Mr. Tony Yu, partner of Mesh Ventures, indicated that the success enjoyed by the Silicon Valley model today, is a result of mind collision and brainstorming from two groups of people: firstly, countless entrepreneurs coming from different countries who are committed to changing the world through new technologies; and secondly, venture capitalists with unlimited resources who enjoy enriching their assets. After decades of cultivation under free-market capitalism, the integration of these two types of people has given rise to today's Silicon Valley.Mr. Yu believes that Taiwan does not have to follow suit and completely copy the Silicon Valley experience. Nevertheless, it can draw on its innovative mindset and successful experience to formulate a business model that fits the local environment based on Taiwan's own industry strengths and conditions. Compared with the B2C industry, which has to be established on a market with a large population base, Taiwan has a better chance in developing a unique entrepreneurial ecosystem in the B2B market.Mr. Yu pointed out that the reason why entrepreneurship is so challenging and stressful is on top of focusing on innovative technology, products and services, and its business model, a startup team also has to learn to grasp the seven vectors of business management, i.e., production, sales, human resources, information management, development, financial management, and regulations, under time constraint.In particular, production refers to the entire production process of the startup products and services, from upstream raw materials, to adding value to the products and services, and all the way to delivery to customers. Sales refers to two distinctively different tasks, namely, marketing and sales. The former involves identifying the market and setting its positioning, while the latter involves engaging in strategic applications and closes the deal using sales techniques. Human resources do not simply mean the team's recruitment, training, or retention, but also include selecting investors and human resource management. Information management refers to software and hardware tools that are indispensable in information and communication, and cyber security nowadays. They are a necessity for developing products, building services, and business management. Development refers to research and development (R&D). It is the core competency of a tech startup. Financial management refers to the management and planning procedures of finances, accounting and fundraising. Regulations are pertaining to legal affairs, including legal compliance, intellectual property protection and deal negotiations.The only key to an enterprise's continued success in the market is to possess all seven business management skills. More importantly, the core members must understand what they lack before they can focus on how to gradually make up for their inadequacy in skills and resources, such as industry networks, accelerators, or venture capitalists, through various means in a goal-oriented and deliberate manner. The faster a company could strengthen the "seven-legged table," the sooner it can achieve sustainable success. This is a mental preparation that all entrepreneurs should have.When it comes to the development trend of Taiwanese startups over the next five to ten years, Mr. Yu believes that the world is changing very rapidly, and emerging opportunities often come and go. In the present stage, Mesh focuses on investing in the so-called "new mobile technology" platform and its derivative services including electric vehicles, the Internet of Vehicles (IoV), and autonomous vehicles. Other fields such as high-performance computing (HPC) and the Internet of Things (IoT) applications are also favorites. In particular, Mesh believes that enabling technologies, which are necessary for the aforementioned technologies and promote shared use, will continue to undergo positive growth over the next five years.Mr. Yu also pointed out that if Taiwanese startups wish to create more robust international competitiveness and influence, there is much room for growth in terms of innovations in their business models and their understanding of the international market. A collective effort for improvement is therefore required. Underpinned by such foundation, if the Taiwanese startup teams are able to showcase their qualities and skills in terms of technological management, and utilize their competencies in design optimization and problem solving to help industry grow and advance, the potential business opportunities would be endless.As a whole, Mr. Yu believes that Taiwan needs more success stories from the new generation of entrepreneurs, so that future startups can look up to them as role models.From a long-term perspective of building a comprehensive venture capital (VC) environment, and energizing the upstream and downstream of the VC ecosystem, Mr. Yu wishes to encourage corporate venture capital (CVC) to be more proactive in investing in and acquiring startup teams, as this would invigorate and bring brand-new visions to the market. With the support of ample resources and partners, the Taiwanese entrepreneurial ecosystem could undergo a more healthy and robust growth, and give rise to more exciting possibilities.Readers can download " 2022 Taiwan Startup Ecosystem Survey" jointly conducted by PwC Taiwan, TIER and DIGITIMES: https://www.pwc.tw/en/publications/taiwan-startup-ecosystem-survey.html

Known for being a leader in Taiwan's information service industry, Systex Corporation has been reinforcing its efforts to incubate Taiwanese startups since 2018. It has also actively expanded its software ecosystem. Each year, its AI+ Generator Program (AGP) would select eight startups in cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), information security, retail technology and marketing technology (MarTech). Systex would help them expand their business scale at home and abroad by matchmaking them with Systex's thirty thousand enterprise clients, as well as other ecosystem partners to form partnerships.In general, when large enterprises search for new technologies, new products or new directions, they would opt for either internal or external innovation. In terms of these two strategies, Mr. Richard Tang, Vice President of Systex, indicated that at Systex, both strategies are utilized synchronously and in complement of each other.Compared with using in-house research and development (R&D) to maintain control of the latest technologies, time to market (TTM) is a much more important factor to Systex. By working with startups using external innovative models, an enterprise can save up to two to three years of R&D time, thereby accelerating its TTM while also preventing competitors from taking over the market share during the development process.When choosing a startup to partner with, Mr. Tang pointed out that the first and foremost factors that enterprises value are its methods for solving problems and pain points, and whether the startup has accurately targeted the pain points. Secondly, enterprises will also explore whether the technological skills and business models of the startup can be scaled in the international market. The potential for scalability refers to whether its products can be standardized and go global, rather than being something that are merely project-based. In particular, Systex pays much attention to whether a product or service has marketing feasibility in Taiwan and the Greater China region. Thirdly, the sustainability of the products and team is also very important, as this provides the most basic guarantee to customers.Mr. Tang added that branding is an issue for Taiwanese startups. If a startup positions itself as a "Silicon Valley-based company," its credibility in the software industry is often elevated. This is the harsh