BANGKOK – IBM Thailand is focusing on helping Thai organisations overcome barriers to AI adoption, especially in generative AI, to boost the country’s competitiveness.

This year alone, about 5% of Thai businesses have begun using GenAI, and IBM aims to elevate this adoption to as much as 20% by 2025. The effort comes as the global adoption rate of AI remains modest, with only 10% of organisations fully implementing AI initiatives.

Limited AI deployment

Though many Thai organisations engaged in GenAI pilot projects this year, widespread deployment remains limited.

Anothai Wettayakorn, IBM Thailand’s country general manager, highlighted several challenges to adoption, including technological infrastructure readiness, security concerns, and regulatory uncertainties.

A recent survey by IBM also shows 76% of Thai executives believe strong collaboration between finance and technology teams is essential for organisational success. However, about 55% of tech leaders in Thailand are delaying major investments due to unclear standards and regulations, with 45% noting increased concerns about compliance and regulatory barriers to GenAI.

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To increase GenAI adoption, IBM Thailand identifies four critical areas for support:

1) Open-source AI models help organisations avoid vendor lock-in and encourage community-driven innovation. IBM’s open-source Granite 3.0 AI model exemplifies this, as it offers smaller, more customisable language models that are cost-effective and require fewer computing resources than larger models.

2) IBM promotes a trusted data foundation that integrates data across hybrid cloud environments, enhancing interoperability and reducing data silos.

3) AI governance is crucial for scaling GenAI responsibly, reducing bias, and navigating regulatory landscapes.

4) Ecosystem integration is essential to foster the growth of open-source models, supporting long-term innovation and market expansion.

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Promising ROI in AI

IBM’s research shows a promising return on investment in AI: early GenAI adopters saw an ROI increase from 13% in 2022 to 31% in 2023. By 2030, Thailand’s AI market is expected to grow significantly, reaching an estimated 114 billion baht (US$3.29bn), with a projected annual growth rate of 46.5% from 2024 to 2030.

This growth is expected to bring about 300 AI use cases across sectors such as manufacturing, insurance, automotive, and health care, positioning AI as a critical technology for Thai industries in the coming years.

“Organisations should have AI strategies and pick high-impact use cases by accepting more risk, scaling out projects to stay competitive,” Anothai said, as quoted by Bangkok Post.

IBM Thailand’s initiative aims to encourage a proactive approach among Thai organisations. By embracing AI strategies, identifying impactful use cases, and accepting some risks, businesses can scale AI projects to remain competitive.

“No one is fully prepared to adopt AI and can’t wait. However, AI will become a core technology soon,” Anothai said.

While the path to AI readiness involves overcoming several challenges, IBM Thailand believes GenAI will soon be essential for business operations, and they are committed to accelerating adoption across the country.