Stumbling upon the Thailand Pavilion on the second day of COP 28, I listened to one of the most driven and unique approaches to creating carbon neutrality within the private sector by Dr. Supachai Kid Parchariyanon, or Dr. Kid as he is commonly known. Dr. Kid is currently the CEO and co-founder of the consulting company Rise, and managing partner for SeaX Ventures, a venture capital firm. I will highlight these two companies and explain how they are taking unique approaches in the fight against climate change. Before these companies’ objectives and actions are explained, a brief background of Dr. Kid’s work will help explain how he came into the position he is in today.
After receiving his M.D. from Mahidol University Medical School, Dr. Kid began moving around working for numerous start-up companies. When I asked about his most notable start-up ventures before his current position, he gave me two. Dr. Kid was one of the key figures responsible for bringing the social media app Twitter (known as X now) to Thailand. This was not only a technical challenge, but one that had legal barriers as well. His other most notable venture, in his opinion, was one of the earliest stock trading apps. He and his team were able to code software for the Nokia phone, creating in his words a “Robin Hood-like app” for Thailand, which is another stock trading platform worth billions today. These were some of his earliest projects. After countless hours in the world of start-up companies, Dr. Kid decided to open a consultation firm known as Rise, as he felt his previous experiences gave his consulting company the credibility it needed, which is hard for consulting companies to obtain starting out. This consulting company was different, however, as it has a focus on creating more sustainable, eco-friendly start-up businesses as well as helping existing companies transition. Rise’s company goal is to drive 1% of the GDP in Thailand as well as reduce 1% of carbon emissions in all of Southeast Asia. Today, Rise has partnered with over 500 organizations, both start-up and existing companies. Within Rise, there is a leadership program for men and women in the start-up field. The goal, as Dr. Kid says, is to “change the mindset of leadership for sustainability as a new business edge and not an additional cost.”
Aside from Rise, he is the managing partner of SEA X, a venture capital firm that has three goals: creating foundations, catalysts, and profit. Financing new climate research will be the foundation of new businesses opening up as many new findings create new ideas for combating climate change. Perhaps the most interesting part is the aspect of creating a catalyst within other businesses. SEA X will fund people from their department to go into companies and help become the catalyst for reducing carbon emissions. These people are hired by SEA X and will advise, make decisions, and network to help companies achieve their carbon emission goals. This is a unique part of SEA X that is not seen within other venture capital firms. This helps ensure the company can use funding from SEA X most efficiently without paying the extra cost of an advisor. Dr. Kid is hopeful for the future as he believes climate tech and financing are still growing, and Rise and SEA X are still expanding to help more and more companies achieve the collective goal of carbon emissions and combating climate change.
Dr. Kid’s LinkedIn: Supachai Kid Parchariyanon – CEO and Co-Founder – RISE – Corporate Innovation Powerhouse | LinkedIn