reality. An additional challenge facing the Taiwanese teams in their global expansion effort, is whether these teams have enough technological competencies to create "localized" product designs for different markets during the software development stage.In order to assist Taiwanese startups to enter the international market, Systex has also provided points of contact and potential channels in the market. Mr. Tang pointed out that, to an entrepreneur, the most difficult part of international expansion is reaching out to local enterprises, and incidentally the value of Systex lies in its vast client base throughout the world. To any startup, the opportunity to receive guidance on increasing the business potential and international perspective of its products or services, and being introduced to local customers for proof of concept (PoC), would be a great starting point for international expansions.Mr. Tang wished to appeal to the government that, from a long-term perspective, on top of leading startups to attend exhibitions overseas, the government should also encourage schools to nurture more international talents, including encouraging more overseas Chinese students and international students to study and work in Taiwan. Startups should also be given more incentives to recruit them after they graduate, so that when they return to their respective home countries, they could potentially become local partners to Taiwanese enterprises. They will be able to maximize the strengths of Taiwanese enterprises and accelerate the international developments of Taiwanese startups.Mr. Tang commented that the government needs to take bolder moves in encouraging startup developments. Just like how Mr. Yun-Suan Sun and Mr. Kwoh-Ting Li developed the science parks in the past, entrepreneurs also need larger venues to create interactions and exchange ideas. International enterprises should be invited to station in these venues and talents should be recruited. Once the number of enterprises has reached a certain level, there will be plenty of people. The convergence of start-up mentors, successful entrepreneurs, coaching teams, aspiring entrepreneurs, and international brands will then underpin the development of entrepreneurship in Taiwan.Over the past decades, the Taiwanese government has dedicated all its efforts to facilitate the development of the manufacturing sector, including the provisions of water, electricity and optimizations. Nevertheless, the Taiwan economy has relied on these science parks for 40 years. What is next for Taiwan? Mr. Tang believes that one of the most important goals over the next 40 years will be to nurture entrepreneurship in the Taiwanese software industry by encouraging Taiwanese youths to expand globally, as well as welcoming international talents to come to the Taiwanese market.Readers can download " 2022 Taiwan Startup Ecosystem Survey" jointly conducted by PwC Taiwan, TIER and DIGITIMES: https://www.pwc.tw/en/publications/taiwan-startup-ecosystem-survey.html

In terms of roles that an accelerator plays in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, Ms. May Yang, COO of Garage+, believes that in the case of Silicon Valley, the emergence of the entrepreneurial ecosystem is closely related to talents, capital, and government policies. Meanwhile, for developing countries, accelerators would play more significant roles in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.Do corporates see startups as investment targets, or do they view their involvements as merely "partnerships"?Ms. Yang pointed out that this is often determined by the organization of a corporate. For instance, some companies comprise a corporate venture capital (CVC) department that is dedicated to understanding investment targets related to the developments of their parent companies, while other companies which are more focused on business partnerships in the current stage, often collaborate with startups to co-develop products, and engage in technological cooperations and information exchange. In these cases, subsequent investment opportunities will only emerge when the startups' technological development becomes closely integrated with the companies.Nevertheless, corporates have become more proactive in evaluating startups nowadays, whether they are contemplating investment ideas or simply technological partnerships. Ms. Yang pointed out that, in terms of Garage+'s corporate partnerships, they are mostly focused on three aspects in the startup scene: first of all, they are mostly focused on software startups in the vertically integrated industry; in particular, artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics and applications. Secondly, they are interested in software and hardware integration. Corporations can use innovative technologies and solutions to solve existing problems and optimize existing processes to create value. And finally, they are also interested in areas related to digital medical care and healthcare.Each year, Garage+ selects 30 startups from Taiwan and overseas respectively. Different departments from major corporates, such as CVC, research institutions, new business divisions, and Office of Chief Technology Officer (OCTO), will meet with these startups based on their diverse needs. Ms. Yang pointed out that most corporates are mainly looking for business partnerships, and some of their particular interests include: cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum computer, batteries and etc. A company is most likely searching for the next cutting-edge technology that will help its core business to undergo a robust growth over the next five to ten years when it looks to collaborate with a startup. Therefore, many Taiwanese companies are very interested in the performance of innovative projects from startups from both home and abroad.When discussing the expansion of Taiwanese startups overseas, Ms. Yang indicated that if a startup team is from a smaller country such as Taiwan, Singapore or Israel rather than a country with a gigantic market such as the United States, China, Southeast Asia, or Europe, it definitely has to collaborate with an international company or organization if it hopes to scale its business in the global market. This would help the startup to expand its business while standing on the shoulders of a giant.The first key to a startup's international development is "knowing where your customers are." The second is to "know where the market with the most potential and best conditions to grow is," followed by "finding a good pathfinder and partner." Ms. Yang indicated that pathfinders for international development of a startup have access to local startups, accelerators, venture capitalists, or corporates. Startups can only truly understand local markets via these networks.Garage+ is committed to leading foreign startups to entering the Taiwanese market. On one hand, this means bringing foreign resources to Taiwan and connecting technological experience of foreign startups to existing industrial strengths of Taiwan. On the other hand, it also helps to create more opportunities to connect with the international community through localization of foreign startups.Compared with the startup teams overseas, although Taiwanese startups are equipped with technological advantages, there is room for improvement when it comes to operations, marketing and executions. These areas make them less capable at addressing issues related to international expansion. Therefore, inviting international startups to interact with the local industries in Taiwan can facilitate collaborations. The Taiwanese teams can learn more about the international market, whether through joint R&D or business partnerships, or by providing solutions to foreign customers via collaborating with foreign startups.Ms. Yang believes that Taiwanese startups need to be equipped with resources from the international venture capital community if they want to expand globally. In this regard, Garage+ can also introduce new paragons for the Taiwanese entrepreneurs to learn from and work with by recruiting international startups. In particular, the Taiwanese teams can learn more about how international teams engage in marketing, fundraising, and forming exit strategies, including accepting potential corporate M&A deals. These are all the things that the Taiwanese teams can pick up.Readers can download " 2022 Taiwan Startup Ecosystem Survey" jointly conducted by PwC Taiwan, TIER and DIGITIMES: https://www.pwc.tw/en/publications/taiwan-startup-ecosystem-survey.html

