Thailand Puts Productivity at the Center of AI Transformation with National AI Roadmap

 

The APO-supported roadmap positions AI as a practical productivity tool to raise output, strengthen worker capability, improve resource efficiency, and accelerate sustainable industrial upgrading


BANGKOK, Aug 28 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Thailand today marked the official handover and dissemination of the National AI Roadmap for the Sustainable Productivity of Industries in Thailand, placing productivity rather than technology adoption itself at the center of the country's AI transformation agenda.

The milestone took place during the Thailand Productivity Forum 2026: “Twin Transformation – AI × Productivity × Net Zero,” held in conjunction with the 1st AI Productivity Collaboration Consortium. The central message was clear: AI should be judged by the measurable value it creates for firms, workers, public services, and the wider economy.

The economic case is compelling. The APO Productivity Database 2025 reports that Thai labor-productivity growth averaged 2.1% during 2015–2023, down from 4.8% during 2010–2015, while total factor productivity averaged zero growth. As population aging constrains labor-force expansion, Thailand will increasingly need to create more value from each hour worked and each unit of capital.

“AI is not the objective. Productivity is.”
— Dr. Indra Pradana Singawinata, Secretary-General, Asian Productivity Organization

For the APO, the test is not how many AI tools are purchased, pilots launched, or people trained. It is whether AI raises output per hour, reduces downtime and defects, improves quality and asset utilization, lowers energy and material intensity, accelerates innovation, and strengthens the productive capability of workers.

Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Industry Duangdow Khawjaroen reinforced the same productivity-first framing, linking digital transformation and green transformation through AI × Productivity × Net Zero. In her prepared remarks, she said: “Productivity represents the tangible outcomes of doing things better using fewer resources, reducing costs and waste, and creating greater value.” She also stressed that “good AI begins with good data,” highlighting the ministry's i-Industry and i-SingleForm systems and practical applications such as predictive maintenance, energy-efficiency optimization, supply-chain analysis, real-time quality inspection, greenhouse-gas assessment, and executive decision support.

Prepared collaboratively by the Thailand Productivity Institute (FTPI) and APO with the technical support of FutureLab, the roadmap is grounded in 23 in-depth stakeholder interviews, a strategy workshop, and practical AI training. Importantly, its quantitative items are presented as recommended goals for the Ministry of Industry: a 15% productivity increase across specified MIND priority sectors by 2030; at least 60% AI adoption among large enterprises and 40% among SMEs in key sectors; at least 80 targeted AI pilot projects across priority sectors, with 30% scaled into full production; and certification of at least 50,000 industrial workers and 5,000 AI specialists by 2030.

Thailand already has a powerful proof point. In 2025, the World Economic Forum (WEF) added Midea's Si Racha facility to its Global Lighthouse Network after the plant deployed 72 digital and AI solutions. WEF-reported outcomes included a 43% reduction in order lead time, a 32% decline in customer complaints, and a 62% improvement in employee qualification speed, evidence of what becomes possible when AI is integrated with process redesign, workforce development, and operational discipline.

The next challenge is diffusion. In the 2024 ETDA–NSTDA AI Readiness study, 580 organizations responded; 17.8% reported already using AI, while 73.3% planned future adoption. The productivity opportunity lies in moving enterprises from intention to economically valuable deployment through use-case selection, data readiness, workflow redesign, worker adoption, integration, scaling, and measurement.

Aligned with the APO Vision 2030 and Thailand's Strategic Partnership Program, the roadmap provides a platform for moving from project-based AI adoption toward a result-oriented productivity transformation system. The next test will not be how many AI initiatives Thailand launches, but how widely AI helps enterprises, especially SMEs, to create more value, build stronger capabilities, and compete sustainably.

The defining question is no longer whether Thailand will use AI. It is how effectively Thailand can turn AI into productivity improvements that are measurable, scalable, sustainable, and broadly shared.

About the APO

The APO is a regional intergovernmental organization dedicated to improving productivity in the Asia-Pacific region through mutual cooperation. Established in 1961, the APO supports its member economies through policy advisory services, capacity building, and knowledge sharing to promote sustainable socioeconomic development.

Contact: pr@apo-tokyo.org
Website: https://www.apo-tokyo.org

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6b413fac-4b0d-4112-8e60-68df791a3bba. 

