About · Phnom Penh

Known for what you build, not the title you hold.

UpgradeLab makes AI a practical working skill for the people and organisations that drive Cambodia's economy. We're a Versatile AI Institute brand, based in Phnom Penh.

Vision

UpgradeLab envisions a Cambodia where professionals are known for what they build with AI, not the titles they hold. We help mid-career talent, corporate teams, and entrepreneurs turn AI from something they read about into a skill they use, so they can grow with confidence as their industries change.

Mission

UpgradeLab makes AI a practical working skill for the people and organizations that drive Cambodia’s economy. We help mid-career professionals upskill and pivot, equip corporate teams to apply AI in their daily workflows, and give entrepreneurs the tools to build and scale faster. Every program is hands-on, built around real work, and measured by what participants ship afterward.

Who we work with

Three groups, one way of teaching

Mid-career professionals

Upskill and pivot

A skills ladder you climb on your own work, one level at a time, with something built at every step.

The skills ladder → Corporate teams

Apply AI in daily workflows

Workshops inside your company, on your real tasks, and Claude-built tools where they pay.

Corporate workshops → Entrepreneurs

Build and scale faster

The tools, the skills and, when you need it, a partner who builds with you.

AI Implementations →

// how we measure ourselves

  • Hands-on. You work on your own laptop and accounts, with an instructor in the room.
  • Built around real work. Your reports, spreadsheets and inbox are the course material.
  • Measured by what you ship. Not notes, not attendance: what you build and use afterwards.

The founders

Who runs UpgradeLab

Portrait of Norris Mukembe, founder and lead instructor of UpgradeLab
Norris Mukembe Founder & Lead Instructor

Who teaches you

Taught by a practitioner who grades, invests, and builds with AI daily

MBA, Asia School of Business (MIT Sloan immersion) BCom, LLB (UP) General Partner, VC fund Adjunct lecturer

UpgradeLab is led by Norris — an ex-banker, a venture capital investor (General Partner), and adjunct Lecturer who has spent a decade at the intersection of finance, education, and technology, and who uses these exact AI workflows to run a fund, teach postgraduate students, and build businesses in Cambodia.

Portrait of Meas Sophearum (Sophie), co-founder of UpgradeLab
Meas Sophearum (Sophie) Co-founder · Partnerships & Growth

Who builds the partnerships

A technology entrepreneur who has built digital services for business and government

President, Sotedya Commerce Co-founder, ShopRunBack Board Member, La French Tech Phnom Penh

Meas Sophearum (Sophie) is a Franco-Cambodian technology entrepreneur and co-founder of UpgradeLab, where she leads partnerships and growth. She is President of Sotedya Commerce and co-founder of ShopRunBack, an award-winning e-commerce returns and logistics company. She is also a Board Member of La French Tech Phnom Penh.

The institute

Versatile AI Institute and UpgradeLab

Versatile AI Institute is the master brand. UpgradeLab is its practical AI brand, and every UpgradeLab certificate is issued by Versatile AI Institute. The legal entity is Versatile Institute Holistic Consulting LLC.

Certified Claude Network Partner

Claude partner, community host

We teach Claude and build with it, and we host the Claude Cambodia Community (C³), a free community for anyone in Cambodia learning to build with Claude.

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