In terms of Taiwan's entrepreneurial environment, Mr. Jerry Chen, an investor in Mucker Capital for the Asia Pacific region, is of the opinion that Taiwan has very little visibility in the international market in terms of software entrepreneurship, including in Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions. To date, Taiwan has not produced any iconic company in this industry. Nevertheless, based on its past experiences in ICT, semiconductors, and manufacturing, as well as its pool of outstanding software developers, Taiwan is in fact equipped with the potential to develop B2B SaaS products. In this sense, by assuming the roles of a venture capitalist and an accelerator, Mucker Capital not only provides seed capital, but also helps startups overcome growth bottlenecks and accelerate their growth toward the next phase.In 2022, MuckerLab was established in the Taiwan Tech Arena (TTA) and began to recruit startup companies from Taiwan and the Asia region.Mr. Chen also pointed out that in the initial stage, startups should focus on building their products before the pre-seed round. Following the seed stage, they should enter into the product/market fit stage. For the early stage, Mucker suggests startups to focus on building customers, and finding demand and market.Currently, Mucker does not limit its funding to any particular industry in terms of investing in early-stage startups. However, given Taiwan's economic and industrial environment, startups in BSB SaaS services will possess more growth advantages in vertical industries such as logistics, manufacturing, and information and communication. Nevertheless, startup teams should accurately understand the pain points of their respective industries. Particularly for the vertical B2B SaaS market, a startup team will only have access if it can find the right pain point and achieve a scalable business in the market.Speaking of funding activity in Taiwan's entrepreneurial ecosystem, Mr. Chen also commented that it is an undisputed fact that Taiwan does not have ample resources designated as seed capital for startups. The market is also subject to various constraints. Although a small market has its merits, it also limits the estimated value and development of a startup. For a venture capital, a startup can only have access to more diverse exit strategies if it is capable of solving bigger problems.Therefore, as a VC firm who invests in seed capital for startups, Mucker is dedicated to securing international resources and funds from North America, Asia, and Europe to assist startups to expand overseas and develop the global market.Mr. Chen also mentioned that as a venture capital firm from the United States, Mucker will certainly take "market size" into account when considering its investment portfolio. Similarly, this is also one of the first and foremost factors to most foreign venture capitalists before making an investment.Although for certain industries, economies of scale may be achieved in the Taiwanese market alone, more often than not, the Taiwanese market environment tends to constrain the business mindset for managing the international market. Thus, Mr. Chen believes that if a Taiwanese startup wishes to obtain seed funding, it has to turn to the market overseas. To achieve this goal, visiting those markets in person is a necessary process. After all, even in a country as small as Taiwan, customers located in Taipei and Kaohsiung would still potentially differ in terms of business style, corporate culture, and market demand, not to mention the overseas markets. This is also the reason why Mucker continues to emphasize the importance of connecting with foreign resources.Speaking of expanding in the international market, Mr. Chen indicated that a team needs to find out which market offers more room for growth in terms of the pain points that it could resolve. Moreover, the said market has to be big enough in terms of market size. Once the target market becomes clear, a team needs to have the determination and a crew who can take root in the market over the long haul. This is the only way for the team to assimilate into the local environment, understand the market needs and the rules of the game, and grasp local rules for development, before it can build up local networks, thereby making effective business development progress.Meanwhile, Mr. Chen believes that the impact that the global economic developments have on early-stage startups would be limited. This is because early-stage startups need to mostly focus on developing products and customers. Basically, venture capitalists and others will continue to invest as long as their products are robust. For instance, Mucker continues to pay attention to developments of startup teams and makes investments in them proactively.However, for teams with fundraising needs, they may feel the pressure at this point. On the one hand, market investors are taking longer to evaluate the startups. On the other hand, they are also rethinking, evaluating, and even lowering the value of the startups. All these factors will affect their fundraising performance. In other words, market investors will focus more on the business operations of the startups. Therefore, for startups with product capability and a sound operation, as long as they can withstand the current economic fluctuations, there will be more opportunity and room for growth.Many startups in Taiwan must pay attention to their own technologies and product developments. Under the current trend, they should strengthen their business operation skills and establish their sales and marketing mechanisms, so that they can in fact embrace greater development opportunities in the future.Readers can download " 2022 Taiwan Startup Ecosystem Survey" jointly conducted by PwC Taiwan, TIER and DIGITIMES: https://www.pwc.tw/en/publications/taiwan-startup-ecosystem-survey.html

Geopolitical influences and rising labor costs in China are bringing drastic changes to the global supply chain, prompting high-tech companies to relocate their production bases to Southeast Asia. For its convenient geographic location, competitive labor market and policy support, Vietnam has attracted Korean, Japanese and Taiwanese firms to establish factories in the country. As opposed to the other countries, Taiwan invests particularly heavily in ASEAN member states. According to the Investment Commission, Ministry of Economic Affairs, in 2021, more than 37% of Taiwan's overseas investments went to ASEAN member states, which overtook China to represent the largest portion of Taiwan's overseas investments with a focus on the electronics industry. In response to the trend, Andrew Chen, in charge of Dimerco Express' Vietnam operation, advises that companies should get a full grasp of the pros and cons while leveraging partners that have been cultivating the local market for years so as to take advantage of what Vietnam has to offer.With a relatively small domestic market, Taiwan has been heavily dependent on foreign trade. This is especially true in the case of the Taiwan electronics industry. Taiwan has risen to become a key player in the global economy after decades of building up its technological strength. China's reforms and opening-up in the 1990s made China an investment target to the Taiwan electronics industry. A triangular trade model has therefore been created, in which orders are taken in Taiwan, goods are made in China and they are then exported to the U.S.The start of the U.S.