Avanta Innovative Medical Center in Armenia plays a key role for the country to promote medical tourism, according to the center's CEO Artur Harutyunyan.The center focuses on three medical areas: dentistry, aesthetic medicine and plastic surgery. It consists of six clinics around the country, Harutyunyan said.Dentistry includes filling teeth, tooth whitening, dental implantation with Germany-based suppliers of 3D-printed dental implants, Harutyunyan noted. Aesthetic medicine covers facial rejuvenation, breast enhancement, liposuction and hair implantation, while plastic surgery includes body sculpting, mammoplasty and rhinoplasty, Harutyunyan indicated.The center cooperates with many international suppliers, including Slovenia-based laser instrument maker Fotona; South Korea-based medical equipment maker Caregen and its dermal filler brand Revofil; Greece-based cosmetic product maker Juliette Armand; and Israel-based dental implant maker Cortex Dental Implants Industries, Harutyunyan said.In order to improve medical technology, the center cooperates with local Yerevan State Medical University and allows its 15 doctors to go abroad for 2-3 months a year to attend international seminars to keep abreast of cutting-edge medical technologies and knowledge, Harutyunyan noted. The center also offers internal training for its employees except doctors, Harutyunyan added.The center hopes to cooperate with Taiwan-based firms in medical equipment and materials as well as medical smart robots, Harutyunyan indicated.Promoting medical tourism, Avanta provides service packages for customers including reception at Armenia's international airport, hotel reservations, sight-seeing tours, tour guides and translators, arrangement of conferences and seminars, Harutyunyan said.While the center's patients are mostly Armenians and come from Russia and Kazakhstan, many of the patients seeking aesthetic medicine are from Russia, Georgia, Europe and North America because prices in Armenia may be one-fifth and half of those in the US and Russia respectively but service quality is comparable, Harutyunyan explained.Currently, the six clinics quite often treat more than 300 patients a day, including 150 ones of aesthetic medicine and four ones of plastic surgery, according to the center's chief marketing officer Lusine Babajanyan. Demand for aesthetic medicine traditionally peaks in the summer, Babajanyan said.Particularly for pediatric dentistry, the center plans to adopt chat robots to appease and provide educational services for child patients before treatment, Babajanyan noted.At World Congress on IT (WCIT) 2019 taking place in Yerevan on October 6-9, Taiwan-based Asus Life, Foxconn Electronics, CloudMaster, Syscom Computer Engineering and Nuwa Robotics showcased service robots, standing a chance of becoming suppliers for the center.The center hopes to introduce orthopedic and cervical vertebra smart surgery in the next step, Harutyunyan said.Taiwan Main Orthopedic Biotechnology has developed Caduceus, smart surgical glasses which feature MR (mixed reality) technology and surgical navigation and integrate CT (computed tomography) and MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) images into 3D models to enable surgeons to minimize errors to below 1.5mm and shorten time taken in surgical operation by 70%.Avanta Innovative Medical Center CEO Artur HarutyunyanPhoto: Mark Tsai, Digitimes, November 2019Dental equipment at Avanta Innovative Medical Center's dental clinicPhoto: Mark Tsai, Digitimes, November 2019

UMC may have quit the expensive race to advance manufactuing nodes, but it has been keen to develop specialty process. The latest development reportedly sees th pure-play foundry enter risk production for 5G FR switches at its 12-inch wafer fab. And 5G is fefinitely promising to continue dominating headlines in months to come, with the smartphone segment catching much of the attention. In the upstream supply chain, CCL suppliers are set to see demand picking up from PCB makers eyeing the 5G phone market segment.UMC enters risk production for 5G RF switches: Pure-play foundry UMC has kicked off risk production for 5G RF switches using its 12-inch wafer fabrication lines, which are also looking to be validated for other 5G chip designs, according to industry sources.CCL firm EMC gearing up for 5G handset application orders: As motherboard upgrades at 5G smartphones are gaining momentum, Taiwan-based CCL maker is poised to compete with Japanese peer Panasonic to benefit more from the first wave of 5G application opportunities in 2020, especially those for anylayer HDI boards.

