups and talents need to collaborate with corporations to develop tech skills and grow their business. Corporations need to capitalise on these talents in the face of a shortage of tech skills.
Some 68% of managers pointed out it took three months or more to fill vacant tech positions, he said, citing Robert Walters, a leading specialist recruitment firm.
Additionally, 97% of deep-tech startups are interested in collaborating with corporate partners.
More importantly, the global private investment in deep tech soared from $9.8 billion in 2015 to $17.8 billion last year, according to a Boston Consulting Group report.
Deep technologies are defined as disruptive solutions built around unique, protected technological or scientific advances, such as artificial intelligence (AI), quantum computing, robotics, Internet of Things (IoT), biotech and blockchain.
Mr Supachai said startups in the country could efficiently push digital transformation in the domestic economy, and it is important to modernise corporations’ operational management through collaboration with tech startups.
Non-adaptive corporations, especially family-based businesses, are at extreme risk of losing competitiveness or failing to thrive in a digital-driven economy, he said.
“It is hard for local startups to become unicorns because of the difficulty of reaching out to international markets,” said Mr Supachai. A unicorn refers to a private company with a $1 billion-plus valuation.
Business-to-business startups, he said, have more chance to become unicorns than business-to-customer operators. This means connection between corporations could help expedite business growth.
Rise is organising “Rise Innovation Week 2019” from Sept 23-27 at Gaysorn Tower, featuring the issue of deep technology.
He said the company plans to serve as a key player in driving corporate development through deep tech, with an aim to turn Southeast Asia into a hub for investment and corporate innovation development.
The event may open the door for corporations with demand for organisational development to meet talent from the world of tech startups, said Mr Supachai.
This year’s conference focuses on five themes during the five days.
They include corporate innovation, such as learning how corporate and government sectors find ways to embrace innovation through speakers from various corporations across Asia, robotics and IoT, and how to leverage these technologies for business solutions.
Others topics are quantum technology as a powerful force of the future; AI, featuring 30 AI startups; and exponential technologies including blockchain, biotech, medtech and skills of the future.