-China trade war in 2018 and the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in 2015, which opened up a pathway to an enormous market and labor supply, have prompted global manufacturers including electronics makers to relocate production bases out of China to Southeast Asia. Chen notes among Southeast Asian countries, Vietnam appears to be extremely attractive as a manufacturing hub.Vietnam has the third largest population among ASEAN countries. The enormous workforce coupled with the reform policies launched in 1980 drove Vietnam's transition from an agricultural to an industrial economy. Although farm produce still represents a major portion of Vietnam's exports, Japanese and Korean electronics manufacturers began to invest in the country in 2000, pushing its industrial transformation forward. Taiwanese electronics manufacturers are also picking up the pace of their expansion into Vietnam. To name a few, Wistron, Pegatron, Compal and Inventec have all been stepping up their investments in Vietnam.Based on Chen's insight, Vietnam appeals to global leading manufacturers for three reasons. The first is its large labor market. Vietnam's labor force, aged 15 to 60, represents almost half of its population, which is close to 100 million. Vietnamese people are diligent workers and quick learners so they are suitable for complex electronics manufacturing jobs. Electronics factory workers in Vietnam earn on average US$200 to US$250 a month. The labor costs are cheaper in Vietnam compared to China, where employers have to contribute to five kinds of insurance and a housing fund.The second is its convenient geographic location. Vietnam is situated at the heart of Southeast Asia and bordered by China. Electronics parts that are shipped by road transport from Southern China through the Friendship Pass, a border control between China and Vietnam, can arrive in the electronics cluster in northern Vietnam for assembly within a day. This allows manufacturers with production bases in Vietnam to control logistics costs while taking advantage of China's complete supply chain ecosystem.The third is its policy support. Vietnam has significantly eased the restrictions on foreign investments to increase its appeal to foreign businesses. Moreover, it has entered into free trade agreements (FTA) with 15 countries, allowing goods exported from Vietnam to enjoy tariff reductions. It also offers incentives to high-tech firms and knowledge industry firms to drive the country's industrial transformation.Chen states that manufacturers worldwide have been pressured by rapid supply chain changes spurred by geopolitical tensions and COVID-19. Despite Vietnam's advantages, electronics manufacturers with production bases in the country have to stay on top of Vietnam's industrial and economic environment and strategize accordingly. Logistics that is critical to production and delivery should be a focus of their attention. In today's supply chains, orders demanding rush delivery or short lead times have become the norm. Things are expected to stay this way for at least five years. With Vietnam's industrial ecosystem yet to mature, electronics manufacturers must still import their parts because local parts production cannot keep up with demand. Under such circumstances, the global competitiveness of these companies hinges on the completeness of their logistics service system.Taking Dimerco for example, Chen notes that Dimerco has been in operation for longer than five decades with service centers located in major cities throughout the world and 128 corporate-owned offices in Asia Pacific. Dimerco's Vietnam branch was established in 2008 and has teams stationed across Northern and Southern Vietnam to deliver tailored logistics services suited to various industries at different geographic locations.Dimerco provides complete freight services via air, land and sea transportation. With a far-reaching worldwide logistics network that connects Asia with the world, Dimerco partners with more than 10 global ocean freight forwarders and five cargo airlines, including Eva Air and China Airlines, and cross-border land transportation firms in Asia. Aside from physical freight shipping, Dimerco also leverages digital transformation to create a more refined user experience. According to Chen, Dimerco's self-developed technology platform connects different systems through electronic data interchange (EDI) so that customers can log into the MyDimerco Portal – a 24/7 online resource for freight tracking and performance monitoring. Furthermore, Dimerco has obtained ISO 27001 Information Security Management System certification so customers can be assured their data is safe.Chen points out that Vietnam now plays a vital role in electronics manufacturers' planning as they compete in the global market. Apart from strengthening their manufacturing capabilities, manufacturers also need a robust logistics partner to ensure stable and on-time delivery of raw materials and finished products. Serving a large number of Taiwan-based electronics manufacturers in Vietnam, Dimerco offers high-reliability and high-quality logistics services at reasonable costs, with strong system integration, via a complete shipping network and with an enthusiastic spirit. Making logistics a pillar to customers' competitive edge, Dimerco helps customers conquer market challenges and tap upcoming opportunities.Dimerco and the Semiconductor IndustryKey Logistics Expertise and Capabilities Required to Serve the Semiconductor Supply Chain

Astronomy is one of the oldest fields of science in the world. Related studies accumulated by scientists over centuries have spurred the development of knowledge in human society. Today, astronomy has become a necessary area of research among knowledge-developed countries. The Academia Sinica Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics (ASIAA) has achieved remarkable academic feats in only a few years since its establishment in 2010. With the intention of boosting research capabilities, the AMD EPYC processors has been incorporated as the core of ASIAA's next-generation computing system, which went online not too long ago in 2022. ASIAA Director Dr. Ue-Li Pen explained that not only can the AMD EPYC processors meet ASIAA's huge computing needs, but its server can also take up less rack space due to its high computing density. On top of that, it only requires one-third of the electricity consumed by previous equipment to achieve the same level of computing power. "The new system powered by AMD EPYC processors will be of tremendous benefit to academic research at ASIAA," Dr. Pen added.Leveraging High Computing Power to Optimize Astronomical Research CapabilitiesDr. Pen then gave an introduction on research areas ASIAA is involved in. He highlighted that as astronomy encompasses a wide range of fields, ASIAA has conducted research on most fields in both observational and theoretical astrophysics, including planets, stars, black holes, and galaxies. Meanwhile, ASIAA has also invested heavily in the development of telescopes and the related astronomical instrumentation to bolster its research capabilities. In recent years, ASIAA has actively engaged in international research in collaboration with a host of developed countries. Dr. Pen cited the high-resolution black hole image released in May this year as an example of such a research initiative. The image was taken by the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), an