SUCHIT LEESA-NGUANSUK
AiTAN, a leading smart solutions provider in Thailand, has partnered with Tuya Smart, a global IoT developer service provider, to co-create innovative smart solutions under the AiTAN brand to capitalise on the growing demand for smart technologies and automation solutions.
AiTAN has set an ambitious goal to become the leader in smart home solutions for property developers in ASEAN by 2030 through its Initial Public Offering (IPO).
The company sees the opportunity for smart home and smart building solutions in Thailand, which has been growing rapidly in the past 2-3 years with more affordable technology and the rising electricity costs that will attract interested consumers to adopt smart solutions for energy-saving. Ranis Dhamasiri, Chief Executive of AiTAN Technologies, stated in an interview with the Bangkok Post.
Mr. Ranis mentioned that the company is a spin-off business from the parent firm, Lifestyle Technologies Co., Ltd., which is one of the leading smart home and building solution providers with its own R&D capabilities. They have worked with over 50 property developers and installed solutions for over 300 projects in Thailand.
"We decided to become an official partner with Tuya Smart, a global IoT developer service provider, to scale more rapidly in large-size projects, quick deployment, price competitiveness, and offer more diverse solutions," said Mr. Ranis. Currently, smart home and smart building solutions have become the norm in new properties, and their prices are more affordable. Compared to equivalent solutions from some European brands, Tuya’s offerings stand out for their enhanced smart capabilities and excellent cost performance.
"Smart technologies are still in a less than 5-billion-baht market, but its value will increase in the future. With Tuya, we can co-create and join forces to go beyond Thailand and penetrate the Southeast Asia market," said Mr. Ranis.
"As a global service provider, by partnering with AiTan, we aim to provide localised solutions for market development operations. We aim to provide a one-stop solution for software and hardware capabilities and strive to make it the leading brand for smart commercial solutions in Thailand," said Haiping Ying, General Manager of Tuya Smart Commercial.
Thailand is an important economy in Southeast Asia, and Thailand 4.0 policy drives the growth of the digital economy and the smart industry. There are estimates that Thailand's digital economy will reach $57 billion by 2025, constituting 30% of the country's GDP.
Moreover, the adoption of smart gadgets in households has grown from 3.7% in 2019 to a 6.9% growth in 2022. In addition, China and Thailand have a good relationship, and there will be free visas by this March. Moreover, good Chinese factories are based here.
Thailand and China recently signed a reciprocal visa-waiver agreement intended to boost tourism between the two countries once it takes effect in March.
Tuya provides cloud-based smart home and smart community SDK (software development kit) and the related device Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to enable partners to continuously enhance solution capabilities to meet the diversified requirements of real estate developers.
"AiTAN has market development and experience of localisation capabilities. This is why we decided to have AiTAN as its smart commercial developer in ASEAN. With AiTAN, we will expand to the region together by using Thailand as a springboard to co-create the market," said Mr. Ying.
Mr. Ranis added that AiTan is collaborating with Tuya to develop software and hardware solutions for smart commercial developers covering seven areas: smart community, smart hospitality, residential, smart lighting, solar energy, smart commercial developers, and smart home.
The collaboration focuses on homes and real estate as the entry point, extending into areas such as hotels, residential, commercial lighting, energy, and office spaces. Leveraging Tuya's software and hardware solutions and AiTAN's robust research and development capabilities, both parties aim to establish a professional, comprehensive, and competitive smart commercial brand in the industry.
AiTAN acknowledges the challenge of the local economy and will focus on priority markets, mainly in residential developers, smart lighting in particular, and smart parking, with some cases aiming to help reduce energy costs by 80%, and smart hospitality, such as hotels and rentals that are still rebounding from tourism.
By this April, AiTan will also launch a smart application, offering local users digital services such as Line application’s notifications and security centres, tailored to meet local needs.
It can also be integrated with other Matter or Thread smart home devices allowing users to control all smart devices in a single app. This app can be applied in homes, condominiums, and rental facilities.
With a 2-year warranty and after-sale service for its smart home solution, this will ensure the high quality of its products. AiTan will seek partnerships with shopping malls, Internet of Things (IoT) businesses, and telecom providers to widen its channel.
ASEAN Expansion
Mr. Ranis said AiTan will open a Singapore sales office by this March to provide services there as it sees growth potential in Singapore.
"We have installed and delivered over 10 projects and have six ongoing projects. The Singapore market lags behind Thailand by around three years in this field."
The company will also establish the AiTAN Solution Center in Bangkok in September. The venue will occupy 1,600 square metres and will be located near Rama VIII bridge. It will demonstrate and showcase AiTAN solutions, reinforcing its brand presence.
By year-end, the company expects to generate 150 million baht in revenue, install at least 10,000 devices, and receive pre-orders for 100 projects. "We have an ambitious goal to be the leading smart home solution provider for property developers in Thailand and ASEAN by 2030," Mr. Ranis said.
The future is AI and optimisation
Mr. Ying said smart technologies will involve more data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), and optimisation for energy saving and efficiency management in work processes.
Optimisation is crucial, especially for business partners, to ensure they benefit from the platform's services. Building on data analysis, Tuya can strategically introduce additional commercial scenarios to further enrich customer offerings, particularly within industries such as smart home communities, hospitality, and rentals spanning diverse regions.
The platform intends to leverage AI technology to improve user interactions and localise solutions for different geographic regions and user habits.
This involves incorporating local languages and accents into voice recognition systems and collaborating with local voice recognition companies. The ultimate goal is to provide better solutions for end-users by improving user interactions and localised features.
"Data-driven optimisation and user-centric solutions are crucial to meet the needs of its partners and end-users effectively."