Taiwan has seen startups proliferating in diverse segments, and how to extend their reach abroad and build international connections is a pressing matter. Three startups shed light on their ways to develop overseas markets and form Asia startup ecosystems in a recent forum jointly hosted by Taipei City Government and Digitimes.Joseph Wang, founder and CEO of Osense Technology, said at Startup X: Cross-border Eecosystem that his company is dedicated to developing more-reliable 3D maps by leveraging AI algorithm and analysis of diverse light images, radio waves, ultrasonic waves and other types of data.He disclosed that Osense has recently established a vision-based indoor position (VBIP) system, which can fast compose 3D maps for any given place by utilizing the firm's in-house developed simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) technology to integrate geomagnetic waves, thermal induction and mmWave sensing data, without having to use Bluethooth, Wi-Fi, GPS or even camera filming systems. The system can be paired with VR to provide indoor positioning and navigation functions.Wang said his firm's solutions have been adopted by Thailand's mass transit system transportation conglomerate BTS Group and Japan Railways for use at MRT and railway stations, in addition to Taiwan's Taoyuan International Airport and local baseball stadiums.As AI-generated data will gradually replace data generated by users, Taiwanese startups can better leverage the country's robust ICT hardware manufacturing capability to shine in international markets with more impressive innovations.Funique VR Studio founder and CEO PY Cheng said that as a digital content startup, his company has been keen on trying various new technologies in developing high-resolution VR content for education and entertainment. For instance, Cheng said, the company has developed a complete set of interactive VR content featuring 8K per-eye resolution, with the development starting in 2016 when 4K was still the mainstream resolution for VR.The efforts, Cheng stressed, can fully demonstrate the creativity of Taiwan's digital content startups, which is exactly one of the advantages for Taiwan startups. He revealed that Funique's high-resolution VR contents have won patronage from Singaporean clients, and the company is extending its products to medical application, with VR images able to be amplified 40 times to support da Vinci surgical robotic arm.Chris Hsiang, founder and CEO of Silicon Valley-based startup matching platform Panorama, said her company can serve as a bridge between Asian startups and Silicon Valley tech giants and startups to explore possible cooperation. Silicon Valley enterprises are seeking constant innovations, and startups in Asia can provide them with external innovation momentum, Hsiang said, stressing that Taiwanese startups, with their solid technology prowess and innovation capability can better satisfy the needs of businesses operating in the US high-tech hub.Hsiang said that every market has its own distinct trait, and Taiwanese startups have to study more about any target overseas market before kicking off their international sales development plan.She noted that Panorama can offer customized services to help Taiwan startups or serve as their agents in making visits to and building connections with enterprises in Silicon Valley.Startup X: Coss-border EcosystemsPhoto: Digitimes staff, November 2019

Traditional manufacturers and startups can inspire one another to create new value, according to panelists at an event focused on innovations.Traditional manufacturers used to rely considerably on know-how based on senior technicians' experience, and Thingnario has successfully digitized such experience using image interpretation and AI technologies, according to Jubi Chen, company co-founder and product director of Thingnario at the recently concluded Startup X: Vertical Applications panel discussion jointly organized by Taipei City Governmnet and Digitimes.Thingnario has developed AI-based smart solution for predicting optimal time of maintaining PV power-generating facilities, hiking revenues from power generation by 7-14%, Chen said. It has also developed an AI-based solution for monitoring operation of injection machines, decreasing time length of machine suspension by 5-10%, Chen noted.The strong OT (operational technology) infrastructure in Taiwan is the best cradle for IT-based startups, which, with inspiration from traditional manufacturers' domain know-how, can help those manufacturers upgrade their operations and at the same time enable their own development of vertical applications for traditional manufacturers, Chen indicated.Medical Augmented Intelligence (MAI), a startup engaged in developing precision medicine solutions, has introduced BodyMap through restructuring human bodies to provide comprehensive and medically accurate anatomical systems, said company founder and CEO Sam Jang at the event.Matched with VR technology, BodyMap is a digital avatar of the human body that enables doctors to offer concise medical education for patients to help them understand their diseases and make informed decisions on optimal treatment, Jang noted. BodyMap can also help doctors determine more accurate paths and intensity of X ray.As acupuncture in ancient Chinese medicine shows therapeutic effects clinically but is difficult to be explained theoretically, BodyMap stands a chance of playing a bridge between western (modern) medicine and ancient Chinese medicine, Jang indicated.Development of startup businesses in Taiwan has lower opportunity cost than in Silicon Valley, Jang added.Anchor Taiwan is engaged in introducing international high-tech enterprises, startup businesses, venture capital firms and incubators to Taiwan as well as making overseas resources accessible to Taiwan-based startups, said company founder and CEO Elisa Chiu at the event.There are many internationally competitive high-tech industries and high-tech companies with large development potential in Taiwan, Chiu added.Startup businesses can provide vertical applications for traditional manufacturing industries to help manufacturers improve products/services or production processes, and more importantly, improve their supply chains, Chiu indicated.MAI founder & CEO Sam Jang (second right), Thingnario co-founder Jubi Chen (second left) and Anchor Taiwan founder & CEO Elisa Chiu (left) Photo: Molf Lai, Digitimes, November 2019

