The 2nd Hi-Po Star Awards Showcase Taiwan’s Startup Potential
2025-08-28 |
The 2025 Hi-Po Star Certification Ceremony was held at the Meet Greater South exhibition in Kaohsiung. This year, 88 recommending organizations submitted 360 startups for the selection. After two rigorous rounds of review and consensus from 24 industry leaders, 36 startups made it to the finals, and 18 outstanding startups were ultimately awarded. The results highlight Taiwan’s strong development potential across three innovation domains: Deep Tech, Consumer Tech, and Green Tech.
The Hi-Po Star Selection, organized by SMESA, aims to discover promising startups established within the past five years and provide benchmarks for collaboration and investment opportunities. The competition spans three major themes — Deep Tech, Consumer Tech, and Green Tech. In 2025, participating startups showcased innovations in diverse fields, including AI, medical technology, cybersecurity chips, smart manufacturing, EV control platforms, solid-state batteries, digital textiles, and more.
The ceremony featured distinguished award presenters, including the Minister of MOEA, Deputy Minister of NDC and Deputy Mayor of Kaohsiung City. Startups recognized as Hi-Po Stars will also become key targets of support by SMESA in the future.
Discover Taiwan’s next-generation Hi-Po Star startups here: