CP Innovation Center of Excellence’s latest platform cements its status as a global learning and innovation hub

BANGKOK, 13 August 2026 — Charoen Pokphand Group (CP Group) has announced the launch of CP-CoEX (Center of Excellence x Exponential), signalling the next phase of its twofold strategy of developing people and creating innovation in response to the major technological changes impacting the world. CP-CoEX is a global learning and innovation platform that connects leaders and experts from tech businesses and universities around the world to address real challenges presently facing the industrial sector. The announcement further consolidates the status of the hosting CP Innovation Center of Excellence (CPIC) as a hub for innovation, learning and the acquisition of future skills.

This strategic direction adheres to the directive of CP Group’s Senior Chairman, Mr Dhanin Chearavanont to identify Thailand’s next generation of Future Leaders and equip them to not only keep pace with AI but above all to deploy technological advances to bringing innovation and newfound competitiveness to the world stage.

Reiterating the immense importance that he places on developing people for the AI era, Mr Dhanin said: “Everything is changing so dramatically and it’s imperative that CP equips people to keep up with these changes, because ultimately it is people who think, who create, who use.” 

Mr Dhanin Chearavanont, Senior Chairman of Charoen Pokphand Group, has consistently outlined his vision in this way, emphasizing that the further technology progresses, the greater the urgency with which we must help people keep pace. Ultimately, he tells us, people are the thinkers, creators and leaders who put technology to use. He also emphasizes the principle of continuous learning and development, saying: “Today we may be able to do our best, but tomorrow we may not be the best. Therefore, we have no choice but to make it better, better, and better.”

Mr Suphachai Chearavanont, Senior Vice Chairman of Charoen Pokphand Group, said, “The vision of the CP Innovation Center of Excellence is to become a world-class innovation hub dedicated to advancing artificial intelligence, digital processing and computing technologies, robotics, nanotechnology, biotechnology and healthcare, as well as space technology. However, the heart of our mission is not merely to create technologies, but to develop people, build knowledge, and connect all sectors to create a strong innovation ecosystem. Through these efforts, we aim to drive Thailand towards becoming a major global hub for technology and innovation, contributing to security and a sustainable quality of life for the Thai people.”

Dr Teerapon Tanomsakyut, CP Group’s Chief Sustainability and Strategic Development Officer, noted that the world is entering an era in which competitiveness is no longer solely reliant on being the first to access and exploit new technology; just as important, he asserts, will be the capacity to develop people with a sufficient understanding of technology to instantly discern windows of opportunity, enabling them to propose novel ways of transforming tech breakthroughs into innovation and economic value.

He said, “The challenge we face is not just deciding what forms of technology to teach but also determining what kind of people the world and the businesses of the future will need. From there we need to devise a learning system that connects people, knowledge, technology, universities and real-life business problems in a way that allows for the simultaneous growth of people and innovation.”

CP-CoEX has been designed as an open learning and innovation ecosystem, granting individuals and organizations from inside and outside CP Group access to its resources. It is built around four learning pillars: Business Co-Creation (B2B), GenEd (Credit Bank), Global Co-Creation, and Executive courses, so designed as to make learning opportunities available to a broad demographic that ranges from students and young people to professionals and entrepreneurs, and from members of the general public to corporate executives. Learning will also occur through interactions and connections made between diverse participants, such as between students and executives, and between individuals and organizations, as well as through the application of academic theory to real business practice.

The A1 Business Accelerator program is serving as a showcase for the Business Co-Creation (B2B) strand, demonstrating how academic knowledge, industry expertise and real-world business projects are being integrated at CP-CoEX to develop people capable of transforming the possibilities offered by AI into real business impact.

The 96-hour program will be held over 12 weeks for a cohort of 60 participants, consisting of employees from 11 prominent companies. These include CP Group subsidiaries (CPF, CP ALL, CP Axtra and True) in addition to Huawei, Tencent, AWS, KAO, Schneider Electric, Mitsubishi Electric and SCG. Collaborating within a shared learning environment, the participants will address genuine business challenges by jointly developing seven real business AI projects. Their goal extends beyond merely obtaining certification, instead targeting the proposition of an AI-based solution in the form of a prototype, proof of concept or business case. Some solutions may even reach as far as a pilot stage or a scale-up plan with a view to actual adoption and widespread implementation. 

The inaugural teaching day at CP-CoEX was marked by a special theme: ‘National Leaders x Business Leaders’. This saw national policymakers and captains of industry deliver lessons informed by a wealth of experience acquired at the highest level.

Prof Dr Yodchanan Wongsawat, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, opened Lesson AI 001 – entitled ‘AI Unleash: From Policy to Action (National AI Policy)’ – by addressing the bigger-picture view of how AI policy will prepare Thailand for success in the new economic era.

This was followed by Lesson LD 001 – ‘Future Ready Leader (AI Leadership Development)’ – delivered by Mr Dhanin Chearavanont, who reflected on his experiences of people development and business leadership during times of great change while his class listened with rapt attention.

Providing a clear representation of CP-CoEX’s approach, which links policy and leadership to technology and business impact, the learning focus of the first day later switched to the rise of AI itself. Accordingly, Lesson AI 002 – ‘Leading in the Age of AI’ – was delivered by a team of experts and executives from NVIDIA, IBM, Accenture and Xi'an Jiaotong–Liverpool University (XJTLU).

The A1 Business Accelerator program is only the first in an extensive array of programs and courses set to become available at CP-CoEX, as the learning platform expands across a variety of tech and future industry fields. These are due to include: Biotechnology, Robotics and Automation, Smart Manufacturing, Smart Agriculture, Future Food, Healthcare Innovation, Clean Energy, Data and Cloud, and Deep Technology. There will also be ongoing expansion via cooperation with leading educational institutions, tech companies and other kinds of organization from Thailand and around the world.

The ultimate objective therefore exceeds merely training up people to ‘know how to use AI’. It instead aims to develop leaders with the vision and skillsets to rapidly identify pivotal areas of change and then combine business and tech know-how to bringing innovative products to the market which have a substantive business impact. The goal is to create Future Leaders, Future Capabilities and Future Businesses that contribute to increasing the capacity of Thai organizations, making them better equipped to compete on the global stage.