Microsoft for Startup-Taiwan focuses on the role of matching startups with enterprises for the latter to help the former promote products and services, according to Peter Hu, CEO of the software giant's accelerator in Taiwan.The accelerator does not undertake incubation, for the development of incubation centers in Taiwan has been mature enough, Hu said. Instead, the accelerator functions as an engine to push startups into the market by helping them seek optimal cooperative enterprises and vice versa, enabling startups to realize commercialization of their products and services, said Hu, who is also technology general manger for Microsoft Taiwan.Startups usually experience three stages in development: Development of innovations in the initial stage; materialization of innovative concepts in the second stage; and commercialization of products and services in the third stage, which poses the most challenge to startups, Hu indicated.Hu noted that enterprises mostly begin by examining startups' proof of concept, which may take six months.During the examination, startups face high risks in terms of survivability and the accelerator is intended to overcome the challenge, Hu noted. The accelerator screens startups mainly based on maturity of their technology and business models, and recommends qualified ones to enterprises, with Microsoft's endorsement equivalent to shortening enterprises' examination time, Hu explained.Enterprises seek startups for cooperation based on three main factors: Whether the products and services are reliable and whether there are information security issues; whether the technology framework is mature; and whether the technologies involved violate intellectual property rights, Hu indicated.The accelerator selected 14 startups in 2019 and another 18 during May-September 2020. The 32 startups have attracted total investment of NT$380 million (US$12.9 million) from cooperative enterprises and there have been 61 collaboration projects with business opportunities worth over NT$530 million..Microsoft for Startup-Taiwan CEO Peter Hu (left) Photo: Shihmin Fu, Digitimes, October 2020

Quadlink started out as a fabless IC design house developing wireless communication chips, the manufacturing of which was outsourced to TSMC. Instead of competing head on against international semiconductor giants, Quadlink later decided to steer its course toward IoT systems with a focus on applications in fundamental industries such as agriculture and aquaculture. Through discussions with and guidance from Lee-Shing Fang, former director general, National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium and fish farming experts in Taiwan, Quadlink realized how valuable water quality monitoring systems are to the domestic fish farming industry and therefore set its heart on developing the Aquadlink Smart Aquaculture Application System.According to Quadlink general manager Cheng-Hsun Tsai, combining wireless communication technologies and sensors, IoT solutions for smart applications have become the center of market attention. Focusing efforts on developing a smart water quality monitoring system, Quadlink has created its Aquadlink Smart Aquaculture Application System, which has been successfully deployed at fish farms to help owners and operators reduce unpredictable risks and minimize losses. In consideration of the fact that fish farms generally have large open spaces for solar panel installation, Quadlink designs the system to be powered by solar cells. The market responds more favorably to Aquadlink with the incorporation of green energy and power efficiency designs. Connecting to a cloud platform, Aquadlink reports fish pond water quality data every five minutes and can issue alerts to farm operators' mobile phone app, allowing them to stay on top of water conditions at all times and thereby effectively lower costs, risks and accidental losses.Fish farmers in Taiwan often risk losing their fortune when extreme weather or natural disasters occur just before harvest season. The thought of helping fish farmers overcome such difficulties motivated Tsai's team to develop a system that monitors actual water quality in real-time to help fish farmers stay on top of pond conditions. Rather than relying on experiences or solutions passed down from one generation to the next, fish farmers can now harness the power of scientific data and build a smart aquaculture future.Aquadlink is a name that reflects the company's hope that the system will help fish farmers connect resources. The system monitors water conditions in real time, collecting data such as dissolved oxygen to decide whether to turn on the aerator to enhance fish farming efficiency. Featuring a smart power distribution system named Smart Equipment Control System, it overcomes power distribution challenges at fish farms. Furthermore, Aquadlink is built in with 4G/LTE connectivity while supporting LoRa wireless communication. Hundreds of Aquadlink systems have been put to practical use since its launch in 2016.Referencing a successful use case of Aquadlink, Tsai talked about a fish farm located in a smart fishing village in Hsinchu that raises white shrimp and mullet. The pond water level quickly rose by one-third due to a sudden downpour, causing a huge change to the pH value. On receiving an alert, the owner promptly decided to add probiotics into the pond to improve the water condition. Aquadlink played an instrumental role helping the fish farmer successfully handle the crisis.Aquadlink is mainly used by fish farmers that target blue ocean market opportunities by raising species with differentiating values such as white shrimp, lobster, eel and rare grouper. Having used Aquadlink for an extended period of time, the fish farmers have accumulated a wealth of data throughout the breeding cycle, which becomes important reference. Aquadlink, capable of monitoring and predicting, serves as a crucial tool for aquafarm management. As emergencies at fishing ponds more often than not occur in the middle of the night, a smart aquaculture system is an indispensable aid to fish farmers.Foraying first into Brunei and IndonesiaAquadlink is available at a price that is only one-tenth of what an imported system costs, according to Tsai. Such a compelling cost advantage enables Aquadlink to successfully foray into Southeast Asia, where aquaculture is widespread and flourishing. Aquadlink is currently used to help manage 600 hectares of fishing ponds in Brunei, which is almost as big as the Hsinchu Science Park. The initial success is exciting. Thanks to overseas Chinese communities, Aquadlink's market footprint has now expanded to Sumatra in Indonesia, the Philippines and Myanmar with promising outlook for developments in Vietnam and Malaysia.Quadlink will continue to enhance the algorithms for Aquadlink. It also plans to commercialize its technology of capturing clear underwater images while improving its product cost-performance ratio. Tsai expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Economic Affairs' Smart City Program for providing research funding that allowed Quadlink to complete its product R&D and launch on schedule. Going forward, Quadlink hopes to share Aquadlink's success with fish farmers. By offering Aquadlink at an affordable price and through subsidy programs, Quadlink endeavors to make Taiwan an exemplary application field for Aquadlink and drive a smart aquaculture future.