Taiwan-based AppWorks accelerator has recently hosted AppWorks Demo Day#19 in Taiwan to promote 18 of its startups, with the event attracting over 1,200 investors and industry representatives.Among the startups, Taiwan-based Self Token and Hong Kong-based Matters are both blockchain platforms.Taiwan-based Dent&Co, founded by a group of dentists, has developed a service AI system that is able to automatically remind patients of scheduled appointments, track their after-treatment statuses and provide online appointments for dental clinics via commonly used social media. The system has been adopted by over 100 dental clinics in Taiwan, providing services for more than 70,000 times in half a year since its release.Taiwan-based Beseye is an AI image analysis service platform for surveillance cameras and is currently a partner of Microsoft, Japan's Tokyu Railways and JFE Steel, and Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom (CHT), Far Eastone Telecommunications (FET) and Advantech.US-based Fluv has built an AI platform to provide pet caring services through matching nearby independent pet caretakers. The platform was able to match up to 1,300 users in the first week after the launch.Indonesia-based FourCons is an AI matching platform for heavy machinery equipment rental. Its services now cover eight provinces in Indonesia after four months of launch and received up to US$800,000 worth of orders in October 2019.France-based Blyng is an AI platform that provides services related to real estate business, while New Zealand-based Gigvvy Science is a platform using machine learning technologies to help users publish their academic papers with efficiency and quality. US-based SparkAmplify is an AI system that matches online reporters with enterprises and brands to assist them in advertising, public relations and publicity.Hong Kong-based KaChick is an AI service that matches photographers with clients, and is currently available in 60 cities worldwide, having over 2,000 photographers in its database.Arical is an AI platform for real-estate investments and analysis, while OnMyGrad is an AI education platform targeting college graduates' further education. Mellow is an app that helps parents teach financial knowledge and responsibility to children.Several major IT firms including Lite-On, Acer, AU Optronics (AUO), Realtek, Asustek Computer, Qisda, HannStar, Alibaba, Facebook, Google, Line, Wistron , Far Eastone Telecommunications (FET), AWS, Nvidia, KKday, Nokia, Razer and Taiwan Mobile attended the event, looking for possible investment targets, AppWorks said.Self Token, a blockchain-based platformPhoto: Michael Lee, Digitimes, November 2019

MediaTek has launched its next-generation 5G SoC family, Dimensity. The launch made a splash with high-ranking executives from many fellow semiconductor firms, including TSMC and ASE, attending. MediaTek, as one of the biggest IC designers worldwide, clearly has the support of a strong ecosystem. MediaTek says it will extend its 5G solutions to non-handset applications, but many in the semiconductor supply chain are eyeing strong business opportunities from 5G smartphones, which will see explosive shipment growth in the coming years. Meanwhile, the memory market can expect a 10% shortage for NOR flash supply in 2020, plus a price recovery. MediaTek intros new-gen 5G SoC: MediaTek held a press conference on November 26 to introduce the new generation of its 5G SoC chips, with guests including TSMC VP Lora Ho, a number of high-ranking executives from major backend houses including ASE, SPIL and KYEC, and IC probing specialist CHPT.Backend firms to gain from strong chip demand for midrange 5G handsets in 2020: As shipments of midrange 5G smartphones are expected to expand significantly in 2020, the resultant strong demand for chipsets will be a major revenue growth driver for Taiwan's backend supply chain, according to industry sources.NOR flash supply likely to fall short of demand in 2020: The supply of NOR flash memory is likely to fall short of demand in 2020, with the gap estimated at up to 10%, according to industry sources.

8K can expand 5G applications, as there are a lot of details, information, and analyzable data available in the stunning ultra-HD images, according to Masaru Nagayasu, fellow for Socionext's Marketing Division.Speaking at the 5G/Innovation Summit 2019 jointly organized by the Taipei City Government and Digitimes on November 25, Nagayasu noted that successful integration of recorded 8K images with real life has reached a level of visualization that can trick the human eye.He illustrated his point by showing a video clip of such an integration at the event.8K images feature fidelity of real conditions, high resolution and high immersion and can offer excellent visual effects through high compression and stable transfer of images at high speeds, Nagayasu said.Founded in 2015, Socionext is a Japan-based design house of SoCs for consumer electronics, automotive and industrial application. The company has helped Fujitsu and Panasonic in R&D of digital TV broadcast encoders and SoCs used in DSLR cameras and 4K/8K TVs.Socionext has cooperated with GoPro to develop Hero 7 Black and with other companies to develop VR/XR headsets.Masaru Nagayasu, fellow for Socionext's Marketing DivisionPhoto: Digitimes staff, November 2019