SOURCE: Asian Productivity Organization

Sapient Intelligence Launches PRAXIST (Beta) to Accelerate a New Era of Autonomous AI-led Research and Development

• 49 gold-medal outcomes across 75 machine learning competitions from MLE-Bench achieving approximately US$3,000, versus 34 for Claude Code at US$38,000
• Rocket-landing accuracy reached 100% within 12 hours, demonstrating a proof-of-concept capability at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 3

SINGAPORE, Aug 28 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- Singapore-headquartered artificial general intelligence research company Sapient Intelligence today announced the launch of PRAXIST (Beta), an autonomous AI research and development (R&D) system that takes on complex technical problems and independently tests and validates potential solutions.

While AI has rapidly accelerated productivity in content generation and other well-defined workflows, R&D remains inherently difficult to automate and scale. Breakthroughs require testing multiple hypotheses, learning from successes and failures, and continuously determining which paths to pursue. Organizations must address this all while balancing specialist expertise, time, cost, and infrastructure.

A capacity multiplier

PRAXIST addresses this challenge as an R&D capacity multiplier. Rather than executing a predefined path, it independently explores which technical approach can best achieve a measurable objective. Users define the goal, parameters, and budget; PRAXIST then autonomously experiments and evaluates the strongest solution.

The approach has demonstrated promising results in controlled internal evaluations. On 75 challenging Kaggle competitions from MLE-Bench, a benchmark designed to test how well AI systems tackle complex, real-world machine learning problems across, PRAXIST achieved the highest-level result in 49 competitions at an approximate recorded model cost of US$3,000, compared with 34 highest-level results for Claude Code at approximately US$38,000 under the same evaluation conditions.

“Unlike general coding agents, which are built primarily to execute a specific task, PRAXIST is designed for long-horizon R&D, where the problem-solving approach itself may need to be discovered and adapted,” says William Chen, Co-Founder at Sapient Intelligence. “A conventional research team is ultimately constrained by the number of experiments its researchers can realistically run and evaluate. PRAXIST is designed to provide organizations with the ability to augment their existing teams with additional research capacity, enabling them to explore problems with a breadth and speed that would otherwise require significantly greater specialist resources.”

From autonomous research to cumulative scientific discovery

PRAXIST deploys multiple autonomous research peers to explore approaches in parallel, test hypotheses, investigate failures, and validate promising results. Unlike the tree-like search used by other similar systems, where each candidate inherits from one parent and weaker branches are pruned, PRAXIST uses a generation-layered research graph that preserves what every experiment teaches. This allows later generations to combine valuable mechanisms, evidence, and constraints across different lineages, including failed attempts. Rather than searching for the single best branch, PRAXIST constructs stronger solutions from discoveries made across branches.

Expansion and scale at speed

For organizations with limited AI or machine learning capabilities, PRAXIST can provide an AI research layer alongside existing domain expertise; for sophisticated teams, it can augment existing capabilities and increase the scale and breadth of R&D. A traditional robotics company, for example, can define problems, objectives, and constraints from an engineering perspective while PRAXIST conducts the AI research, experimentation, and validation needed to develop solutions, effectively serving as an in-house AI research team without requiring the company to build one.

Partner engineering results further illustrate this potential. In a partner-provided rocket-landing simulation, PRAXIST improved baseline to 100% within 12 hours, demonstrating a proof-of-concept capability at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 3. In an industrial robotic SLAM problem, a partner team achieved 9.37cm of accumulated error after several months of development. PRAXIST reduced the error to 5.01cm within three days.

System application

PRAXIST can operate with proprietary data in private or customer-controlled environments, giving organizations greater control over their research infrastructure and sensitive intellectual property.

Initial applications are focused on sectors with intensive R&D requirements or highly measurable or simulatable optimization problems, including AI, engineering and robotics, manufacturing, finance, and health and drug discovery. Over time, Sapient Intelligence aims to extend PRAXIST beyond traditional R&D into broader business optimization, from inventory and sales to logistics and shipping.