Components shortages have hampered supply of Chromebooks, which have seen strong demand from users staying at home in pandemic lockdowns. But the shortages are expected to start easing in November as demand for conventional notebooks drop, freeing up components supply for Chromebooks. Pandemic-driven demand is also expected to give iPad shipments a more than 20% on-year growth in 2020. Robust demand from the IT and TV sector is also sending LCD panel pricing up. The LCD price rally will last till December.Chromebook shortages may ease starting November: The global supply of Chromebooks has been tight due to component shortages, which nevertheless are expected to ease slightly starting November, according to sources from ODMs.Overall iPad shipments to grow over 20% in 2020, says sources: Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, Apple's overall iPad shipments are likely to experience an over 20% on-year growth in 2020, according to sources citing the supply chain's estimation.LCD panel prices to keep rallying through December: LCD panel prices will continue rallying through December 2020 on robust demand from TV and IT sectors, but are likely to undergo a downward correction, albeit slightly, in the first quarter of 2021, according to industry sources.

Demand for high-end CIS components has weakened in the wake of the US trade sanctions against Huawei. But suppliers are ramping up CIS shipments to the midrange segment to meet growing demand from other Chinese handset vendors, such as Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi who are keen on cannibalizing Huawei in their domestic market. The Huawei woes are affecting many of its suppliers across many different segments, with handset lens modules makers being amoing them. Largan has disclosed that its production in fourth-quarter is unlikely to reach full capacity. For the memory sector, spot prices are expected to rise through at least the end of October, according to memory module maker Adata.CIS suppliers shifting focus to midrange parts: Major CMOS image sensor (CIS) suppliers including Samsung Electronics and OmniVision reportedly have been pushing sales of midrange CIS components to Chinese handset brands due to increasing market demand, according to industry sources.Largan unlikely to fully utilize capacity in 4Q20, says CEO: Smartphone-use lens module maker Largan Precision is unlikely to have production capacity fully utilized in the fourth quarter of 2020 mainly because a major client has cancelled massive orders for high-end models, according to company CEO Lin En-ping.Memory spot prices to rally through end-October, says Adata chairman: Memory spot prices have been rising with the rally set to continue until at least the end of October 2020, according to Simon Chen, chairman for memory module house Adata technology.

TSMC, with clients lining up eagerly for a share of its capacity support, has reported record sales for Septmber. The foundry house's 7nm and 5nm manufacturing capacity has been falling short of demand, and TSMC is likely to raise capex for expanding its advanced node manufacturing lines. Micron Technology is alo expanding its production capacity in Taiwan. The US memory vendor is already installing equipment at a new fab in central Taiwan, with construction of the Micron plant to complete by year-end 2020. For server suppliers, demand from datacenter clients is regaining momentum after a slow third quarter.TSMC likely to raise 2020 capex again: TSMC is likely to make another upward adjustment to its capex outlook this year, due to strong demand for 7nm and 5nm process manufacturing, according to industry sources.Micron starts equipment move-in at new plant in Taiwan: Micron Technology is constructing a new plant in Taichung, central Taiwan with equipment move-in already kicking off. Construction of the plant, dubbed A3, is set to complete by the end of 2020.Datacenter demand turning strong in 4Q20: Demand from datacenter operators has regained momentun after seeing a deceleration in server orders from US clients in third-qauarter 2020, according to sources from the upstream supply chain.

