Beyond AI: Three Technology Shifts Thai Businesses Should Watch

 

By Oravee Smithiphol, Tech Intelligence & Insights Manager, SCB 10X

 

Everybody is talking about AI. Yet the World Economic Forum's Top 10 Emerging Technologies of 2026 offers an important reminder: the next wave of industrial transformation will not be driven by AI alone. Increasingly, it will emerge from the convergence of AI, biology, materials science and engineering.

 

This matters because Thailand’s economy remains deeply rooted in industries such as food production, automotive manufacturing, healthcare and energy. While it is far too early to predict which emerging technologies will ultimately succeed, some deserve closer attention because they have the potential to reshape sectors that are already important to the country.

 

1. Precision fermentation: Biology becomes manufacturing

Precision fermentation uses engineered microorganisms to produce proteins, enzymes and other valuable ingredients. While it is often associated with alternative meat, its applications extend much further into food, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and specialty chemicals.

 

Governments from the United States to Singapore are investing in biomanufacturing because they see it as a future industrial capability, not simply another biotechnology niche.
 

 

Why Thailand should watch

Thailand is one of the world's leading food producers and exporters. If precision fermentation reaches commercial scale, it could gradually reshape ingredient sourcing, food manufacturing and parts of the agricultural value chain. Thai companies do not need to become biotechnology firms, but they should understand how biology is becoming another manufacturing platform.

 

2. Structural composites: Better materials, better manufacturing

Every industrial revolution has been enabled by new materials—from steel and aluminium to semiconductors and carbon fibre. The WEF report highlights structural composites, lightweight materials that improve strength while reducing weight and simplifying product design.

 

One promising application is structural battery composites, where battery packs become part of a vehicle's structure instead of separate components. The result could be lighter vehicles, longer driving range and more efficient manufacturing.

 

Why Thailand should watch

Automotive manufacturing remains one of Thailand's most important industries. As global manufacturers compete on efficiency, suppliers may increasingly need new materials, new production methods and new engineering capabilities. Future manufacturing competitiveness may depend not only on smarter factories, but also on smarter materials.

 

 

3. Physical AI enters the factory

One important trend not featured prominently in this year's WEF report is Physical AI.

 

Unlike generative AI, which creates text or images, Physical AI enables machines to perceive, reason and act in the physical world. While humanoid robots attract headlines, the first large-scale business impact is likely to appear in factories, warehouses and logistics centres.

 

AI-powered robots are becoming better at inspecting products, moving inventory, navigating warehouses and supporting manufacturing operations. Combined with advances in robotics and computer vision, these systems could improve quality, increase operational flexibility and raise productivity.

 

For Thailand, the key question is not whether factories will automate, but whether they can automate quickly enough to remain globally competitive. As manufacturers across Asia invest in AI-driven production, productivity and operational excellence are becoming increasingly important competitive advantages.

 

Behind many of these advances is another emerging concept known as World Models. They are AI systems that learn to understand and simulate the physical world before taking action. I recently explored this topic in another The Nation article, where I discuss why World Models could become a foundational technology for the next generation of intelligent machines.

 

Looking ahead

For the past decade, digital transformation has largely focused on software. The next decade may increasingly be about reinventing how we manufacture products, produce food and operate factories. Although these technologies come from different fields, they share one important characteristic: they are transforming the physical economy, not just the digital one.

 

Oravee Smithiphol is Tech Intelligence & Insights Manager at SCB 10X, where she tracks emerging AI developments across startups, enterprises, and financial services organizations worldwide.

 

 

About SCB 10X

SCB 10X is the disruptive technology investment arm of SCBX Group. With an investment track record since 2016, SCB 10X has deployed over USD 500 million globally into startups in AI, blockchain, and fintech. SCB 10X has backed exceptional companies such as Together AI, Pagaya, Ripple, Fireblocks, Anchorage Digital

Beyond capital, SCB 10X partners with our portfolio founders to test, grow and scale their solutions through SCBX’s network, unlocking commercial opportunities into Thailand and Southeast Asia. Mandated as the group’s speedboat, we discover and ship state-of-the-art technologies and solutions into SCBX group. 
 
For more information, please visit https://scb10x.com/