i3 - March/April 2019 - 12

By Mark Chisholm

Uber Taiwan to
Aid Taiwanese
Startups

I N T E R N AT I O N A L FO C US

TAIWAN

The Taiwan Ministry of
Science and Technology
(MoST) has tapped Uber
Taiwan as a partner in MoST's
Taiwan Tech Arena (TTA), a
platform for growing startups.
As part of the partnership,
Uber will share information
related to artificial intelligence (AI) and self-driving
vehicles with the goal of
strengthening Taiwanese
startups and growing the
tech talent pool in Taiwan.

Taiwanese Researchers
Unveil World's Smallest
AI Chip
Researchers from the National
Taiwan Normal University have
unveiled the world's smallest AI
chip. The chip, measuring just
0.7 centimeters square, features a "deep-learning convolutional network," according to
the researchers, and is considered an "edge AI chip" that can
be built into main boards for
various applications.

BACKPAIX, one of
the startups featured from MoST.

MoST Brings
44 Taiwanese
Startups to
CES 2019

TAIWAN HOSTS 5G WORKING
GROUP MEETING
Taiwan recently hosted a five-day meeting of the 3rd
Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) for the fifth
consecutive year. More than 350 representatives
from roughly 150 technology companies including
AT&T, Intel, Nokia and Samsung attended the summit looking to establish technical standards for 5G.
In addition to standards development, the summit
gave industry the chance to urge government leaders to update regulations surrounding 5G to prepare for the technology's effect on industries such
as self-driving vehicles and health care.

The Taiwan Ministry of
Science and Technology
(MoST) brought 44
Taiwanese companies to
CES 2019, leading to
NT$5.5 billion new
Taiwan dollars (about
U.S. $180 million) in business opportunities,
according to Minister
Chen Liang-Gee. At the
Taiwan Tech Arena, companies focused on areas
such as AI, health care,
wearables and IoT.
Deputy Minister Yu-Chin
Hsu pointed to the fact
that eight Taiwanese
companies won CES
2019 Innovation Awards.
"All of these awards are
for innovation that makes
a meaningful difference
in the lives of people that
we in the technology
industry serve," he said.

Chailease to Invest Heavily in Solar
Chailease, a financial company based in Taiwan, announced plans to invest NT$10
billion - roughly U.S. $325 million - to increase solar power production in Taiwan.
Over the past five years, Chailease has invested NT$20 billion in solar power production. The solar investments will be in Southern Taiwan Science Park and Hsinchu.
According to Chailease, the newest solar facility will produce 1.3 million kilowatts
per hour of electricity, reducing carbon emissions by roughly 725 metric tons.
12

MARCH/APRIL 2019

I T I S I N N O VAT I O N

Map: Peter Furian/Alamy. Solar Panels: Ryan King/Getty Images. Backpack: Courtesy of Paix.

Tech

i3 - March/April 2019

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