SEOUL: Thai startups are seeing increasing investment from larger funds, global accelerators and regional capitalists, Line Thailand says, declaring that the app maker will help build the first Thai unicorn startup within 3-5 years.
"Thailand's startup scene will get a big boost from larger funding deals in the Series B round, with more global accelerators and corporate venture capital players entering the market," said Jayden Kang, chief of strategy and head of Line Man at Line Thailand.
In the past two years, the number of local startups subject to Series B funding (US$7-10 million or 214-305 million baht) rose from three to six, and more are expected next year, Mr Kang said.
Fintech, social commerce and interactive video platforms are drawing interest in Thailand, he said.
"We set an ambitious plan to create the country's first unicorn startup, with a valuation of US$1 billion, within 3-5 years," Mr Kang said.
He was speaking in South Korea, where six selected Thai startups joined Line's ScaleUp programme, aimed at expanding Thai startups and helping them gain international funding.
The six startups were selected from 100 teams to join Line Thailand's ScaleUp camp.
They are Choco CRM, Seekster, ClaimDi, Finnomena, Gowabi and Tellscore, all of which have strong entrepreneurship and unique business models, Mr Kang said.
In 2020, Line Thailand will focus on incubation programmes, particularly by supporting new startups created at universities, he said. The company also aims to connect regional venture capital players with local startups.
Thailand could also be a market for South Korean startups that want to expand overseas, Mr Kang said.
He said ScaleUp is aimed at seeking new services from the selected startups that can be integrated into Line.
"We will find more new services, such as insurance, healthcare and travel, to meet customers' daily lifestyle needs," Mr Kang said. "This will allow them to spend more time on our platform."
Kay Lim, head of global investment at Line Ventures, the venture capital arm of Line Corporation, said the company announced in March that $20 million would be available for investment in local startups through a partnership with Line Thailand.
Line Ventures is in talks on several deals in Thailand, Mr Lim said, covering food tech, fintech and on-demand service startups.
Line Ventures has co-invested in one local startup, Fastwork, an online platform that supports freelancers, providing Series A funding along with other investors.
Outside of Japan, Line Ventures has invested in 16 startups across Asia, including digital media, on-demand delivery, e-commerce and fintech.
Mr Lim said Indonesia and Vietnam appear to have attracted more investment from venture capital firms (VCs) because of more government support and a larger range of startup options.
VCs from China are more competitive in Asean because they know the region, while VCs from Europe and the US need time to understand the market.
"We see that Asean startups have more diverse sectors and are more sophisticated," Mr Lim said.
Local startups need to have a regional mindset to expand into overseas markets, he said, adding that they need to partner with online platforms such as Line to get more user traffic and enhance cost efficiency.
After growing for 3-4 years, local startups should not focus solely on revenue growth, but rather on plans to become profitable, something that could help attract sizeable deals from investors, Mr Lim said.
Mr Kang said the Thai government needs to help support young entrepreneurs through tax benefits, business matching and visa schemes.