Techstars, Qualcomm, and Taiwan Tech Arena launch program to build international innovation ecosystem in Taiwan

This week, Techstars officially announced partnership with Taiwan Tech Arena (TTA) and Qualcomm on Startup Ecosystem Development, which makes Taiwan the first spot in Asia and the third in the world for the American seed accelerator to launch this initiative.

It has been running its second Startup Week in Taipei during the same week. It’s a 5-day event that brings together members in the startup community to celebrate and learn about entrepreneurship.

Besides startup events, Techstars is well known for its accelerator program that has supported 1,800+ early-stage startups across the world and created 170+ successful exits. However, it’s simply one of the many tools for growth-seeking startups, said VP Innovation Chris Heivly.

In Taiwan, instead, Techstars is focusing on the “foundational work” that propels startup success; that is, creating meaningful connections between startups, resources, and key players in the community. Mr. Heivly said the organization sees its role as that of a “facilitator” that enables the development of a fully fledged innovation ecosystem.

With Techstars’ worldwide network of 10,000+ mentors and 3,000 thousand alumni, the program will open door for Taiwan startups to opportunities overseas.

Dr. Yu-Chin Hsu, Deputy Minister of Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), said his ministry is committed to “introducing top global startup resources to Taiwan and helping startups to further connect to international markets.” It has also backed TTA, a local startup ecosystem builder and incubator, to host a number of international accelerators including MOX, SparkLabs Taipei, IAPS, and BE.

ST Liew, President of Qualcomm Taiwan & SEA, showed great support for the program, confirming this program as “a critical step to bridge Taiwan startups with the global community.”

This year, with the aim to put these startups on the global stage, the multinational semiconductor company has launched an incubation project, the Qualcomm Innovate in Taiwan Challenge (QITC), to support the growth of Taiwan startups focusing on areas such as 5G, cellular connected IoT, machine learning, smart cities, and so on.

“Entering the 5G era, the competition in cutting-edge technology innovation will be fierce,” Mr. Liew said. “In 2020, we will collaborate with Techstars in introducing more international resources to prepare local startups for a new and exciting time.”

〔Original :Meet Startup @ TW〕
https://meet.bnext.com.tw/intl/articles/view/45836