NXPO, in collaboration with the Program Management Unit for Competitiveness (PMUC), Thailand Science Research and Innovation (TSRI), and the Innovation-Driven Entrepreneurship Center (IDE Center) at Sripatum University, has launched the Thai-Corps program to cultivate researchers and research projects with strong commercial potential. This initiative serves as a catalyst for bringing research to market and expanding its global competitiveness.
Why Thai-Corps?
Deeptech startups play a crucial role in national development, with core technologies capable of generating high added value and competing on a global scale. While Thailand has strong research capabilities and patents, it lacks systems that help researchers validate and refine their research questions to align with market demands. As a result, many research outcomes and technologies struggle to meet industry needs or achieve successful commercialization.
Thai-Corps: A Distinctive Model
Thai-Corps is inspired by the U.S. National Science Foundation Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program, which equips faculty members and researchers with entrepreneurial skills through the customer discovery process. This approach enables research teams to apply their technological expertise to market-driven innovations. Over the past decade, I-Corps has trained more than 2,500 teams, leading to the creation of over 1,400 new businesses—a success rate exceeding 50%—and attracting over 110.4 billion THB in funding.
What sets I-Corps apart from other programs is its emphasis on the customer discovery process and the lean startup approach. Participants actively engage with real markets through interviews. Each team is required to speak with at least 100 potential customers within seven weeks, gaining deep insights into real customer pain points and refining their research for practical application.
Thai-Corps’s Goals for Advancing Thai Research Teams
Thai-Corps is more than just a training program—it is a comprehensive support system designed to enhance the commercial potential of research. The program focuses on:
- Business Validation – Assessing the feasibility of research in real markets.
- Customer Discovery – Understanding market needs and refining research questions.
- Entrepreneurial Mindset – Cultivating entrepreneurial skills and perspectives.
- Thai-Corps Ecosystem – Building networks and connecting with broader support system.
Thai-Corps provides research teams with opportunities to collaborate with industry experts, ensuring that their innovations are refined and successfully commercialized.
Thai-Corps: A Key to an Innovation-based Economy
A successful transition to an innovation-based economy requires a system that effectively translates research into commercialization. Thai-Corps is an initiative for strengthening Thai deeptech startups, enhancing fundraising opportunities, and fostering the growth of technology-driven enterprises.
With support from multiple organizations and university networks, Thai-Corps is more than just a pilot program—it is a strategic initiative aimed at bridging the gap between research and the market, empowering Thai researchers, and driving the creation of globally competitive, innovation-driven businesses.
In the long term, Thai-Corps aims to establish itself as a core mechanism within Thailand’s national science, research, and innovation (SRI) system. By integrating Thai-Corps into the country’s research and innovation framework, Thailand can maximize the efficiency of SRI investments, leading to tangible economic and industrial transformation.
Thai-Corps Kick-off Workshop for Cohort 1
On 17 February 2025, the Kick-off Workshop for Thai-Corps’s first cohort was held at Graph Hotel Ratchada in Bangkok. The event featured a panel discussion on “Building the Deep-Tech Innovation Ecosystem in Thailand,” with key speakers including Ms. Sirinya Lim, Senior Director of Innovation Economic Policy Division at NXPO, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pongpan Kaewtatip, Director of the SRI Development Mission Group for Economic Development, and Mr. Pariwat Wongsamran, Deputy Executive Director of Innovation System at the National Innovation Agency (NIA). The session was moderated by Dr. Edward Rubesch, Director of the IDE Center.
Ms. Sirinya Lim highlighted NXPO’s role as a policy agency under the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research, and Innovation (MHESI). With a mission to strengthen Thailand’s innovation ecosystem, NXPO works to bridge critical gaps by providing incentives and tailored support programs. Through collaborations with stakeholders, NXPO has identified key challenges faced by funding agencies, researchers, and budget allocation bodies regarding research commercialization. Thai-Corps was designed to address these challenges by equipping researchers with essential skills, enabling research to generate economic impact.
“We explored new mechanisms by studying international models. After learning about the I-Corps program, we saw potential to adapt it to Thailand’s context. Thai-Corps is our pilot initiative, with plans for nationwide expansion. At NXPO, we have several sandbox programs that bring together key stakeholders, including funding agencies, to collaboratively explore and refine new mechanisms,” Ms. Sirinya explained.
Mr. Pariwat Wongsamran emphasized NIA’s role as a funding agency supporting entrepreneurs in developing innovations. Beyond providing financial support, NIA collaborates with key stakeholders to strengthen Thailand’s innovation ecosystem, ensuring that research investments translate into tangible market outcomes. To enhance effectiveness, NIA offers platforms that facilitate knowledge sharing, technology access, market entry, and market testing. Currently, NIA’s funding covers diverse sectors, including agriculture and food, healthcare, climate technology, artificial intelligence, robotics, and tourism. Additionally, NIA operates multiple programs fostering innovation-driven enterprises (IDEs), offering insights into fundraising, business development, funding matchmaking, and market acceleration.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pongpan Kaewtatip discussed Thailand’s ongoing research and innovation system reform which has led to the establishment of a policy body (NXPO), a budget allocation agency (TSRI) and nine funding agencies called Program Management Units (PMUs). For FY 2025, Thailand’s research budget stands at 19.25 billion THB, with R&D investment accounting for 1.3% of GDP. TSRI has introduced funding mechanisms to encourage private-sector research, development, and innovation (RDI) to address critical national challenges with potential for government procurement or market adoption. These mechanisms include Thailand Business Innovation Research (TBIR) and Thailand Technology Transfer Research (TTTR). Funding for feasibility studies, prototype development, and market entry is provided by PMUC and NIA.
The Thai-Corps Kick-off Workshop, held from 17-20 February 2025, featured intensive training, team-building exercises, and coaching sessions led by VentureWell, an experienced organization that has long managed the NSF I-Corps program. Participating teams conducted customer interviews—both face-to-face and online—to gain deeper insights into market needs. The program will continue with online follow-up activities until 3 April 2025, during which teams must interview over 100 customers and stakeholders. This hands-on approach enhances researchers’ understanding of commercialization pathways, helping them refine research questions with strong market potential—ultimately driving economic growth for Thailand.