The survivability of startup businesses generally hinges on feasibility of their business models and marketability of their products/ services and, in this respect, enterprises can provide experimental sites for feasibility and marketability evaluation, according to Vincent Tseng, CEO for Taidah Entrepreneurship Center (TEC) at National Taiwan University (NTU).Tseng was speaking at 5G/Innovation Summit 2019 jointly organized by the Taipei City Government and Digitimes on November 25.To catch up with technological development, many enterprises look for startups' innovations by making corporate venture capital investment or setting up innovation labs, accelerators/incubators, Tseng said.Under the cooperation, enterprises and startups are complementary to each other: Enteprises have resources but find it difficult or are reluctant to make risky changes, resulting in a lack of innovations; startups have innovative ideas and are willing to face challenges, Tseng explained.In a bid to provide experimental sites for startup businesses, TEC NTU has partnered with local enterprises such as AU Optronics (AUO) and E.Sun Commercial Bank since January 2019, Tseng noted.Vincent Tseng, CEO for NTU's Taidah Entrepreneurship CenterPhoto: Digitimes staff, November 2019

Renovatio Pictures, a Taiwan-based startup specialized in VFX (visual effects) production, has scored points in the domestic market and plans to foray into North America together with Taiwan's cinematic supply chain, according to company co-founder Tomi Kuo.Founded in 2017, Renovatio provides a full range of VFX services including concept design, look development, rotoscoping/clean plate, match moving, animation, special effects simulation, lighting and compositing, Kuo, the company's VFX supervisor, said.Renovatio has introduced a workflow process from Hollywood and developed tools on its own to secure VFX quality, Kuo noted, adding that company co-founder and producer Peter Huang and CTO Willy Fan have relevant working experience in North America.Besides motion pictures, Renovatio has produced VFX for TV dramas, VR video, advertising, events and activities, Kuo said. For example, Renovatio produced VFX for The Coordinator and Stand By Me, two TV series dramas published by Taiwan Public Television Service (TPT) and broadcast on OTT channels of TPT+, Netflix, LINE TV, CatchPlay, FriDay and KKTV.Renovatio's complete VFX produciton for Detention, a locally produced thriller and suspense movie, has won the Best Visual Effects award at the 2019 Golden Horse Awards film contest.Kuo has participated in VFX production for several locally-produced films including 10,000 Miles, Black & White: The Dawn of Justice, The Rooftop and Love. VFX can enlarge room for content creation, reduce production cost for reality film shooting and bring audience into virtual thrilling experience, Kuo indicated.While global demand for VFX is growing, development of the VFX industry in Taiwan has been significantly slow due to inadequate awareness of the industry, Kuo said.VFX is often thought of as the last step in the entire process of movie production, Kuo noted. But VFX experts' participation in the entire production process from cinematic planning, script analysis to film shooting can make special effects better express core of plots, Kuo indicated.In Taiwan, however, movie or TV video producers frequently skip VFX due to limited budgets, Kuo said.Free creation of diverse movie plots is conducive to development of cinematics in Taiwan, Kuo noted. Kuo recommended that plots be based on things in people's common memory like those of Detention, The Tag-Along, The Teenage Psychic and The World Between Us.Renovatio Pictures co-founder and VFX supervisor Tomi KuoPhoto: Company

HP Tech Ventures uses a structured process to identify external disruptive innovation. This is done by searching worldwide for early stage startups in the areas of focus of HP Inc’s three business units, according to Mitchell Weinstock, partner at HP Tech Ventures.Weinstock made the remark at his keynote speech "Strategic Investing, Making Corporate Venture Capital Work" at the Startup X Asia Meetup jointly organized by Department of Economic Development under Taipei City Government and Digitimes and held on November 25.The first step is understanding of development of innovative applications at open events such as Demo Day or summits to gain insight into innovative technologies that can create value for HP over next few years, Weinstock said. Then, HP Tech gets in touch with interested startups.The second step is to check whether the interested startups can conform to HP's corporate development strategies, and if yes, HP Tech will examine the candidates' technological capabilities and business models as well as their teams' development potential, which is even more important than technological capabilities, Weinstock said.The last step is to prioritize candidates that have passed the examination, as any enterprise is unable and impossible to invest in all at the same time, Weinstock indicated.HP Tech may watch the candidate startups for 3-5 years to see health of their teams or if their business can grow to new milestones, and usually decides on combinations of joint investment targets in a certain area through discussion with partnering venture capital investors. In principle, HP Tech makes CVC investment for a stake of below 20% in a single startup business, Weinstock said.While independent venture capital investment mostly focuses on startup businesses' growth stage to maximize return on investment, CVC investment places emphasis on creation of value for the investing enterprises via such investment and therefore focuses on the initial and middle stages, Weinstock explained.He noted 90% of startup businesses contacted by venture capital firms or CVC investors reportedly are unable to survive eventually. In 2019 alone the HP Tech Ventures team has assessed over 1,350 startups to date. Since separation in 2016 they have done 13 investments and 30 commercial partnerships, Weinstock said.HP Tech Ventures partner Mitchell WeinstockPhoto: Digitimes staff, November 2019