KBTG becomes a member of the MIT Media Lab to support research efforts for next-generation financial services, while contributing to Thailand’s development at the regional scale

KASIKORN Business-Technology Group (KBTG) announced that it has become a Consortium Research Lab Member at the MIT Media Lab to conduct frontier tech research for next-generation financial services. KBTG will also be the first Thai company to send its researcher to the MIT Media Lab. Through this collaborative effort, KBTG will be a part of strengthening Thailand’s development at the regional scale.

Mr. Ruangroj Poolpol, KBTG Group Chairman, said, “KBTG has become a member of the MIT Media Lab, one of the world’s leading research and academic organizations under the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), among the world’s top universities. This membership will allow KBTG and the MIT Media Lab to collaborate on frontier tech research of common interest, and to share technical knowledge. It will also allow researchers from both parties to work side-by-side conducting research in state-of-the-art technology to resolve critical, national-scale problems in the areas of finance, equality, sustainability, and education. KBTG is the first Thai company to send our researchers to work with the MIT Media Lab.

“We are pleased to collaborate with the MIT Media Lab,” Mr. Ruangroj added. “This collaborative effort is consistent with KBTG’s commitment to increasing its technical capabilities and innovation ability and conducting research to further accelerate innovation for the maximum benefit. The collaboration was sparked by a conversation with Mr. Pat Pataranutaporn, the first Thai Ph.D. student in the Fluid Interfaces group at the MIT Media Lab, who has conducted research in human-AI interaction and personalized education.

Ms. Mirei Rioux, MIT Media Lab Director of External Relations, said, “The MIT Media Lab welcomes this research collaboration. KBTG and the MIT Media Lab share a belief in multidisciplinary research and a focus on solving technological, social, and global challenges at several levels in an open-learning environment to create real-world impacts for society. This collaboration will allow both sides to expand their scope of research while also allowing the Media Lab to explore and address challenging social issues in Thailand and Southeast Asia.”