The Ministry of Economic Affairs officialized the successful conclusion of the second annual Best AI Awards, held at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center Hall 2. This year's event witnessed an extraordinary surge in international engagement, drawing 1,487 competing teams from 36 countries across the globe, which represents a near two-fold growth in foreign participation compared to the inaugural edition. Out of 253 finalist teams, 100 awards were presented to recognize exceptional breakthroughs in artificial intelligence technology and integration.
Leading Innovators Secure Top Honors Across Key Industry Verticals
The competition highlighted highly competitive solutions spanning healthcare, information and communications technology, manufacturing, and education. Eight prestigious gold medals were awarded to outstanding organizations and academic institutions, including Delta Electronics, Kneron, BrainNavi Biotechnology, ZenTech, National Cheng Kung University, and National Formosa University, alongside pioneering international teams from Thailand and Poland. These entries showcased the practical implementation of artificial intelligence, bridging advanced research with market-ready products.
Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin. Credit: TCA
Minister Highlights Shift From Hardware Dominance to Practical Industry Deployment
During the ceremony, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin emphasized that while Taiwan maintains a critical global advantage in foundational AI hardware such as semiconductors and servers, the next vital phase involves translating this power into practical applications across all sectors. Under the framework of the government's new major AI infrastructure initiatives, the ministry has established over 50 trial production sites with automated AI capabilities and developed models covering 23 core industries. More than 1,000 consultants have been deployed across the nation to actively assist over 2,600 enterprises in integrating artificial intelligence into their daily operations.
Emerging Tech Trends Shape the Future of Edge and Agentic Intelligence
The second edition successfully guided industrial investments toward the frontier developments of Agentic AI and Edge AI, shifting artificial intelligence from a passive responsive tool to an autonomous partner capable of independent judgment. Driven by strong local integrated circuit design capabilities, more than 430 projects focused on lightweight AI architectures to enable real-time processing directly within terminal devices and industrial machinery. Furthermore, 590 teams integrated open-source environments like GitHub and registered on Crunchbase, significantly elevating the international visibility of the technological ecosystem.
Extended Business Matchmaking Initiatives Showcase Commercial Achievements at COMPUTEX
To foster substantial commercial partnerships, organizers featured a dedicated industry matchmaking zone during the finals to link venture capital with startup resources. This promotional effort extended into the COMPUTEX exhibition period, where exclusive matchmaking sessions successfully showcased the winning projects to connect the teams with international buyers and global investors. The Ministry of Economic Affairs plans to continue opening institutional pilot lines to support design verification, prototyping, and unified system integrations, ensuring businesses can seamlessly implement artificial intelligence without developing systems from scratch.
The Best AI Awards celebrate global excellence in artificial intelligence and IC design, welcoming submissions from innovative companies and brilliant student teams. Following the success of the 2026 edition—advised by the MOEA, organized by DoIT, and executed by TCA—the prestigious competition is officially transitioning into an annual tradition.
Offering substantial grand prizes and unmatched industry exposure, the countdown to Best AI Awards 2027 has already begun. Details on the next submission cycle, prize tiers, and eligibility rules will be released soon. Connect with on LinkedIn for the latest official updates and application alerts.
Group Photo of the Best AI Awards 2026 Winners. Credit: TCA