international collaboration project aimed at capturing images of black holes. ASIAA not only participated in this project through the Greenland Telescope, but also played an integral role in it. Aside from the Greenland Telescope, ASIAA is also involved in the Atacama Large Millimeter/Submillimeter Array (ALMA), the largest ground-based observatory project in human history. Furthermore, Dr. Pen also revealed that ASIAA has initiated efforts to conduct a new project aimed at studying fast radio bursts (FRB) and is currently building the world's first telescope dedicated to studying this mysterious signal in Taiwan. "We hope to become a leading astronomical research institution and devote ourselves to nurturing the next generation of Taiwanese scientists," Dr. Pen said.However, it is extremely difficult to achieve the desired quality of research results as scheduled, especially for astronomical research. As pointed out by Dr. Pen, a massive amount of data is required for various simulations in astronomical research. Prior to the commercialization of computers, research institutions had to deploy a large group of professionals for the purpose of calculating all kinds of data. This situation was mitigated after the advent of computing technology, but their effectiveness was still limited. Dr. Pen recalled the days as a young researcher at a university when the mainframe he used for research was only capable of calculating one-dimensional data. Later, computing power started increasing rapidly, and construction of the ASIAA mainframe had already begun in 2001 when ASIAA was still under Academia Sinica's Preparatory Office. The facility has since been upgraded numerous times according to changes in research contents.According to ASIAA Associate Research Fellow Dr. Min-Kai Lin, astronomical research is now in the era of three-dimensional data computation, which requires high system performance. For instance, Dr. Lin's research team studies how planets form using fluid dynamics simulations, which require large amounts of data to be analyzed using large-scale parallel computing techniques. ASIAA's mainframe system is replaced approximately once every five years, with the last generation going online in 2015. The system's 1,664 cores combined to form103 nodes, with each node having only 16 or 24 cores. As for storage, the system incorporated an open-source clustered storage system with a parallel file system. The nodes were connected based on the InfiniBand Fourteen Data Rate (FDR) transmission standard. That system had a total of 1,664 cores and consists of 103 nodes, each with only 16 or 24 cores. The storage part uses an open-source cluster storage architecture to build a parallel file system, and uses the InfiniBand FDR transmission standard to connect to each node.The system was still capable of meeting research needs in the early days after its inception. However, with ASIAA's continuous expansion, accompanied by the increased pace of internationalization, the number of cores and computing input/output of existing equipment at ASIAA gradually could not keep up with the research needs of the institution. "In the past few years, our planned calculations required hundreds or even thousands of cores, but the existing system was limited by its performance, so it could only execute a few cores so it could only run a few jobs at a time, leading to extended system times," Dr. Lin said. In order to solve this problem, ASIAA took on an initiative to design a new mainframe that incorporates both its current needs and future research plans. This led to the birth of a new-generation mainframe known as "Kawas."."Kawas means 'soul' in the Amis language, and represents the core of ASIAA's high-performance computing system," Dr. Lin explained. He pointed out that compared with previous computing systems, the performance of Kawas, which went online in 2022, has been upgraded substantially as it is now equipped with 2,048 CPU cores, 8 TB of memory, and 1.2 PB of parallel file system capacity. "The most unique feature of this system is that there are 128 cores in a single node and the nodes are connected by InfiniBand HDR 200 Gbps network switches, greatly improving the parallel computing performance of the system," Dr. Lin added. With the above hardware capabilities, the total computing power of Kawas reaches 61 TFLOPS. ASIAA Builds the Most Powerful Computing System Using Four Major Features of AMD EPYC processorsKawas's powerful performance originates from the AMD EPYC processors. Dr. Lin acknowledged that as a scientific institution, ASIAA is not beholden to brand names when evaluating products in the market. Instead, it prioritizes performance as a whole. "We carry out tests on different systems simultaneously based on software programs used by researchers and scientific topics in general. After all, the end goal is to enhance research output," Dr. Lin revealed. Upon careful assessment, the AMD EPYC processors came out on top due chiefly to four reasons: powerful performance, high density (due to computing performance that significantly reduces the total space taken up by its server), low power consumption, and compatibility.Dr. Lin further explained that the powerful performance of the AMD EPYC 64 core server enables various research teams at ASIAA to efficiently perform parallel computing in large quantities. "The 2,048-core system is the largest computing architecture we have ever built in ASIAA," he emphasized. The most significant benefit of such computing capabilities is reflected in the substantially improved performance of parallel computing. Previous generation computing systems, in which each node only had 16 or 24 cores, required a complex message passing interface (MPI) to achieve computations with hundreds of cores across different computing nodes. On the other hand, each node in Kawas has 128 cores from AMD EPYC processors, which enable a high level of parallel performance in a single node using Open Multi-Processing (OpenMP). Since OpenMP is relatively easy to develop and encompasses a wide range of applications, Kawas can markedly reduce the development time, and thus allows ASIAA to rapidly expand into new research directions. This advantage effectively bolsters ASIAA's essential efforts to develop its own original programs and libraries. In addition, its high performance also maximizes flexibility when it comes to how server rack space is used. Dr. Lin disclosed that Kawas only has 16 nodes. If products with more nodes are used, a large number of servers have to be configured to achieve Kawas's computing power of 61 TFLOPS. Whereas the AMD EPYC processors can substantially reduce the number of servers used and the space taken up due to their powerful performance. At the same time, for the same computing power, AMD EPYC processors demonstrate superior excellent performance in power consumption, which in turn enables higher computing density for cost and power-optimized platforms.As far as compatibility is concerned, Dr. Lin noted that the importance of system compatibility is due to extremely close cooperation between astronomical research institutions around the world. AMD compilers with an open-source architecture are readily compatible with systems in other countries, which in turn helps facilitate ASIAA's presence abroad. "Therefore, Kawas is the best system ever built by ASIAA in terms of computing performance, space utilization, power consumption, and compatibility," he stressed.This system, in which the cores of AMD EPYC processors play a key role, has been online for some time now. Aside from the products, the services provided by AMD and its partners are also the primary reason why the benefits of introducing the system have gained prominence. Dr. Lin revealed that during the early stage of introduction, ASIAA deployed the operating system