The Embassy of Japan in Thailand Holds the 1st Demo Day of "BLEND", an Event for Exploring Collaboration between Local Japanese Companies and Japanese/Thai Startups, in Bangkok

This article was written by Ms. Misato Takaine, who works as an intern at TalentEx, which provides recruitment media and SaaS for human resources based in Bangkok.

Mr. Takaina is from Gunma prefecture. He is enrolled in the Faculty of Humanities, Niigata University, and has taken a leave of absence from the fourth year since August this year, and is participating in TalentEx as an intern.

The photos in this article were taken by Koshiro Morozumi. Read more about TalentEx here.

On the 11th, the Embassy of Japan in Thailand, with the cooperation of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce in Bangkok (JCC), opened a co-working space in Bangkok, Glowfish Sathorn, with Japanese companies and local startups in Thailand. We held the first demo day of the event "BLEND" to collaborate with.

This event is part of an activity called "Open Innovation Columbus (OIC)" that promotes strategic partnerships between Japanese and Thai innovative startups and Japanese companies in Thailand. As an OIC-related event, it will follow the "Rock Thailand" held by the Embassy of Japan in Thailand in March of the same year.

In contrast to Rock Thailand, which was intended to explore the possibility of collaboration between Thai conglomerates and Japanese startups, BLEND intends to create new businesses through collaboration between Thai Japanese companies and local startups. seems to be Eleven Japanese and Thai startups from the three fields of FactoryTech, LogiTech, and HRTech gathered and pitched in front of about 150 executives of Japanese companies.

In addition to Yuji Nakagawa, vice president of Toyota Tsusho's Thai local subsidiary, Masao Suematsu, vice president of Denso International Asia, and Kazuo Koike, managing director of Dentsu X Thailand, are also actively working with startups in Southeast Asia. A panel discussion was also held by executives of Japanese companies that are planning to collaborate.

Below, we will introduce the contents of the presentations of the participating startups. The order of introduction is the order of the pitch.

System Stone provides an application that allows you to easily manage and create maintenance plans. It can be used not only by engineers, but also by production departments and general staff, and helps improve productivity by reducing equipment downtime, operating costs, and standardized workflows. Since it is affordable starting at US$100 per month, it has already been introduced in 1,000 companies, 4,500 engineers, and 66 provinces (Chan Wat, there are 77 Chang Wat in Thailand). Produced from the first phase of the accelerator “SPARK” supported by the National Innovation Agency of Thailand and Israel AGW Group.

Enres offers a new energy-saving alternative with AI technology that saves up to 30% of the electricity you normally use. You can monitor and manage your energy usage 24 hours a day, so you will be notified through the application in case of unforeseen circumstances. It has been introduced in hospitals, schools, hotels and factories. Produced from the second phase of the accelerator “SPARK” supported by the National Innovation Agency of Thailand and Israel AGW Group.

ABEJA utilizes its core technology AI platform "ABEJA Platform" to provide various solutions to various industries. We provide services using deep learning that automatically extracts feature values ​​that appropriately express the data from accumulated big data without human intervention. Last year, we started collaborating with Denso International Asia to improve the operational efficiency of factories in Thailand.

Skydisc provides a service that analyzes collected data with AI from the development of IoT sensor devices. It has many achievements in the manufacturing industry, and contributes to the promotion of smart factories by diagnosing machine abnormalities, improving the yield rate, improving the accuracy of inspections, etc. The company's client, a major manufacturer, started a business using IoT and AI in Thailand, and took this opportunity to expand into Thailand.

GizTix is ​​a marketplace for shipping companies and is available in eight countries, including Japan. Arranging a shipping company generally requires a time-consuming process, but with GixTix, after requesting a quote via chat, it takes up to 2 hours for domestic delivery, 10 hours for delivery within ASEAN, and 2 hours for delivery to Europe and the United States. You can receive price quotes from multiple shipping companies within days. Won the pitch competition of "TECHSAUCE SUMMIT 2016".

DRVR is a platform that analyzes trucking efficiency in the Asian region. By bringing his IoT into the transportation world, he analyzes the behavior of transportation drivers and helps create more efficient transportation patterns. You can also monitor the vehicle's fuel consumption, temperature, etc., and check the carbon footprint and whether the driver is taking enough breaks. In Thailand, where 70 fatal traffic accidents occur every day, the effect is expected to be even greater.

Smart Drive is a mobility IoT startup that collects driving data from cars and provides services to visualize and analyze them. We provide multiple services such as SmartDrive Fleet (real-time vehicle management for corporations), SmartDrive Cars (fixed-rate connected cars for individuals), SmartDrive Families (watching over the elderly for individuals), and Public Service (dangerous area mapping and traffic status sharing). ing.

GROUND is characterized by being able to provide a comprehensive platform that combines both hardware (robots) and software (AI) for optimizing logistics operations, including picking work in warehouses. Based on a customer database that can grasp consumer behavior, machine learning is used to predict the number of products manufactured and sold based on demand forecasts, aiming to improve the operational efficiency of the entire logistics operation.

Helpster is a Thai startup that uses technology to improve the labor market and streamline recruitment activities. The company's vision is to improve the working environment and improve her QoL (Quality of Life), recognizing the problems faced by workers such as the increase in non-regular employees and unpaid salaries as issues that need to be resolved. Since all job seekers are interviewed and trained, they can expect efficient recruitment of high-quality human resources.

Ooca sees the increase in suicides and mental illnesses as an issue in modern society, and provides professional counseling advice online to build self-confidence and self-esteem through an environment where you can meet with a psychiatrist through an app. Available to both corporations and individuals. In addition to Thailand, it has also expanded to China and Singapore. Produced from the second phase of the accelerator “SPARK” supported by the National Innovation Agency of Thailand and Israel AGW Group.

TalentEx is provided as a recruiting platform specializing in Japanese language talent. In addition, we also sell the business efficiency software "MICHIRU RPA". One of the attractions is that by automating simple daily tasks to robots, you can improve your skills and connect to other tasks by using the time you used to do. Especially in Thailand, where the working-age population is declining, further utilization is expected.