A line illustration of a pink tuktuk
🛺

The community voted. Get this in your calendar.

Splice Beta 2025. Chiang Mai. November 26-27.

Registrations are coming soon. We can’t wait to host you!

FAQs for Beta attendees

 

What is the Splice Beta venue?

We’re actually still looking at options.

We’ll have updates on this soon.

Where should I stay?

In the Nimman district of Chiang Mai.

You’ll be surrounded by plenty of restaurants and cafes — and very reasonably priced hotels. Here's a quick list of Chiang Mai hotels to consider staying at.

You may also want to check out Airbnb if you’re coming as a group — there are some great houses you could share.

A line illustration of a pink tuktuk

Sponsorships are tough this year.

So if your organisation is in a position to help make Beta happen, please email us.

Sponsor

Why you should sponsor Splice Beta 2025

It’s a great marketing platform

Link to your organisation’s programs, work, and resources on the Splice Beta website, newsletters, Slack channel, and socials.

Launching a product, program, service? Announce it at Beta. Let us help you get the word out.

You meet the community

We facilitate introductions to participants. Find your next upcoming media entrepreneur or creator.

We have private meeting rooms for quiet conversations. No one likes noisy cafes for important meetings. We’ll have great spaces for you.

Here’s last year’s Beta so you can see what the fuss is about 😍

It’s your chance to build the community

Host a session to recognise the heroes from your programs. Let’s give them the acknowledgement they deserve.

You can help the community learn what they need

Run a workshop or presentation. Do you have case studies to present? Best practices to teach? That’s very Beta.

We appreciate you! 

We’ll show our appreciation for your support at the sessions, on our website, newsletters, social media, printed materials, signage. It matters to us, truly.

Animated tuktuk family

What is Splice Beta?

An inclusive and diverse media startup festival in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai. 

Beta is the only event in Asia that brings together the global media ecosystem.

We’re Alan and Rishad, the co-founders of Splice, and we think this is still the golden age of media. Let us show you what it looks like.

Tuktuk therapy for all.

About

Who is Beta for? The global information ecosystem

Media startup founders, creators, tech folks, investors, journalists, media development donors, product managers, media program managers, and academics.

Diversity, inclusivity, and access are a big deal for us.

65.6% of registrants at Splice Beta 2024 had never attended Beta before, came from 48 countries, were 53.3% female, and worked at over 133 organisations.

These numbers are not a coincidence: they’re 100% intentionally designed like this with pride. So if we mess up on these stats, hold us accountable.

Spiffy is the Splice Pay It Forward Fund.

Help someone get to Beta

Plane tickets and hotels are out of reach for a lot of people. Please consider donating to our Beta fund.

Splice Beta helps connect to opportunities for all of us in media — from business models and audiences to grants and jobs. Let’s make sure everyone has a seat at the table.

Spiffy
A big pink heart

Yaling and Anu, thank you for your kind donations to the Splice community 😍

THIS DOES NOT BUY A BETA TICKET. This is your donation to our little fund (called Spiffy, for the Splice Pay It Forward Fund) so we can all help folks who couldn’t otherwise afford planes and hotels to get to Splice Beta in Chiang Mai. We'd like to thank you publicly on our website and other materials, but let us know if you'd rather stay anonymous.

This is not a Beta ticket. This is a donation to our fund so that we can help people who can’t afford travel to get to Splice Beta 😍

Get updates

To keep budgets lean and the community close, we’re capping Beta 2025 at 180 participants. Pop your details in here so you get notified about registrations and speakers 😍

A curly, looped hand-drawn arrow
An AI-illustrated pink elephant decked out in finery
FAQs

Frequently asked questions

When can I register or buy a ticket?

We usually open registrations and tickets around late August or early September. We usually charge $50 if people are paying by themselves, and $450 if people are having their ticket paid for by an institution. This year, sponsorships will be harder for us to get, so that institutional pricing really helps.

Why are you charging higher prices for Beta institutional tickets?

The sponsorship space has changed greatly and we no longer have the same level of support as we had previously. Your US$450 corporate ticket helps us pay for venues, meals, drinks, and all the hands that go into putting this event together.

The pricing for individual tickets stays the same at US$50.

Where should I stay?

Like in previous years, the venues will be in the Nimman district of Chiang Mai. You’ll be surrounded by plenty of restaurants and cafes — and very reasonably priced hotels. Here's a quick list of Chiang Mai hotels to consider staying at.