using the QCT HPC Starter Kit, a tool available on QCT POD provided by AMD's partner, Quanta Cloud Technology. "This simple and fast one-time system deployment mode can significantly reduce the installation time of the overall HPC system and eliminate the major problem issue of overly-complex system configurations in the past., which used to be a major problem," he said while explaining the elaborating on the relatively comprehensive features of the QCT HPC Starter Kit. As for system management, the QCT HPC Starter Kit offers a variety of tools based on Kawas's needs. It not only assists in setting up HPC-related environments, but also enables administrators to keep track of system status and obtain information on resource utilization readily."With concerted efforts by all our colleagues, we have delivered remarkable results over the past few years. In addition to conducting research on an ongoing basis, we will also devote ourselves to nurturing the next generation of Taiwanese scientists," Dr. Pen said. Finally, he concluded that the powerful performance of AMD EPYC processors and the corresponding technical services will help ASIAA achieve this vision, and become a leading astronomical research institution in the world.ASIAA Associate Research Fellow Dr. Min-Kai Lin (left) and Director Dr. Ue-Li Pen (right)Photo: AMD

Wolfspeed today announced the company will be supplying Silicon Carbide devices to power future Mercedes-Benz Electric Vehicle (EV) platforms, enabling greater efficiency in the powertrain. Wolfspeed's semiconductors will be incorporated into next generation powertrain systems for several Mercedes-Benz vehicle lines."Coming from a long-term technical collaboration history between our companies, we have now chosen Wolfspeed as one of our key partners for future Silicon Carbide devices, thus securing preferred long-term supply, technology and quality of this decisive semiconductor component for our electrification offensive," said Dr. Gunnar Güthenke, Head of Procurement and Supplier Quality for Mercedes-Benz.As a leader in luxury vehicles, Mercedes-Benz understands the need for superior performance. By leveraging Wolfspeed's expertise and Silicon Carbide devices to improve vehicle range and power, Mercedes-Benz plans to have some of the most efficient EVs on the road."We are pleased to be supporting Mercedes-Benz, an organization with a long, successful history of providing world-class performance and luxury vehicles, as they introduce next-generation EVs to the market with highly efficient power systems," said Gregg Lowe, CEO of Wolfspeed. "We are continuing to invest in our manufacturing capacity to support a steepening demand curve for Silicon Carbide devices that will not only improve EV performance and drive greater consumer adoption, but also support the sustainability efforts of global automotive leaders like Mercedes-Benz."The Silicon Carbide power devices for Mercedes-Benz will be produced at Wolfspeed's facilities in Durham, North Carolina and its new 200mm Mohawk Valley Fab in Marcy, New York. This Mohawk Valley Fab is the world's largest Silicon Carbide fabrication facility and is dramatically expanding Wolfspeed's production capacity. Earlier this year Wolfspeed also announced it was beginning construction on a new Silicon Carbide materials facility in North Carolina, which will expand its Silicon Carbide capacity by more than 10x.

Founded in 2015, WeMo Scooter provides new transportation alternatives to city dwellers by embracing visions of sharing economy, green energy, and environmental conservation. Having previously studied abroad and worked at international corporations, Mr. Jeffrey Wu, founder and Vice Chairman of WeMo Scooter, pointed out that, compared with countries such as Israel, the startup environment in Taiwan has its unique environmental factors but shows no major discrepancies. However, the key to the variance in startup performance can be found in execution.To an entrepreneur, having a vision is everything. By upholding its intention to "make city living more wonderful," for the past seven years, WeMo has been committed to enhancing the utilization of electric scooters, reducing idle vehicles in cities, reducing global air pollution with green energy, and making more public space available in cities via its real-time electric scooter rental services.Mr. Wu wishes that the government can formulate clear policies and directions for the development of the country for the next five to ten years. At the same time, he also wants the government to pay more attention to the development of digital economy industry other than high-tech sectors such as semiconductors, information and communications technology (ICT), and wafer production. He believes that the development of startups would certainly benefit if the government could provide clearer guiding principles.Currently, the incentives, investments, and policies of the Taiwanese government for the entrepreneurial industry are mostly provided on an "equal shares for all" basis. Nevertheless, such diversified strategy also detracts from the effective use of manpower, materials, resources, and funding, as it offers very limited benefits to startups that are widely involved in many industries. Mr. Wu believes that the government needs to take a step further and change their mindsets when it comes to supporting the development of startups. Rather than "equal shares for all", the government could set an overall objective for every five to ten years, during which it would work toward developing a new economy, and thereby promoting the overall prospects of the new economy.Speaking of partnerships between corporates and startups, Mr. Wu believes that since the common practice tended to focus on hard skills in the past, startups must focus on their soft skills and data analytical skills if they wanted to foster a partnership with corporates. Take WeMo Scooter for instance. Over the past six years, data collected by its mobile vehicles is one-of-a-kind. On top of information concerning its riders, WeMo Scooter has also acquired data on movements, including movements from one place to another, transportation trails within cities, and mobile transportation data of its users.Soft skills and data analytical skills can help make a startup irreplaceable. Mr. Wu emphasized that WeMo Scooter hopes to achieve even better performance in terms of data acquisition in the future, such as collecting more data related to cities. Such data will range from cityscape, gases, oscillation, to temperature, humidity and more. It will collaborate with regional governments, which can plan city management measures ahead based on such data. On top of reducing the occurrence of accidents, such as the gas explosion in Kaohsiung, it can also help cities engage in long-term development planning, thereby improving the cityscape.As for fluctuations in the capital market in 2022, Mr. Wu believes that the most important thing to founders of startups is to "stabilize cash flows". Since the venture capital environment in Taiwan has always been more conservative than the international market, founders must plan ahead to stabilize their cash flows when dealing with economic recessions and market downturn.In addition to fluctuations in the capital market, it is also undeniable that the disastrous COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect the business development of startups in various industries. As for potential scenarios of global expansion, Mr. Wu expressed that his company is looking for different possible avenues. Nevertheless, what remains unchanged is WeMo's belief in integrating the soft and hard skills of Taiwan to continuously spread the vision of "making city living more wonderful" from the corners of Taiwan to different cities throughout the world.Readers can download " 2022 Taiwan Startup Ecosystem Survey" jointly conducted by PwC Taiwan, TIER and DIGITIMES: https://www.pwc.tw/en/publications/taiwan-startup-ecosystem-survey.html