Global shipments of small- to medium-size TFT LCD panels will be steady in a five-year forecast period to reach 1.82 billion units in 2025, after seeing an on-year fall of 19.7% to 1.81 billion units in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to Digitimes Research.Demand for handset panels, currently the largest application segment for small- to medium-size LCD displays, is expected to stage a rebound in 2021.Digitimes Research forecasts that global handset panel shipments will grow by a CAGR of 3.1% from 2020 to 2025, with those for smartphone applications expanding at a higher CAGR of 5.9%.However, the penetration of AMOLED in smartphone applications is set to reach 40% by 2023, giving LCD handset panels a CAGR of -0.8% during the five-year period, Digitimes Research estimates.The rise of IoT applications in industrial control, automotive, smart speakers and household appliances will make related IoT applications a growth driver for small- to medium-size LCD panels starting 2022. Digitimes Research estimates shipments of small- to medium-size LCD panels for IoT applications to grow by a CAGR of 6.1% in 2020-2025.

Wan Da Tong is in charge of operating and managing the Taipei Bus Station, which houses the Taipei terminal for mid- and long-range bus services operated by nine companies. Amid fierce competition, Taiwan's bus service providers operate on narrow profit margins and are often obliged to extend services to remote villages. It is difficult for them to allocate additional capital toward developing smart application programs or services under such circumstances.Running the Taipei Bus Station for eleven years, Wan Da Tong knows what it feels like when massive crowds line up in front of ticket counters to get bus tickets ahead of every Lunar New Year holiday or any public holiday. Wan Da Tong's general manager Ching-Hsiang Chen has been interacting with bus service providers for a long time. They have worked out their differences and established mutual trust and good rapport. To improve overall service quality and efficiency while fulfilling the digitization of public transportation, with the assistance from Industrial Development Bureau (IDB), Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), Wan Da Tong undertook a project to develop an app for ticketing and integrated value-added consumer services. The app provides highway bus service information and online TBS ticketing service.In response to growing awareness on environmental protection and encourage citizens to take public transportation, Wan Da Tong worked with Syscom to develop the app that provides highway bus service information and online ticketing service. With a nationwide service scope, the app offers a more convenient way for passengers to purchase bus tickets and more than that, it can help bus service providers improve scheduling efficiency and cost structure through big data analytics. Traffic authorities can also gain a better grasp on public transportation management with access to data collected by the app.Chen highlighted that the TBS app serves as a joint ticketing platform consolidating bus services provided by five operators. Credit cards and mobile payments including JKoPay and LinePay are accepted. Featuring smooth operation and a user-friendly interface, the app presents an easy-to-understand menu and view of the different routes and schedules offered by all the bus operators. This is a result combining long-term industry experiences, field observations, discussions and repeated system tests and validations.With the app, users can check all operators' bus schedules, select seats and compare ticket prices. After purchasing their tickets online, all they need to do to get on board is scan the QR code. Such environmentally friendly, paperless ticketing also allows users to easily manage their itinerary on their mobile phones, which is the app's main appeal. To promote purchase of multiple tickets at a time, the app allows one user to buy more than one ticket and distribute the tickets to each passenger afterwards. Users can also conduct ticket changes on the app. Not only does the app make ticket purchase a breeze for passengers, it will also drive digital transformation for bus service providers while boosting utilization of public transportation.Although bus services sustained major COVID-19 impact in the first half of 2020, there has been an increase in ridership since infection cases dropped and summer vacation began. After starting pilot operation on August 23, 2019, the app has accumulated 120,000 subscribers in less than a year and is enjoying a steady increase in subscribership.The platform currently includes long-range bus service providers Kuo-Kuang, Ubus, Kamalan, Ho-Hsin and Alohatransport, and will add regional operators such as Jasun, Taroko, Chia-Yi Bus, Tainan Bus and Taiwan Tourist Shuttle. Statistics indicate that the No. 1 destination of all the app users is Taichung, followed by Tainan at No. 2, Kaohsiung at No. 3, Changhua at No. 4 and Chia-yi at No. 5.Chen extended gratitude to MOEA's Smart City Program for providing funding that enabled timely completion of the app and expressed admiration for the Taiwan government's active investments to help domestic businesses explore digitization applications. In response, businesses receiving the government assistance give their 100% to perfect their systems. To ensure the system can support a sharp spike in user log-ins before long holidays without performance degradation, the ticketing app has passed a stress test wherein 100,000 users go online and buy tickets at the same time, demonstrating optimal reliability.Going forward, more integrated marketing features will be incorporated into the app, including local tourist spot recommendations, itinerary planning and local specialty promotions. Moreover, the results from big data analytics will bring about a diversity of services. There are also ongoing efforts to seek partnership opportunities with Southeast Asian governments and connect Taiwan's industries with the rest of the world.Wan Da Tong's general manager Ching-Hsiang ChenPhoto: Sandy Du, Digitimes, September 2020

