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ECOSYSTEMS

Six Municipalities' Ecosystems

Six Municipalities' Ecosystems

Curious what the startup ecosystem throughout Taiwan looks like? See below to learn about the ecosystems in the six municipalities!

Taipei's Ecosystem

Taipei's Ecosystem

Taipei plays a crucial role in Taiwan's startup ecosystem. More than half of the startups and venture capital (VC) resources are located in Taipei City. There are over 25 startup hubs including Taiwan Startup Stadium, Taiwan Tech Arena, t.Hub, and over 40 accelerators including AppWorks, Asia America Multi-Technology Association (AAMA), Garage+, and StarFab in Taipei. According to the Taipei City Government, on average 15,000 startups and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are registered in Taipei each year. The Taipei City Government has also invested in 10 resource integration projects related to innovation and entrepreneurship including StartUP@Taipei and Invest Taipei.

New Taipei's Ecosystem

New Taipei's Ecosystem

There are three startup bases in New Taipei City: Amazon's NTPC - AWS Joint Innovation Center, InnoSquare, and Startup Terrace in Linkou. Most of the accelerators have stationed themselves at Startup Terrace, such as Mighty Net Hardware Express, TAcc+, Microsoft for Startups, Mosaic Venture Lab, and more. Recently, student-formed startups have been drastically increasing, and almost every university has set up its own innovation centers to cultivate the next generation of startup talents. For startups that lack resources, New Taipei City provides loans and helps matchmake startups and investors through the ''Venture Capital (VC) in New Taipei''.

Taoyuan’s Ecosystem

Taoyuan’s Ecosystem

Taoyuan actively encourages its youths to start their own businesses and introduces international resources to stimulate the development of local startups. The local government has set up all kinds of hubs and designated offices to help. For example, the Department of Youth Affairs in Taoyuan has established the TYCommander, Andong Youth Start-up Hub, and HsinMing Youth Hub. Currently, most of the innovation centers are affiliated with research facilities, such as universities or technology research institutes, assisting with the commercialization of newly developed technologies.

Taichung’s Ecosystem

Taichung’s Ecosystem

Taichung, in the central region of Taiwan, has several notable hubs and innovation centers, including FOR MORE MAKER SPACE, where they house the central regional office of “Taiwan Startup Hub”, a program run by the Executive Yuan. A special thing about this office is that it serves not only the startups in Taichung City but also those in nearby counties, such as Miaoli, Changhua, Yunlin, and Nantou. Another prominent hub is the Taichung Social Innovation Unit. Its main goal is to support Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), volunteers, social enterprises, and youth startups. While the two examples are units established by the government, most of the other innovation centers in the area are mainly run by universities.

Tainan’s Ecosystem

Tainan’s Ecosystem

In order to support local startups, the central government, Tainan City Government, and private institutions have set up many startup hubs in Tainan to foster the local startup ecosystem. Some examples include the Taiwan AI x Robotics Accelerator (TAIRA) in Southern Taiwan Science Park, the WinWin Innovation & Incubation Base established by the Tainan City Government and Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), National Cheng Kung University's (NCKU) C-Hub, and Fablab STMC. Moreover, the government and institutions also provide a wealth of subsidies and resources to support startups. By consolidating all the resources, Tainan has created a close-knit startup network that supports their growth.

Kaohsiung’s Ecosystem

Kaohsiung’s Ecosystem

Kaohsiung has various industrial parks such as KO-IN and KOSMOS. The establishment of these industrial parks assist with the development of Kaohsiung's enterprises and stimulate the innovation and entrepreneurial energy to support the growth of startups. Some industrial parks function as startup hubs and play a role in funding startups as well. The Kaohsiung City Government is actively making connections with international accelerators. The government has already signed a letter of intent for collaboration with the world's largest startup accelerator: ''Plug and Play Tech Center'' to assist local Augmented Reality / Virtual Reality (AR/VR) startups connect with Silicon Valley venture capitals (VCs), mentors, technology communities, and other entrepreneurial resources. Most of the innovation centers in Kaohsiung are also located within universities.