Following the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by Microsoft and the Thai government last year, the tech giant has recently unveiled its plans to build its first datacenter in the country.

During the “Microsoft Build: AI Day” held in Bangkok on May 1, Microsoft’s Chairman and CEO, Satya Nadella, announced the company’s new commitments to bringing artificial intelligence (AI) technology to the country. This includes building the new datacentre and investing in cloud and AI infrastructure to provide AI skilling opportunities for over 100,000 professionals.

The datacenter aims to expand the availability of Microsoft’s hyperscale cloud services, facilitating enterprise-grade reliability, performance, and compliance with data residency and privacy standards, Microsoft said in a press release.

Nadella also mentioned that these initiatives will help public and private Thai organizations drive impact and growth in their respective industries.

According to Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, the datacenter and improved digital infrastructure will be key milestones for the country’s “Ignite Thailand” vision, which aims to develop its potential to be a regional digital economy and research and development hub.

“Today’s announcement with Microsoft is a significant milestone in the journey of our ‘Ignite Thailand’ vision—one that promises new opportunities for growth, innovation, and prosperity for all Thais,” Thavisin added.

Microsoft likewise unveiled that by 2025, the company aims to provide AI skilling opportunities to about 2.5 million professionals in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states.

To learn more about it, watch Nadella’s full speech here.

To bring Thailand’s digital infrastructure to “unprecendented heights,” leading data centre companies in the country teamed up to form the Thailand Data Centre Council (TDCC) yesterday, Jan. 25.

TDCC is a pioneering alliance among the data industry leaders in Thailand, including Evolution DC, STTelemedia, Telehouse, NTT Global Data Centers, and AIMS Data Centre.

The alliance is formed based on six fundamental objectives, which are to represent industry stakeholders, expand businesses internationally, develop professionals in the digital space, enforce and improve laws and regulations in the data centre industry, promote ethical practices, and develop the industry as a whole.

The council is also aimed at expanding data centre service networks in the country and the ASEAN region in adherence to global standards, STTelemedia said in a press release.

To do all these, the council will work on developing the skills of professionals in the field to meet international standards. The council will also help identify the dilemmas and crises the field faces, as well as suggest solutions for its betterment.

The alliance comes at a great time for Thailand, as the country’s data centre market is projected to reach US$2.16 billion in revenue in 2024, Statista reports.

Want to get away from the chaotic city without actually getting away? You’ll get to do this with just a few clicks on your mobile devices as the leading meditation and sleep application Calm has released its newest wellness content!

Titled “Extreme Sleeps: River Kwai,” the new content is a special travel series penned by travel writer and adventurer Phoebe Smith, set in the tranquil and majestic River Kwai. The content is made in collaboration with the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), with the aim of highlighting the Land of Smiles as a wonderful wellness destination.

With the new content, listeners will get to slumber while listening to Smith’s stories and adventures on her night in River Kwai. Listeners are also sure to relax with the 32-minute audio, narrated by the calming voice of Rhoda Ofori-Attah.

Promising to transport listeners to the healing landscapes of Kanchanaburi, the audio will feature a mesmerising train journey from the capital to the enchanting River Kwai Kanchanaburi, taking listeners to a peaceful retreat by the river at night.

“Extreme Sleeps: River Kwai” is exclusively available via the Calm app. To access the content and experience a one-of-a-kind digital retreat, you can download the app via Google Play or App Store.

Embracing technological advancement, a partnership between King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital and the Thai Red Cross Society introduces five robots as new health companions around the hospital.

The hospital has recognized how robots played a vital role during the COVID-19 pandemic, which helped the health workers with their workloads and lessened the spread of the virus during the outbreak.

One of the robots named “Mr. SAM” is one of the first that is scheduled for deployment in March to assist with the hospital’s administrative tasks and to speed up the outpatient department’s services.

In addition to supporting the outpatient department, Mr. SAM and the other robots are programmed to provide basic information about the hospital. They also handle tasks such as patient registration and appointment rescheduling.

For more updates about the deployment of the robots, check out King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital’s Facebook page or head to their website.

Prepare your e-wallets and go on an online shopping spree with this new South Korean mobile shopping application, Pocket PangPang.

Far from the usual retail app, Pocket PangPang offers single-priced products where customers get automatically matched with a product priced at THB200. Notably, every item featured in Pocket PangPang has a retail value of THB200 or higher.

What sets the app apart from the usual mystery boxes is that when a customer is dissatisfied with or does not require the matched product, it can be returned, and the equivalent value will be provided in the form of app points or exchanged for an alternative item.

Earning the grand prize in the 2023 Korea Consumer Satisfaction Index Awards in the category of single-price shopping malls, Pocket PangPang has established itself as one of the leading online shopping apps in South Korea.

Pocket PangPang is now available for download on the Google Play Store for Android and the Apple App Store for iOS.