“AI has mastered executing what we know. The next frontier is discovering what we don’t,” said Jin Li, Chief Scientist of PRAXIST. “PRAXIST is our first step toward making autonomous discovery a practical capability for organizations tackling complex problems. As we continue to develop the platform, we will look to expand beyond traditional R&D. Our ambition is to give organizations a fundamentally greater capacity to explore what is possible, enabling existing teams to pursue more experiments, approaches, and innovations while keeping human expertise and judgment at the center.”

About Sapient Intelligence

Founded and headquartered in Singapore, Sapient Intelligence is developing a new generation of AI systems that move beyond answering questions and executing predefined tasks to autonomously discover, reason, and optimize across complex problems without predefined solutions. By combining autonomous research systems with novel foundation-model architectures, Sapient Intelligence advances autonomous discovery through deeper reasoning, self-evolving capabilities, greater adaptability, and enhanced interpretability.

At the center of this vision is PRAXIST, the company’s flagship autoresearch system enabling breakthroughs in real-world R&D and business challenges. Sapient is also the creator of the Hierarchical Reasoning Model (HRM), a novel, brain-inspired foundation model architecture designed to enable deep reasoning with substantially greater training efficiency.

With a global team of more than 50 researchers and engineers operating across Singapore, Palo Alto, and Beijing, Sapient brings together experience from leading AI organizations and research institutions. The company connects foundational AI research with demanding applications in finance, healthcare, manufacturing, and logistics, developing original AI systems for enterprises, researchers, and institutions worldwide.

Learn more about PRAXIST here.

View source version on businesswire.com:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260827080331/en/

Contact

The Hoffman Agency on behalf of Sapient Intelligence
Sapient@hoffman.com

Source : Sapient Intelligence

--BERNAMA

ARC’TERYX INTRODUCES SYSTEM 0 CIRCULAR DESIGN FRAMEWORK

Arc’teryx athlete, Craig Murray, wearing the Sperro SV, a multisport mountain-grade hardshell built with circular design principles, available September 4, 2026.

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 27 (Bernama) -- Arc’teryx Equipment, a global designer of technical high-performance apparel and equipment, has introduced System 0, a new framework designed to embed circularity across the product lifecycle, from design and manufacturing through use, repair and end-of-life regeneration.

The first product under the framework is the Sperro SV jacket, a mountain-grade hardshell designed for durability, repairability and disassembly for recycling at end of life. The jacket uses GORE-TEX Pro fabric with an ePE membrane, while its nylon face fabric and backer were separately designed for recyclability in partnership with Aquafil, the manufacturer of ECONYL regenerated nylon.

Available globally from Sept 4 through Arc’teryx stores and its website, the Sperro SV is positioned as the brand’s most advanced hardshell jacket and is intended to demonstrate that circular design can be integrated into technical apparel without compromising performance.

“System 0 represents a fundamental shift in how we build and scale our business with circularity front of mind. For decades, Arc’teryx has built gear that is meant to be repaired, not replaced. This is the next step forward,” said Arc’teryx Chief Executive Officer, Stuart Haselden in a statement.

The Sperro SV is the first product certified under TESTEX Circularity, a standard Arc’teryx said it co-developed to address gaps in existing circular product standards. The certification evaluates the jacket’s durability, repairability and ability to undergo chemical recycling.

System 0 builds on Arc’teryx’s existing ReBIRD ecosystem of washing, repair, trade-in, resale and upcycling initiatives. The company said the new framework extends these principles across design, sourcing, manufacturing, customer experience, repair and end-of-life recovery as part of an effort to make circularity a scalable operating model.

The Sperro SV has been tested by alpine professionals, including Vancouver’s North Shore Rescue. It features reinforcement at common failure points, including an easily replaceable zipper slider, and comes with three years of unlimited out-of-warranty repairs through ReBIRD.

When the jacket is no longer repairable, its fabric can undergo chemical recycling to separate the nylon from the GORE-TEX membrane. The nylon is then returned to Aquafil to be regenerated into ECONYL yarn for new products.

-- BERNAMA

Nessum Adoption Expands Across Global Energy-Management Infrastructure

 

Cumulative shipments of LSI devices incorporating Nessum^*1 IP exceed six million units as deployments grow in HVAC and smart grid applications


FUKUOKA, Japan, Aug 26 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- Nessum Alliance^*2 today announced the expansion of Nessum technology in commercial HVAC and smart grid applications through deployments by Alliance members Daikin Industries, Ltd. and Power Plus Communications AG (PPC). The Alliance also noted that cumulative worldwide shipments of LSI devices incorporating Nessum IP have surpassed six million units, according to Panasonic Holdings Corporation, the technology licensor, underscoring its maturity and market adoption.