The implementation of smart technologies is one of the most important trends in the automotive industry. As a technology hub, Taiwan is among the world leaders in both technology and services, and many manufacturers are taking advantage of Taiwan's strengths to capture an even greater market share. However, vehicle safety standards are very strict, and industry regulations are constantly being updated. Mr. Allan Tseng, Vice President of Reliability Engineering Division of Integrated Service Technology Inc. (iST) therefore advises manufacturers in Taiwan to closely follow the developments of standard-setting organizations in order to gain customer recognition and secure more orders.The adoption of smart technologies in the automotive industry is already in full swing, and the popularity of the advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) continues to grow. After observing the market development, Mr. Tseng points out that Level 2 driving automation has become the vehicle standard in the past two years. A Level 2 vehicle is still controlled by the driver. Nevertheless, its systems actively monitor the environment through various means. They also provide some level of driving assistance, such as collision avoidance, adaptive cruise control, and lane departure warning, which are all basic functions currently.While the transition from partial driving automation of Level 2 to conditional driving automation of Level 3 is indeed trending, Mr. Tseng believes that whether Level 3 vehicles can hit the road depends largely on external infrastructure and government regulations. From a technical perspective, Level 2 vehicles have already matured. Vehicle development per se does not make the transition to Level 3 difficult. However, conditional driving automation requires the incorporation of three environmental factors: people, vehicles, and roads. Therefore, it requires a much larger scope of consideration. Mr. Tseng further analyzes that in Level 2, various functions are focusing on the vehicle itself. This allows automakers to control the development process themselves. As a result, the market is evolving relatively quickly. However, Level 3 involves environments both inside and outside the vehicle. Infrastructure catering to driving automation in the surrounding environment must be in place. At the same time, legislation must also be revised. Therefore, the development process is not solely dependent on manufacturers. Before the industry can make further progress, the relevant infrastructure and legislation must first catch up.While waiting for more favorable external conditions, the automotive and electronics industries have not been slowing down. They continue to invest significant resources to enhance the capabilities of automotive systems. Standard-setting organizations also proceed with updating regulations to improve road safety for the public and provide a more comprehensive framework for the industry to follow.Currently, key standards for the automotive market include IATF 16949 for quality assurance in automotive production, ISO 26262 for functional safety of electrical and electronic systems in road vehicles, VDA 6.3 for quality control systems in the automotive supply chain, and various specifications developed by the Automotive Electronics Council (AEC). Mr. Tseng emphasizes that AEC specifications, which have become the common and fundamental standards for the automotive industry, are particularly relevant to automotive products developed by manufacturers in Taiwan. Therefore, the industry needs to pay more attention to the way standards are developed, as well as details and changes of these standards.At present, AEC has developed six standards for five types of automotive electronic components or modules. Among which are AEC-Q100 (for integrated circuits), AEC-Q101 (for discrete components), AEC-Q102 (for discrete optoelectronic LED components), AEC-Q104 (for multi-chip modules [MCMs] or systems-in-package MCMs) and AEC-Q200 (for passive components). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the development of AEC standards has slowed down in the last two years. Nonetheless, the pace will pick up again in the post-pandemic era. Mr. Tseng predicts that standards for board level products, silicon carbide (SiC) components and touch screens will all be announced in 2023.Formulating specifications for board level products could simplify the market. In the past, vendors had to design their products to meet the varying standards of each Tier 1 customer. However, standards set by AEC will share a common framework. Manufacturers of board level products can use this framework as a foundation and add specific features required by Tier 1 vendors to optimize design costs and scheduling. SiC, which features high voltage withstanding, low on-resistance, and low switching losses, is considered the next-generation automotive power devices. According to market research firm, TrendForce, the shipment value of SiC will exceed US$1 billion in 2022, and soar to US$3.9 billion by 2026. AEC is likely to introduce the corresponding standards for the new generation SiC power devices as well. For touch screens, new standards will set detailed requirements in terms of their reliability, as they are an important human-machine interface of automotive systems.iST offers a comprehensive range of consulting and certification services in the field of automotive electronics standards. The company has also become a member of AEC in 2022. There are currently 93 AEC members worldwide, with only nine in Taiwan. iST is the sole independent third-party laboratory in Asia accredited by AEC. According to Mr. Tseng, the AEC membership of iST will bring three major benefits to the automotive component manufacturers in Taiwan. First, iST will be able to stay on top of the dynamics of standard development and help its customers stay ahead of the curve. Second, iST will be able to understand the nature and mechanisms of the standard development process. This will enable automotive component manufacturers in meeting the requirements of these standards and obtain certifications more quickly. Third, iST can serve as a platform between AEC and the automotive component manufacturers in Taiwan, relaying requests of manufacturers during the standard development process. Meanwhile, AEC can also communicate its philosophy on standard development through iST.Mr. Tseng concludes by noting that iST has been heavily involved in automotive electronics for many years, providing consulting, verification, and certification services ranging from semiconductors, modules to vehicles in their entirety. For this service system, iST not only focuses on semiconductor consulting and verification, but has also formed a strategic alliance with DEKRA, a world-renowned third-party professional testing and certification organization. In addition to vehicle inspection, DEKRA has joined forces with iST to establish DEKRA iST, to specialize in reliability verification of automotive modules and systems. By joining AEC, one-stop services offered by iST will become even more comprehensive. In the future, the company will continue to strengthen its capabilities in various areas to help its customers, i.e., the automotive component manufacturers in Taiwan, improve their competitiveness.Mr. Allan Tseng, Vice President of Reliability Engineering Division of Integrated Service Technology Inc. (iST) pointed out that after becoming a member of AEC at the end of 2022, the one-stop service of iST has become increasingly comprehensive, which is able to assist clients in Taiwan to make preparation ahead of the curve by entering and securing the automotive market.

