The Thai startup ecosystem has seen both positive and negative developments recently. While some regulations have hampered companies like Uber and Grab, the government has also established funds to support startups. Thailand has a large population and strong mobile penetration that create opportunities for mobile and internet companies. Though venture investments have been smaller than other Asian countries, there have been many acquisitions of Thai startups. FinTech is a major focus area. Startup events are now mainstream in Thailand, growing five times from 2015 to 2016. Many Thai startups are expanding regionally and globally from the beginning.

1. 10 THINGS INVESTORS &
FOUNDERS NEED TO KNOW
ABOUT THE THAI STARTUP
ECOSYSTEM

2. #1: THERE’S BEEN SOME GOOD NEWS & BAD NEWS…
Sources:
http://www.financialexpress.com/article/world-news/thailand-bans-motorbike-hailing-services-of-uber-and-grab/259935/
https://www.techinasia.com/thailand-fund-startups
http://venturebeat.com/2016/05/16/why-thailands-military-coup-is-great-for-the-countrys-mobile-gaming/

3. #2: BUT THE FUNDAMENTALS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN STRONG
67M population – not fragmented
147% mobile penetration from 107% in 2010
49% Smartphone penetration
83M 3G subscribers
35M Facebook users spending avg. 2.35 hrs per day
24M active mobile app users (37% of total population
access mobile applications every day)
496M photos uploaded in 2014, highest in the world
Mobile subscribers 99M vs fixed 5.6M

4. #3: VENTURE INVESTMENTS IN THAILAND HAVE BEEN SMALL
http://bit.ly/thaiecosystemreport2016

5. #4: YET THERE’S BEEN MANY BIG EXITS, MOSTLY VIA M&A
http://techsauce.co/en/news-en/startup-as-new-economic-warrior-new/

6. #5: 500 STARTUPS INVESTED IN ALMOST HALF OF ALL DEALS

7. #6: CORPORATE VENTURE CAPITAL & VENTURE BUILDER IS ALL THE RAGE
$150 M from TRUE, CP GROUP
($50B ANNUAL REV) TO EXPAND ACROSS SEA
$9.1 M from BTS GROUP HLDGS
($250M ANNUAL REV)
FIRST APP BUILT BY LINE DEV TEAM
$15 M from Central Group
($7.5B ANNUAL REV)
RUMOURED TO BE ACQUIRED FOR 10M

8. #7: FINTECH, FINTECH, FINTECH…
$50 M USD
VENTURE FUND
$140 M USD ANNUALLY
to develop new IT
$55 M USD
SME PRIVATE EQUITY TRUST FUND COMING SOON

9. #8: BUT ECOMMERCE & ENABLERS ARE STILL KING

10. #9: STARTUPS IS FINALLY MAINSTREAM IN THAILAND
Startup
Exhibitors
0
40
80
120
160
2015 2016
x5

11. #10: THAI STARTUPS ARE GOING REGIONAL & GLOBAL
business (B2B) construction
e-commerce platform
40% investment Millcon Steel
Expanding to Indonesia
end-to-end e-commerce solution
20% investment from DKSH
Expanding to Indonesia, Malaysia,
Singapore and Vietnam

12. #10: THAI STARTUPS ARE GOING REGIONAL & GLOBAL
360° Virtual Reality Advertising Platform
Backed by Y-Combinator & Andreessen
Horowitz
Global from day 1
Intelligent finance platform with concept
“ Buy a Wonderful company
at a Fair Price”
Providing financial analyses of the US,
Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam and
Hongkong stock markets

13. BUT THE REAL SECRET SAUCE TO OUR SUCCESS IS…
… JUST KIDDING!

14. FIND OUT WHY THAILAND IS THE HOTTEST TECH ECOSYSTEM IN SEA
TECHSAUCE SUMMIT
www.techsaucesummit.co