You may also want to check out Airbnb if you’re coming as a group — there are some great houses you could share.

Can I bring my partner or colleague or spouse or friend or child to Beta?

No.

We have a strict policy at Splice Beta around capacity due to limited space and security. This means that your companions, partners, family, kids, friends, or colleagues cannot be accommodated⁠ in any Beta sessions, social events, or meals. Please spare us and yourself the logistical hassle and awkwardness and arrange to meet them outside of Beta. Splice is a two-person team, and we can use all the help we can get. Thank you 🙏

What is the Splice Beta venue?

We’re still looking at options, but we will have updates soon. For more venue specifics, please check your email and the Splice Beta Telegram group.

I can't make it to Beta. Can I get a refund?

Sorry — we can’t do refunds on your Beta ticket. Splice is a two-person startup, so we’re managing the entire process ourselves, and the refund process is time-consuming and expensive. But we have a fund for people who can’t afford flights and hotels to get to Beta (it’s called Spiffy, which stands for the Splice Pay It Forward Fund), so we hope you don’t mind if we pay it forward 🙏

I can't make it to Beta. Can you give my ticket to someone else?

Sorry to hear you can’t come. But let us know here as soon as you can, and we'll let someone in from the waitlist.

How do I get to Chiang Mai?

There are some direct flights from Southeast Asia, but some of you will be transiting through Bangkok, where it’s just a quick 75 min flight from the capital.

I’ve heard Chiang Mai has great food. And coffee. And bars. Do you have a list of places you recommend?

You’re in luck! We have something better than a list — welcome to the Splice Beta 2024 map of this community’s favourite places in Chiang Mai.

I can’t afford to attend Beta. Can you help?

Yes. So many people have generously donated to the Splice Pay It Forward Fund (we call it Spiffy). Email us and we’ll see what we can do.

I don’t have a credit card. How do I register and buy a ticket?

Please email us and we’ll figure something out.

I want to help others get to Beta. How can I donate?

It’s so kind of you to offer. Please donate to our Splice Pay It Forward Fund here (we call it Spiffy). Thank you for your generosity!

Is it too late to sponsor Beta?

Noooooooo! Email us and let’s put your budget to use in helping grow this community.

Do you guys have a dress code?

Of course not — we’re not that kind of event. But we recommend shorts, t-shirts, and flipflops. (Extra points if you show up in Splice pink.)

Do you have a Splice t-shirt I can buy?

We’re so happy you asked! Yes, we do. (Also — mugs!)

I need a visa. Can you send me a letter of invitation?

Sure. Email us.

How do I get a SIM card?

The airport is the easiest and it’ll save you time for later. If not, head to the third floor of Maya Mall, or to Central Festival Mall, depending on where you’re staying. (Thanks for the tip, Ganesh.)

How do I get around Chiang Mai?

Like most Southeast Asian cities, Grab is all you need. So make sure you download the app and set up your payment methods before heading out. Grab is also useful if you need snacks delivered in the middle of the night!

Also, English may not be commonly used. So download the Thai language into your Google Translate to make things easier. (Thanks, Ganesh.)

What about money? Do I need cash?

Cash is always useful, but more places are starting to accept credit cards and other cashless payments (like Singapore’s PayNow and Malaysia’s DuitNow). The ATM machine at the airport is also useful if you need quick cash.

Expect to spend about $3-$5 a meal and $2-$5 for drinks.

What about charging?

Thailand commonly uses the round European two-pin plugs.

Will there really be a pink tuktuk?

Yes.

Will Ellie make a return this year?

Yes! Ellie the elephant was all over Beta last year. She is a symbol of your user — the big elephant in the room that so few of us pay any attention to. Or reader or listener or viewer or customer or fan or patron or whatever you feel like calling them. Either way, they’re the people you’re creating your content for — whether it’s news, journalism, updates, stories, posts, programs, funds, courses, or training. It’s time to give them some love.

We have a code of conduct.

We want to explicitly state what we — as a community — consider inappropriate behaviour.

At Splice, we want to create a harassment-free experience for everyone. We’re spelling it out so it’s clear to all.

See what the fuss is all about — and why Beta has been the greatest little media community in the world since 2019 ❤️

Beta 2019
Chiang Mai

Beta 2020
Online

Beta 2022
Chiang Mai

Beta 2023
Chiang Mai

Beta 2024
Chiang Mai