Siri Ventures has revealed plans to invest in 2 startups and a major U.S. fund to close out 2018, preparing to announce the 'SIRI VENTURES Private PropTech Sandbox' - a plan to enhance innovations for Sansiri residents in 2019.

          Siri Ventures summarized its business performance for 2018, revealing investment plans in Fifthwall, a major U.S. fund, and 2 high-growth potential startups, Techmetics and Neuron, to support overall investments exceeding 300 million throughout the year. The plan for 2019 hints at the announcement of 'SIRI VENTURES Private PropTech Sandbox' as the first PropTech in Thailand to adopt this model to enhance innovations for Sansiri residents, with a new investment of 600 million baht aimed at scaling investments into Series A startups.

          Mr. Jirapat Janjerdsuk, Chief Technology Officer of Siri Ventures Co., Ltd. (SIRI VENTURES)) a joint venture in the form of CVC to research and invest in PropTech comprehensively, the first of its kind in Thailand, under the collaboration between Sansiri Public Company Limited and Siam Commercial Bank, revealed that the operational direction for 2019 will see the company preparing to announce 'SIRI VENTURES Private PropTech Sandbox'  or a virtual processing area for startups. Siri Ventures will be the first PropTech in Thailand to implement this model to enhance innovations for Sansiri residents after the success in the past year. Overall investments throughout 2018, including direct investments in startups, investments through funds, and research and development of technology in collaboration with various agencies, totaled over 300 million baht, marking a significant step towards fostering new innovations and PropTech in Thailand.

Showcasing Innovations in Housing from Startup Investments in 2018

          In addition, the company has begun to implement technologies and innovations from various startups it has invested in, piloting their use in Sansiri's housing projects. For example, Semtive, a startup developing wind energy systems for residential use, and innovations from Astralink, a Construction Tech startup that develops applications for real-time 3D construction inspection, are being tested in several Sansiri projects. Additionally, the company is preparing to launch the Sansiri Home Service application, enhancing AI capabilities for immediate interaction, supporting the transition to a voice-command era with Human-like AI developed by Onion Shack, a startup specializing in voice interaction through artificial intelligence (AI), and AppySphere, a startup developing Home Automation systems. Farmshelf, a U.S. startup in Living Tech, is also developing smart vegetable growing systems within residences, alongside the introduction of e-Scooters from Neuron, a Singaporean startup, being trialed in Thai real estate projects for the first time.

Promoting the Startup Ecosystem to Propel Thai Startups to Silicon Valley, a Global Startup Stage

          Moreover, the company has been able to enhance the Startup Ecosystem, fostering growth through partnerships with 12 technology partners both in Thailand and globally. This year, Siri Ventures has collaborated with numerous strong partners, including Startup Thailand, Microsoft Thailand, dtac accelerate, Hubba Thailand, and UNICEF, making Sansiri the first organization in Thailand to be selected as UNICEF’s Selected Partner. Additionally, there are many partners, including Accelerators, universities, and government organizations, contributing to the growth of startups, including co-hosting events that support knowledge sharing and empowering individuals within the ecosystem, such as Techsauce Global Summit 2018 and Startup Thailand 2018, propelling Thai startups to the global stage in Silicon Valley, and organizing hackathons for startups to showcase their work, including a hackathon that the company will co-host with Google Developer Thailand on December 15-16.

Partnering with Major Startup Platforms in China 'China Renaissance' to Build a Startup Network in China

          In addition to investing in startups, Siri Ventures has collaborated with global Startup Platforms such as 'Plug and Play' from Silicon Valley, USA, and 'SOSA' from Israel, both networks of nearly a thousand startups worldwide. Recently, in collaboration with 'China Renaissance', they invested in the 'Hua Xing' fund, a major fund in China with a network of over 20 unicorn startups, which will help connect Siri Ventures with startups capable of developing innovations for housing in China more rapidly and extensively.

Investing in a Major U.S. Fund and 2 Startups to Close Out 2018 

          In the final quarter of this year, the company has also invested in Fifth Wall, a major U.S. fund focused on investing in real estate technology worldwide, which will help Siri Ventures identify startups with the potential to develop housing innovations more broadly and quickly. Additionally, they have made further investments in two interesting startups, including acquiring shares in Techmetics, one of the two developers of delivery robots in the world from Singapore. Previously, Sansiri has utilized 'Sandy', the delivery robot, in Thai real estate projects for the first time at The Monument Sanam Pao. Besides Thailand, the Delivery Robot developed by Techmetics has received positive responses globally. Currently, Techmetics has expanded its branches in Silicon Valley, USA, and is developing Delivery Robots for use in leading hotels such as Marriott Silicon Valley, Yotel New York and Miami, hospitals in Australia and Taiwan, with plans for expansion into Canada and Europe next year. Additionally, the company has invested in Neuron, a Singaporean startup developing e-Scooters for use in Thai real estate projects for the first time, currently being trialed at Habito in T77 and projects under the D Condo brand in Chiang Mai.

          For 2019, the company is preparing to invest a total of 600 million baht in bringing innovations and technologies already invested in to further development, such as enhancing Sandy, the delivery robot of Sansiri, to provide more than just parcel delivery. New investments in startups and Venture Capital will scale investments in Series A startups, and support for the startup ecosystem will begin to expand market support for startups and technology to a greater extent in Asia than this year, focusing primarily on supporting Thailand. Research and development (Lab & Development) will continue to advance collaborative research with partners. In all four areas under the operational plan of Siri Ventures in 2019, it will cover the needs of Sansiri customers in every aspect, while also elevating the Thai real estate business through the creation of an ecosystem for sustainable development in PropTech and Living Tech.

Thank you for the information from www.sansiri.com