As energy management, digitalization, and sustainable infrastructure accelerate worldwide, organizations need communications networks that combine reliability and flexibility. By enabling high-speed IP communications over existing wiring, Nessum is expanding its role across energy-management applications.

Deployments by Daikin and PPC demonstrate how IEEE 1901^*3-based Nessum technology delivers value in real-world infrastructure environments, connecting systems, devices, and operational data across critical sectors.

In the HVAC sector, Daikin is utilizing Nessum as part of its D4-NET architecture for next-generation air conditioning networks. As buildings rely more on operational and sensing data to improve efficiency, comfort, and performance, reliable communications infrastructure is becoming critical. Daikin has positioned Nessum as key to the evolution and global deployment of HVAC networks.

In Europe, PPC is advancing smart metering and grid modernization initiatives requiring reliable, long-distance communications over existing infrastructure. Its activities show how Nessum can meet smart-grid requirements while helping utilities improve visibility, efficiency, and network management.

The Alliance also noted that, according to Panasonic Holdings Corporation, cumulative shipments of LSI devices incorporating Nessum IP have exceeded six million units worldwide. This milestone demonstrates Nessum’s maturity in large-scale deployments.

Originally developed for high-speed communications over existing wiring, Nessum has evolved into a versatile platform supporting HVAC, smart grids, building automation, industrial facilities, and other IoT applications. It enables organizations to modernize infrastructure while reducing deployment complexity and cost.

"As energy management becomes increasingly important across industries, demand for reliable, scalable connectivity continues to grow," said Mr. Michimasa Aramaki, Chair of Nessum Alliance. "Nessum’s growing adoption in HVAC and smart grid applications shows its ability to address real-world challenges and support a more efficient, sustainable future."

Nessum Alliance will continue working with industry leaders to promote interoperability, ecosystem growth, and adoption of IEEE 1901-based communications technologies for connected energy-management infrastructure.

Daikin and PPC case studies are available at:
https://nessum.org/media/event/special-seminar-202606

Notes:
*1: "nessum" and its logo is a registered trademark or a pending trademark application of Panasonic Holdings Corporation in Japan and in other countries.
*2: An organization that succeeded and renamed the former HD-PLC Alliance on October 2, 2023, to expand the spread of Nessum, ensure communication compatibility, and advance international standardization activities.
https://nessum.org/
*3: An IEEE communications standard developed for IoT applications such as smart buildings, smart grids, and smart cities, supporting various media (Any Media: wired, wireless, and underwater).
https://standards.ieee.org/ieee/1901/7598/

View source version on businesswire.com:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260825122947/en/

Contact

Nessum Alliance Office
info@nessum.org

Source : Nessum Alliance

JAPAN MARITIME DAILY TO HOST SINGAPORE SEMINAR ON EMERGING TRANSPORT DEMANDS

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 20 (Bernama) -- The Japan Maritime Daily (JMD), Japan’s leading maritime newspaper, will host an international seminar in Singapore on Oct 5, focusing on “Emerging Transport Demands”.

JMD said in a statement the event supported by Singapore Exchange (SGX), will examine major shipping initiatives and the future of maritime transport through presentations and a panel discussion.

Registration is now open for “Charting the Course for the Future of Maritime” seminar, featuring senior maritime leaders from Ocean Network Express (ONE), SGX, Kpler and other international organisations.

ONE Chief Executive Officer, Till Ole Barrelet will deliver the keynote address, while SGX Group Director, Kenneth Ng will give a presentation, and Kpler Principal Heavy Distillates Analyst, Roslan Khasawneh will speak on “How Geopolitical Disruption Is Reshaping Asian Shipping”.

A panel discussion moderated by JMD Principal Editor Yohei Misaki will examine emerging transport demands and key industry challenges amid an increasingly uncertain global environment.

The panel will feature MOL Energia Managing Director, Miki Ogura; Wallem Ship Management Managing Director, Ioannis Stefanou; Tokyo Century Corporation Joint General Manager, Jigo Hayashi; and Baltic Exchange Asia Head, Cheong Jin Yu.

