Thailand and OpenAI launch an accelerator programme for AI startups

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Today we’re looking at how Thailand and OpenAI are teaming up to help 10 health and educational startups in the country grow through a new initiative. And we have the details of a massive new round for Ajaib, a billion-dollar valued Indonesian investment app that’s similar to Robinhood in the US.

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Thailand’s government enlisted an unlikely partner after it announced a partnership with OpenAI that will see the two launch an eight-week incubation programme to develop startups and bring AI growth into its economy.

Ten startups have been selected for the inaugural batch, which marks the first time OpenAI has worked with a national government in this way. The first companies selected span healthcare and education.

Accelerators are typically run by investment firms, or at least with them in close proximity, so this particular one will be quite different. OpenAI isn’t exactly opening up its vast coffers, but it is providing hands-on support:

OpenAI will provide each team with US$2,000 in API credits, one-on-one technical guidance, and access to OpenAI’s latest frontier models. Each startup will also have a dedicated mentor throughout the program. Weekly sessions will cover product design, engineering, automated testing, evaluation, responsible AI, privacy and security, cost management, growth, and fundraising.

There will be a demo day in Bangkok in November, but it isn’t clear whether the initiative will be repeated.

Speaking at the Techsauce Global Summit event on Friday, Thailand’s deputy prime minister Dr Yodchanan Wongsawat (who leads the ministry of education, science, research and innovation) suggested that the government is keen to turn this into a regular series that could eventually attract startups from overseas. A follow-up event would need more participants, and investors especially, to have meaningful impact beyond a publicity stunt.

Jon Russell@jonrussell

OpenAI is launching an 8-week accelerator programme with Thailand’s government (Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation)

8:24 AM · Aug 28, 2026 · 598 Views

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Beyond the programme, Dr Wongsawat laid out an ambition for Thailand’s economy to tap into technology, and AI in particular, around areas such as food, education and health. Politicians often paint pretty pictures, but making into a reality is not easy.

Startup ecosystems tend to blossom organically without government stimulation, but Thailand’s startup scene has wilted in recent years.

The country counted more than half a dozen early-stage programs before Covid, with telecom operators, banks and conglomerates getting in on the act. That may be overkill or a signal of startups becoming trendy, but fast forward to today and the accelerators have disappeared and few domestic VCs are left.

We wrote earlier this year about the funding decline when looking at why Thai startups wanting to go public overseas:

Thai companies raised nearly $5 billion in 2020, a figure that placed it behind only China. But the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and Thailand’s volatile political landscape has seen the numbers dwindle to just $408 million last year.

This initiative with OpenAI shows that the government is trying to put startups, AI and general tech on its economic map, perhaps taking cues from South Korea and others. Time will tell if will be anything more than ceremonial, and whether OpenAI will seek out similar opportunities elsewhere.

In parallel, OpenAI also announced a “ Learning Accelerator” programme in India.

The Thailand tie-up appears to be led by Sandhya Devanathan, a former Meta VP who just joined OpenAI to lead consumer growth, enterprise adoption and regulatory engagement. Based in Singapore, she is a Thai national.

Indonesia’s startup market may be in the doldrums following fraud and the sentencing of Gojek’s founder, but that won’t stop growing startups from getting funded. Proof of that came late last week when Ajaib, a digital investing app modeled on Robinhood, closed a $270 million investment. That’s the country’s largest deal since 2022.

The investment is led by Japan’s SBI Holdings and it values Ajaib at over $1 billion. That’s all the specifics we have. Ajaib has previously been valued at over $1 billion before, and it has now raised more than $500 million.

The obvious question is how investors find a meaningful return at that valuation, and that’s one that continues to dog startup investing across Southeast Asia. Singapore has pushed hard to make its stock exchange a viable option, and SGX has an agreement with Nasdaq to enable dual listings, while Hong Kong has also been mooted as a possible option for startups in the region.

We await that elusive first listing to pave the way. Certainly, the fact that Sea and Grab, Southeast Asia’s most prominent public figures, are only tradeable in the US is indicative of the situation.

SBI, meanwhile, has been busy doing deals. In recent months, it bought a majority stake in Singapore-based crypto exchange Coinhako, was part of stablecoin platform Fasset’s recent round and backed financial instutitonal focused startup Pints AI. It seems to see this relative down market as a good time to be bold on financial platforms in Southeast Asia.

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