Following Kingston Technology's recnet move to raise prices for standard DRAM products, fellow module makers now believe DRAM ASP is unlikely to fall in fourth-quarter 2020 and have now started resuming puchases. The handset market is also heading towards recovery in the fourth quarter. Suppliers of FPCB materials now expect shipments to be driven by stable demand from Apple for its new iPhones and from Chinese vendors looking to expand share in their domestic market. In the gaming smartphone segment, Asustek Computer and Qualcomm reportedly are forming a partnership that can shore up the former's device shipments and give birth to the US chip vendor's own-brand phone.DRAM pricing unlikely to fall in 4Q20: Spot market prices for DRAM and NAND flash memory have been rising over the past several weeks, with ASP for the former unlikely to fall in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to sources at memory module makers.Vendors of handset FPCB materials eyeing strong 4Q20: Taiwan's suppliers of flexible PCB materials including FCCLs and polyimide (PI) films are optimistic about their sales performance for fourth-quarter 2020, which will be bolstered mainly by stable shipments for new iPhones and strengthened shipment pull-in momentum from Chinese handset vendors, according to industry sources.Qualcomm reportedly to develop own-brand gaming smartphones with Asustek assistance: Qualcomm reportedly will team up with Asustek Computer to develop and launch its own-brand gaming smartphones at the end of 2020 at the earliest, according to industry sources.

Global tablet shipments are expected to slip every year in the next five years (2021-2025) after registering flat growth in 2020, with demand to mainly come from the education and high-end enterprise segments, according to Digitimes Research's latest five-year forecast for the tablet industry.Worldwide tablet shipments are forecast to decline 10.5% in 2021, but overall shipments are expected to stay firmly above 120 million units annually during the five-year period.The US trade sanctions against Huawei will affect the tablet landsacpe in 2021. Apple and Lenovo will have a good chance of cannibalizing Huawei if the Chinese vendor is pevented from rolling out new devices by failure to obtain key components.Amazon is also expected to see shipments decline in the next five years, as it has focused on small-size tablets and large-size models have grown to become the mainstream particularly during the coronavirus pandemic.

North America is Taiwan-based startups' top target market, with China coming only in fourth place, according to a recent survey.The survey, jointly conducted by PwC Taiwan and Taiwan Institute of Economic Research, shows 31% of the 678 startups asked rank North America as their first target market, followed by Southeast Asia and India (26%), Japan and South Korea (20%) and China (12%).Of the surveyed startups, 73% have only 1-5 employees, and 48% of them have consumers or individual users as primary customers, followed by enterprises or organizations (43%) and government agencies (9%).Only 27% of the startups have profits; 55% have generated revenues but not yet profits; and 18% have yet to see revenues. The top-3 reasons for the profitable startups: Understanding market demand via accurate evaluation (21%); competitive products/services (19%); and efficient business models (13%).In terms of engagement, 58% of the startups have experienced cooperation with partners, and 42% of these startups have had non-listed small- to medium-size businesses as partners, followed by other startups (26%) and listed companies or large enterprises (20%).In startups' opinions, the top-3 factors influencing such cooperation are: There have to be communication mechanisms for cooperation between both sides' decision-makers (36%); one side's business model or operational processes has to be compatible and/or can be connected with the other side's (28%); large enterprises should not unduly intervene in startups' independent decision making.