BFITS | The Future is Yours: Tech and AI with Oranuch (Mimee) Lerdsuwankij

On 19 June 2025 (Wednesday), BFITS Thailand continued its inspiring BrightMinds Webinar Series with its second live session, “The Future is Yours: Tech and Artificial Intelligence (AI).” This powerful session featured Ms. Oranuch “Mimee” Lerdsuwankij, Co-founder and CEO of Techsauce, one of Thailand’s leading tech platforms.

With decades of experience in entrepreneurship, innovation, and the evolving AI landscape, Ms. Mimee offered insightful reflections on how education, startups, and technology must work together to shape a better future.

A Front-Row Seat to Thailand’s Tech Awakening

This past week, I had the amazing opportunity to engage in this insightful webinar hosted on the BFITS Thailand YouTube channel and Facebook page. The event showcased a potent entrepreneur who captivated me—and likely everyone else watching. With her extensive background in tech and a deep understanding of artificial intelligence (AI), she presented her ideas with a calm elegance. Behind her was a virtual background that shows a cozy space and a lovely grand piano, giving the session a soothing, sophisticated aesthetic, almost symbolic of the connection between technology, business, and human creativity.

The webinar was more than just a polished speech or visual appeal. It offered a thorough examination of Thailand’s booming tech startup scene, the urgent need to align education with today’s rapidly shifting job market, and the evolving role of AI. As someone passionate about both education and technology, I found the entire experience incredibly valuable, inspiring, and enriching.

An Innovator’s Journey: Techsauce and the Thai Tech Scene

Ms. Mimee began by sharing her journey as an entrepreneur, and her story was particularly compelling. Before founding Techsauce, she launched and walked away from two startups—one of which, a social media monitoring tool, was acquired by a unicorn company in Korea. The other was acquired by a top digital agency in Thailand. These successes were impressive, but it was her mission and perspective that truly stood out.

Through these experiences, she came to a key realization: Thai tech startups often face significant barriers in securing capital and forming partnerships with large corporations. Many innovators with bold ideas struggle to find meaningful support, especially in the early stages. This challenge inspired her to establish Techsauce, a platform built to accelerate innovation and foster a tech ecosystem where startups can thrive through connections with corporate partners, venture capitalists, and angel investors.

She emphasized the importance of supporting “the small people”—the startups—by giving them a voice, a community, and a chance to grow. Her passion for equity and access was both evident and admirable. She also highlighted how Thailand is rapidly becoming a central hub for AI, innovation, and global talent, with professionals from over 50 countries joining the movement.

A Dive into Artificial Intelligence: Generative and Predictive

Shifting gears, the presentation moved into the topic of Artificial Intelligence (AI)—undoubtedly one of the most talked-about subjects in today’s tech world. Ms. Mimee explained this complex field in a way that was easy to follow, even for someone still learning to be technologically savvy.

She broke AI down into two main types:

• Generative AI, which creates new content such as text, audio, or video using massive data sets. Tools like ChatGPT and Gemini are great examples.
  
• Predictive AI, on the other hand, analyzes past data to forecast outcomes and is already in use in fields such as finance, energy, and weather forecasting.

She explained that although AI has existed for over half a century, the merging of computing power, data availability, and model sophistication has led to today’s revolutionary breakthroughs. Her tone was both cautionary and hopeful—acknowledging people’s fear of AI replacing human jobs, while encouraging everyone to embrace this evolution just as society once did with the internet.

Artificial Intelligence and Education: A 5-Year Outlook

One of the most powerful segments of the webinar focused on the critical role of education in preparing students for a world where AI is everywhere. Ms. Mimee expressed deep concern for how students must learn not just to use AI, but to think like engineers and solve problems logically.

She strongly advocated for teaching coding as early as possible, since it builds structured thinking, logic, and creativity—skills that will be in high demand across every sector. As AI continues to automate routine tasks, the job market will increasingly favor roles that demand critical thinking, emotional intelligence, complex communication, and innovation.

She also offered a bold forecast: within five years, many jobs as we know them today could disappear or drastically change. However, new roles will emerge in fields such as robotics, engineering, architecture, and other technical areas. She reminded us that soft skills like communication and cross-cultural collaboration will be just as critical as technical knowledge in a global economy.

Above all, she emphasized that education must evolve at a faster pace than ever before. To succeed in a world where the only constant is change, students must be taught how to ask the right questions, how to adapt, and how to navigate uncertainty.

My Takeaway: Urgency and Hope for the Younger Generation

Beyond the information shared, it was the feeling I left with that truly stayed with me. Ms. Mimee’s words carried a quiet sense of urgency—a recognition that our civilization stands on the brink of something massive. The way we educate and support Generations Z, Alpha, and Beta will define how well we meet this future.

And yet, I also felt deeply hopeful. Her message proved that world-changing leadership doesn’t need to come from Silicon Valley. It can rise from Bangkok, from startups, from bold dreamers who believe that technology should serve not only business, but society and humanity.

As I watched her speak with such passion, I was captivated by the gentle glow of the serene backdrop, the elegant piano, and the power of her ideas. She has not only succeeded in business—she has chosen to build bridges between AI and human values, startups and investors, education and the future of work.

Final Thoughts: What This Means for Everyone

For students, educators, and anyone curious about where the world is heading, Ms. Mimee’s message couldn’t be clearer: The time to prepare is now.

Learn coding. Improve communication. Embrace AI as a tool—not a threat. And never let go of your human nature.

This BrightMinds Webinar Series reminded me that Thailand is no longer just a tourist destination—it is a rising center of innovation, learning, and leadership. With individuals like Ms. Oranuch (Mimee) Lerdsuwankij lighting the way, the future of AI, education, and Southeast Asia looks exceptionally bright.

We must not remain passive observers. It’s our time to become active participants—designing a world where technology doesn’t replace us, but instead helps us reach new heights—perhaps even to infinity and beyond.

✅ Watch via YouTube: