Thailand has a significant opportunity to enhance its tech startup landscape by developing innovative models such as venture building programs. These programs aim to connect aspiring entrepreneurs with skilled technologists, creating a more collaborative rather than competitive startup ecosystem, according to Warin Ratchananusorn, director of the Digital Startup Institute under the Digital Economy Promotion Agency (depa).
Thai digital startups currently face numerous challenges, including limited access to funding, a shortage of in-depth mentorship, restricted international networks, and inflexible government mechanisms. Many traditional businesses struggle to fully adopt digital technologies, resulting in fewer opportunities for local startups to grow and conduct real-world testing.
Despite these challenges, Thailand has around 400 active startups, with 200 having received depa’s funding support totaling approximately 800 million baht. Mr. Warin highlighted that Thailand possesses strong potential in human resources, technological readiness, and growing cross-sector collaboration. “Thailand has the capacity to build a robust digital startup ecosystem,” he emphasized.
However, the number of new startups is declining, particularly those in the idea stage, due to inadequate ecosystem support such as limited funding sources, outdated regulations, and a lack of innovative incubating programs connected with deep tech. Depa has been providing funding to local startups across three development stages: idea, early stage, and growth stage. “This year, we’re particularly interested in seeking specific idea startups to apply for our funding,” Mr. Warin stated.
According to StartupBlink’s Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2024, Thailand ranked 54th globally, dropping two spots from the previous year. The country has been steadily falling in the global rankings since 2020 and 2021 when it was ranked 50th. In the Asia-Pacific region, Thailand’s startup ecosystem remained stable at 11th place from 2021 through 2024. The index also noted that Thailand was ranked 17th globally in terms of the total impact of global startup events on the ecosystem.
The funding landscape for startups in Thailand has seen significant fluctuations, with $400 million in 2020, $600 million in 2021, $1.3 billion in 2022, and $1 billion in 2023. In the broader Southeast Asian context, startup funding totaled $8.5 billion in 2020, $23.5 billion in 2021, $16.5 billion in 2022, $8 billion in 2023, and $4.5 billion in 2024.