In its early days, Top Taiwan Venture Capital mostly focused on investing in enterprises in their expansion and mature stages, as well as in electronic technology industries. It has successfully completed a dozen venture capital (VC) fundraising based on its past investment performance. Its shareholders included major finance and insurance businesses in Taiwan, as well as corporate shareholders including Chunghwa Telecom, Inventec, ELAN Microelectronics, and SINBON Electronics. By building a well-rounded VC platform and ecosystem, Top Taiwan strives to realize its vision in developing and investing the Taiwan market, and leading Taiwan toward future transformations and challenges.On top of being optimistic about the continued expansion of the semiconductor industry, Top Taiwan mostly factors in Taiwan's extension of core strengths, as well as solutions to the human race's current and upcoming major challenges when making investments. Therefore, in terms of sustainable energy, Top Taiwan has included electric vehicle technologies and the relevant components into its portfolio. Top Taiwan has also expanded into bicycle manufacturing, which is one of Taiwan's core strengths. Bicycles are one of the few products that Taiwan has complete autonomy over—from proprietary brands, global sales channels, to manufacturing and production. Furthermore, bicycles with a traditional mechanical structure can be upgraded to electric bicycles by integrating electronic components and batteries, thereby presenting higher value-added. They are ideal investment targets that focus on upgrading Taiwan's competitive industries, and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues since they take into account many functions ranging from environmental protection, sports, health, to recreation.In addition, since challenges facing the human race for its current and future developments include severe climate change, sustainable energy is another issue that we must focus on. Of which, areas that deserve our attention include solar power, wind power, hydrogen, and energy storage, circular investments, and waste recycling and reuse. These are all development projects worthy of investments.Meanwhile, the demand for medical, healthcare, and sports has also increased due to an aging population around the world. Moreover, food shortages caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic and climate change will drive new demand for pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, tests, and agricultural technology. These are all new areas that Taiwanese startups can explore.Mr. Tsung-Liang Yang from Top Taiwan suggested that in dealing with the next wave of industry transformation, Taiwan must begin by strengthening its pool of international talents. As such, Taiwan also needs to provide sufficient incentives to attract talents to either return from overseas, or to recruit foreigners to work in Taiwan. Over the past few decades, the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) has played an important role in the development of Taiwan's electronic technology and advanced manufacturing industries. As Taiwan embarks on an era of digital economy, an institution of similar gravity should also be formed to drive the development of digital economy in Taiwan. Mr. Yang hopes that the Ministry of Digital Affairs will play a similar role as ITRI did in the past.Nowadays, although Taiwan is currently planning to develop its software and digital economy industries, it has not tailored its development to follow major new-generation software and networking players such as Google, Meta, Amazon, Adobe, Salesforce, or Netflix closely. Taiwan should integrate efforts from the government and private enterprises to connect Taiwanese startup teams to these IT giants that have emerged in the past two decades, so as to re-establish Taiwan as an indispensable player in the global digital industry chain.Startup teams are currently confronted with challenges including a drastic cooldown of global tech stocks, and a credit squeeze brought forth by a rapid interest hike to curb inflation, all of which affect the funding of startup teams. Nevertheless, resource constraints often inspire greater creativity and more productive executions. Top Taiwan has proposed the following three recommendations for the fundraising efforts of startup teams amid such economic climate:1. Startup teams should continue to optimize their products and services to make sure that customers are willing to pay. They also need to get back to the true nature of commerce, which is to find business models that generate liquidity quickly.2. Startup teams need to be very clear of their core products. All non-core products should be discarded.3. The purpose of fundraising for a startup is not merely to get through these tough times, but also to strengthen investments in its core products and to widen its competitive edge over its competitors."If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together." Top Taiwan Venture Capital hopes to become a steadfast partner that offers the strongest support for entrepreneurs. By making investment, it wishes to help Taiwanese entrepreneurs who will lead future transformations, and thereby nurturing world-class Taiwanese enterprises.Readers can download '2022 Taiwan Startup Ecosystem Survey' jointly conducted by PwC Taiwan, TIER and DIGITIMES: https://www.pwc.tw/en/publications/taiwan-startup-ecosystem-survey.html