KASIKORN Business-Technology Group (KBTG), fueled by the digital transformation vision of Kasikorn Bank’s leadership, is committed to pioneering technological advancements. With a focus on independent prototyping and implementation, KBTG aims to bolster the bank’s operational systems while developing innovative business models for the evolving digital economy. This strategy ensures Kasikorn Bank remains competitive and effectively serves customer needs both today and in the future.
KBTG Labs, the innovation hub of KBTG, is spearheading research into cutting-edge technologies such as Data Science, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning, and Natural Language Processing (NLP). The lab’s mission is to translate these technologies into practical products and services that meet the evolving needs of the bank’s financial business, stakeholders, and customers, while staying ahead of market trends.
Goal to become a Research Powerhouse
Theerat Sakdejayont, Senior Research Engineer and Head of Computer Vision at KBTG Labs, revealed the organization’s ambitious goal to become a leading research powerhouse. This strategy, he explained, rests on three fundamental pillars:
Connection: Forging strong partnerships with customers and businesses across various sectors to deeply understand their needs and challenges, ensuring the development of impactful and effective solutions.
Experiment: Embracing a culture of experimentation and rapid iteration, recognizing it as the cornerstone of research and innovation. This includes a commitment to increasing the frequency and efficiency of testing new initiatives.
Ecosystem: Creating a robust ecosystem that supports the seamless deployment of KBTG Labs’ innovations within Kasikorn Bank and facilitates their evolution into commercial products for external markets. This involves strategic collaboration with Kasikorn X Venture Capital (KXVC) to optimize investment in technology development.
This ambitious vision positions KBTG Labs as a key driver of technological advancement, both within Kasikorn Bank and the wider industry.
Continuing in Research and Development Innovation, and Technology Application
KBTG Labs has consistently delivered tangible technological advancements that bring impactful benefits to Kasikorn Bank’s business operations, its affiliates, customers, partners, and various social sectors. These accomplishments can be grouped into three main areas:
The first category focuses on data and AI applications, which have produced numerous successful use cases, including: “Computer Vision Technology” for facial verification, expanded through collaboration with Kasikorn X (KX) for commercial development; “Car Inspection AI” for the auto insurance business, enhancing accuracy and ensuring compliance with industry standards; “Language Processing Technology” implemented in call center operations, enabling staff to quickly search internal company databases for accurate customer responses or information inquiries through other bank service channels such as KBank Live; and the development of a large language model (LLM) called ‘THaLLE’ (ทะเล), specifically designed to handle the bank’s financial knowledge inquiries.
Additionally, there is expanded work in Data Science through collaboration with business units to make more effective use of data. This includes data analysis to identify high-potential target groups that are likely to become bank customers, allowing for the targeted presentation of products or services tailored to customer needs, rather than broadcasting all information indiscriminately, which could become overwhelming. The data analysis also extends to loan pricing evaluation and credit scoring, helping assess customers’ loan repayment capabilities.
The second category focuses on research development and academic publication, building upon data or AI development, experimentation, and application. It also includes the creation of new methods and techniques when flaws or gaps are identified during implementation. This knowledge is compiled into academic works and published at international conferences, events, or in journals, with a total of 30 publications to date.
The third category is innovation development, which includes innovations created within KBTG Labs, such as the “Make by KBank” app, a financial management assistant, “Khun Thong”, the treasurer for collecting payments in LINE groups, and “MeowJot” (เหมียวจด), an automatic expense tracking app.
Strong with talent, knowledge, and end-to-end development process
“Our first strength is Talent — we have skilled individuals from around the world, and we’re committed to supporting them by providing opportunities to create new innovations. Our second strength is Collaboration — working with research organizations and educational institutions both domestically and internationally to apply advanced knowledge. Finally, it is the End-to-End Development Process, which spans from Research & Technology to designing innovations with User Experience in mind, all the way through to Product & Business Development, ultimately pushing products into the market,” said Keerati Therdnithi, Senior Data Scientist, KBTG Labs.
When looking deeper into each team’s operations, the Data and AI team is composed of Data Scientist, Research Engineer, and Machine Learning Engineer. These three divisions work together to develop and create new AI models, train these models for optimal efficiency, and ultimately transform them into products and services that meet business needs.
Additionally, there are specialized innovation development teams, with Innovation Product Manager who gathers business requirements and create work plans alongside Innovation Engineer team. The Beacon Interface team plays a crucial role in designing the product’s appearance, collecting customer requirements and pain points, conducting research for user experience design, and ensuring seamless connectivity (UX/UI) so that customers can use the products conveniently and effectively.
“The personnel here come from diverse backgrounds. We have individuals who graduated in Computer Science and related fields, such as Electrical Engineering, Mathematics, and Statistics, as well as those from fields not directly related, such as Petroleum Engineering,” Theerat added.
Human-First, AI-First: People and AI for Sustainable Development
AI I technology is a key focus for KBTG Labs, driven by the belief that AI will create global ripples similar to those caused by the technologies of the Industrial Revolution. This will bring about major changes in the nature of work, the emergence of new skills, economic growth, and the development of new business ecosystems.
However, AI will not only serve as a tool to enhance organizational capabilities but will also play a crucial role in empowering employees to compete on both regional and global stages.
“Since AI is not here to replace humans but to work alongside them, our transformation approach is based on the principle of Human-First, AI-First Transformation. We focus on leveraging AI to support various aspects of work, strengthening the organization’s competitive edge, while also contributing to the creation of a high-quality society and enhancing the country’s competitiveness for sustainable development,” Keerati concluded.
