Microsoft’s strategic move to establish Thailand as Asia’s AI hub

Microsoft Thailand is set to establish the Land of Smiles as an artificial intelligence (AI) hub in Asia. This strategic move will involve the creation of an AI Centre of Excellence and the development of a cloud data centre region.

The Thai government alongside Microsoft, the US tech giant, inked a memorandum of understanding to advance a digital-first, AI-oriented country on November 15. This took place during Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s attendance at the APEC Leaders’ Meeting 2023 in San Francisco.

Following this agreement, Microsoft pledged to maintain its commitment to collaborate with the Thai government. This includes holding quarterly meetings with the prime minister, according to Dhanawat Suthumpun, managing director of Microsoft Thailand. He made these remarks after the company’s inaugural AI Summit event in Thailand.

Dhanawat expressed confidence in Thailand’s potential to emerge as one of Asia’s AI hubs. However, he noted that achieving this would require continual support and partnership with the government. Microsoft’s investment in the cloud data centre region will not only boost local cloud usage with reduced network latency but also facilitate AI task computation across Asia.

Furthermore, the government is expected to back renewable energy resources to power these data centres. Globally, Microsoft’s data centres will utilise renewable energy by 2025. Dhanawat urged policymakers to amend state procurement regulations to endorse cloud service usage on a subscription basis and encourage long-term cloud usage.

Negotiations are ongoing concerning government tax incentives to support Microsoft’s data centre establishment. In addition, Microsoft plans to establish the AI Centre of Excellence in Thailand, collaborating with the Big Data Institute under the Digital Economy and Society Ministry. The centre’s goal is to expedite existing public sector AI projects. Data scientists will also be assigned to work with the government on generative AI use cases and proof of concept. This will demonstrate how AI can enhance state digital government services and productivity.

Investment in AI

Microsoft Thailand has identified three ministries as initial adopters in e-government projects under the MoU signed with the government. The tech giant will also continue its mission to develop future-ready skills for 10 million Thais, working with ministries and other stakeholders.

The Thai government’s National AI Strategy roadmap aims to generate 48 billion baht in business and social impact by 2027. Dhanawat mentioned that Microsoft would provide a sustainability cloud service as part of a sustainability sandbox to assist Thai businesses in achieving their carbon footprint goal.

Investing in AI, according to Dhanawat, will increase productivity and reduce costs for both the government and businesses without the necessity to expand the workforce. He compared generative AI to the early stages of smartphones and the internet, stating that humans are now in the era of Copilot generative AI, where they work alongside AI.

Microsoft Thailand has already integrated AI capabilities into its products, primarily in its Office 365 productivity tool. The Copilot for Microsoft 365 has been available to enterprise customers worldwide since November 1, working in tandem with everyday applications like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams. Thai language support for the Copilot for Microsoft 365 will be available in early 2024, reported Bangkok Post.

Several Thai companies have tested the Copilot for Microsoft 365 over the past three months, including Advanced Info Service, Siam Commercial Bank, and PTT Exploration and Production.

According to a Microsoft survey of Copilot business users across 41 countries, early adopters reported a 12% to 15% increase in productivity. 70% of Copilot users stated they were more productive, and 68% felt it improved the quality of their work.

Apart from AI, Microsoft also invested in Surface laptop production in Thailand last year, citing the country’s geopolitical location as advantageous for its global supply chain.