-- BERNAMA

HONG KONG CYCLOTHON OPENS REGISTRATION WITH NEW 56 KM ROUTE, UCI ROAD RACE

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 20 (Bernama) -- The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) has announced the opening of public registration for the Sun Hung Kai Properties Hong Kong Cyclothon, which will take place on Oct 11.

This year’s event continues to promote the spirit of sports for charity and features several new elements, including a 56-kilometre (km) non-competitive ride on a “Five Tunnels, Three Bridges” route, while the popular 32 km ride will continue on the “Two Tunnels, Two Bridges” route. More than 6,500 places are available for the two non-competitive rides.

The Cyclothon will also feature the return of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) Class 1.1 Road Race, with a new 100 km racecourse that will draw elite teams from around the world for competition in Hong Kong.

“Starting in mid-September, HKTB will roll out a series of mega events, with the Hong Kong Cyclothon standing out as one of the most energetic and dynamic international sporting spectacles on our calendar,” said HKTB Chairman, Dr Peter Lam in a statement.

HKTB said the popular non-competitive ride has been upgraded this year, with the previous 50 km route extended to 56 km and spanning six districts — Yau Tsim Mong, Sham Shui Po, Kwai Tsing, Tsuen Wan, Sha Tin and Kowloon City.

The 56 km route will take participants along the newly opened Central Kowloon Bypass for the first time, while the 32 km ride will maintain its “Two Tunnels, Two Bridges” route, incorporating Cheung Tsing Tunnel, Nam Wan Tunnel, Stonecutters Bridge and Ting Kau Bridge.

The starting and finishing lines will be relocated to Museum Drive in the West Kowloon Cultural District, with a dedicated viewing zone allowing locals and visitors to watch cyclists up close as they make their final dash to the finishing line. The new UCI route will also pass iconic landmarks, including the Hong Kong Palace Museum and the International Commerce Centre.

A new non-competitive World University Trophy will be introduced as part of the 56 km ride, bringing together university cyclists from Hong Kong, the Chinese Mainland and overseas institutions ranked among the world’s top 100 universities.

In addition, HKTB will stage a dedicated cycling-themed carnival at the Great Lawn of Art Park in the West Kowloon Cultural District, featuring sports, entertainment, family-friendly activities and culinary offerings.

-- BERNAMA

XSOLLA, ACCELBYTE UNVEIL INTEGRATED GAME BACKEND, PAYMENT SOLUTIONS

Graphic: Xsolla

 
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 20 (Bernama) -- Xsolla, a global video game commerce company, has introduced integrated backend solutions for game developers through a founding partnership with AccelByte, a fully managed extensible games backend platform.

Concurrently, Xsolla has opened a closed testing programme for a combined solution that pairs AccelByte Gaming Services (AGS) with Xsolla's global payments and monetisation tools.

Select developers can now apply for early access and help shape the integration ahead of its broader launch, according to Xsolla in a statement.

“Our first test partners will help us prove that a studio can stand up backend services and global payments together, without staffing separate teams for each, and get to market faster as a result,” said Xsolla President, Chris Hewish.

Meanwhile, AccelByte Chief Executive Officer and Technical Director, Junaili Lie said: “We are excited to partner with Xsolla, which shares our belief in making powerful technology accessible to studios of every size. By combining our technology and expertise, we can help studios launch faster, operate smarter, and reach players globally.”

Under the partnership, Xsolla brings AccelByte's backend services together with its payments and monetisation solutions in one integrated stack, shaped by direct input from studios shipping live games. This allows studios to avoid stitching separate solutions together on their own.

During the closed testing period, partner studios will help validate the feature set and modular implementation options. AccelByte's backend services, including player management and matchmaking, will be combined with Xsolla's payment, subscription, monetisation and identity services in an interoperable layer.

In addition, studios can stand up and operate live game services without building backend infrastructure in-house or staffing dedicated LiveOps teams, reducing time-to-market and accelerating iteration cycles.

Through Xsolla's global game payment platform, participating studios gain access to more than 1,000 payment methods across over 200 geographies, opening new revenue channels for games.

-- BERNAMA