Tron Future Tech, a Taiwanese startup founded in 2018, has emerged to be a prominent leader in Taiwan's low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite and Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-UAS) markets. At the core of the success is the company's independently developed Active Phased Array (AESA) radar technology. Recently, Tron Future announced that it has secured NT$900 million (approx. US$32.4 million) in a Series A funding round led by the government-backed Taiwania Capital and the CID Group, and joined by Industrial Technology Investment Corp. (ITRI's venture capital), Taya Venture, and Taiwan Cooperative Venture Capital.
With the completion of Series A financing, Tron Future plans to increase its production capacity in support of its expansion into the US, European, and Japanese markets, aiming to address the rapidly growing military and civilian needs to protect critical facilities and infrastructure from drone incursions. Wang Ju-jiu, Tron Future's founder and CEO, further indicated that the company's current level of production capacity already meets Tawan's long-term C-UAS demand in times of crisis.
Owing to the rapidly shifting geopolitical dynamics worldwide, the Tron Future founder noted that the Middle East, Central and Eastern Europe, and India have the highest demand for C-UAS solutions. In fact, the company already began to expand its global C-UAS market as early as 2020 and has already entered cooperation with defense-sector partners in the Middle East, India, and Southeast Asia.
Tron Future rapidly tapped into satellite communications and remote-sensing markets two years into its founding, and also quickly geared up to meet Taiwan's counter-drone demand as Chinese drones continue to disrupt Taiwan's island outposts. The company's C-UAS solution, at the heart of which is the company's in-house developed AESA radar T.Radar Pro, passive radar T. Sensor, and T.Jammer, have already been deployed in partnership with Taiwan's armed forces. Apart from protecting military facilities, Tron Future's C-UAS solution will also be deployed in the Hsinchu Science Park, protecting key semiconductor players like TSMC.
From LEO satellites to drones, technological innovations from the private sector have already proven their tactical virtues on the Ukrainian battlefield, accelerating a tectonic shift in the global defense industry hitherto dominated by a handful of big players. As dual-use technology gains traction and paves the way towards an era of "New Defense" and "New Space", Taiwan's defense industry is also seeking greater autonomy. In this context, Wang Ju-jiu emphasized the foundational role of R&D within Tron Future: while drones and satellites have a wide range of application scenarios, a strong in-house R&D capability is the true backbone of these endeavors.
Indeed, at the core of Tron Future is a powerful R&D team. After obtaining his doctoral degree from the California Institute of Technology, Wang put together a team with strong academic background and founded Tron Future. The technological prowess and the demonstrated capability of Tron Future's defense offerings are what ultimately attract its latest round of investors. "We invest in Tron Future because we believe its in-house developed technologies will make major impacts to national defense, and consequently elevate the global status of Taiwan's defense industry," said Huang Lee, Managing Partner of Taiwania Capital.
The latest funding round, to an extent, has made Tron Future the spearhead of the Taiwanese defense industry in the age of New Space and New Defense, leading the charge to broaden Taiwan's presence in the global defense market.
Meanwhile, Tron Future has been actively participating in the international space race as well, as satellites play an increasingly crucial role in the command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) of modern warfare. The company's counter-drone system is expected to link up with satellites via user terminal next year, while its key equipment supporting Taiwan Space Agency's B5G satellite and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite projects will also be in place between 2024-25. The frontier of Taiwan's new defense industry is not only expanding overseas but reaching the space as well.
