On January 13th (Monday), the Taiwan Silicon Valley Startup Base was grandly unveiled in Palo Alto. The Chairman of the National Development Council, Liu Ching-ching, expressed hope to attract 2,000 professional talents to return to Taiwan, and to connect with thousands of community partners within the year to assist hundreds of Taiwan startup teams in accessing Silicon Valley resources.
Taiwan Silicon Valley Startup Base (Startup Island Taiwan Silicon Valley Hub) is Taiwan’s second overseas startup base and an international professional talent recruitment center. In September of last year, the National Development Council established the first overseas startup base in Tokyo, Japan.
The event on that day attracted over 300 participants, including representatives from American companies like Google and Qualcomm, Japanese entities such as JETRO and Japan Innovation Campus, as well as global associations like the Silicon Valley Technology Association, TSMC, Delta Electronics, and various Taiwan startups.
During the opening ceremony, Chairman Liu Ching-ching shared Taiwan’s global leading positions in the semiconductor and artificial intelligence fields, and discussed the importance and objectives of establishing the Silicon Valley base. He highlighted that Taiwan leads globally in the semiconductor and AI sectors, with 90% of AI servers and 87% of motherboards manufactured in Taiwan. The latest models of NVIDIA, for instance, are predominantly manufactured in Taiwan, from heat dissipation to assembly.
Moreover, he mentioned that while the global startup fundraising amount in 2023 declined by nearly 40% compared to the previous year, Taiwan’s startup fundraising saw a counter-growth of nearly 10%, reaching $2.8 billion, an all-time high. The goal is to achieve annual growth of 20% and reach a $5 billion startup fundraising goal by 2027.
He stated that Taiwan is actively promoting the “Bridge Project” to connect high-quality startup teams to the global market. The Silicon Valley base is an integral part of this project and will serve as a crucial platform connecting Taiwan with the Silicon Valley entrepreneurship community.
Through the Silicon Valley Startup Base, high-quality Taiwanese startups can be introduced to Silicon Valley, creating more partnership opportunities and helping Silicon Valley investors better understand Taiwan’s innovative technology and investment options, thereby aiding Taiwan in becoming Asia’s Silicon Valley. It is hoped that within a year, the base will connect with over a thousand community partners and assist at least a hundred startups in accessing local Silicon Valley companies and venture capital resources.
He mentioned that Taiwan is flourishing, offering numerous quality job options. Salaries for senior talents can reach up to NT$50-100 million, with positions paying over NT$5 million annually being abundant. Companies like NVIDIA, AMD, Micron, Google, and Taiwan’s Delta Electronics already provide thousands of high-paying positions in Taiwan. The aim is to attract at least 2,000 professional talents back to Taiwan.
Furthermore, he highlighted that the cost of living in Taiwan is comparatively low. For example, a breakfast with coffee and a sandwich in Taiwan costs around NT$100, while abroad, it might add up to five to six hundred NT dollars, a price difference of up to five times. Despite comparable incomes, expenses in Taiwan are significantly lower. Additionally, Taiwan has a comprehensive healthcare system, allowing returning overseas talents to not only focus on their careers but also take care of their parents, all while enjoying a high-quality living environment, making it an ideal development choice.
Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in San Francisco Director, Lai Ming-chi, mentioned that over 75% of startups ultimately fail, thus the government actively supports Taiwan’s startup industry, including dispatching teams for overseas training and establishing startup centers. The newly inaugurated Taiwan Silicon Valley Entrepreneurship Base aims to assist Taiwan startup teams, providing them with a sense of home in Silicon Valley.
During the opening ceremony, Dennis Liu, CEO of Startup Island TAIWAN Silicon Valley Base, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Sibyl Chen, General Manager of Berkeley SkyDeck accelerator, to deepen the connection of Taiwan-US innovation resources.
Dennis Liu stated that the base aims to link Taiwan’s innovation with Silicon Valley resources, promote cross-border cooperation, support Taiwan startup teams and companies in entering the international market, and attract Silicon Valley capital to flow into Taiwan. This effort will facilitate the expansion and financing of Taiwan’s startup ecosystem, collaborate with local academic and corporate partners, and enhance Taiwan’s position in global new technology fields.
General Manager Sibyl Chen mentioned that Skydeck is dedicated to nurturing startup teams, accommodating over 250 teams annually, with over 1,800 having undergone accelerator and incubator programs. They have also hosted over thirty Taiwan startup teams.
She added that by the end of 2023, UC Berkeley was recognized as the university creating the most venture capital-funded startup companies worldwide, with over 510,000 alumni. Leveraging this robust alumni network effectively supports startup teams, and they hope to see more Taiwan teams joining in the future.
Subsequently, Liu Ching-ching personally presented the Employment Gold Card to David Lam, Senior Advisor of Asian investment platform BRV Capital, and Mark Birch, former Global Entrepreneurship Advocate for Amazon Web Services (AWS).
The National Development Council stated that Startup Island TAIWAN US Silicon Valley Startup Base (SV Hub) will provide startup facilities including co-working spaces, meeting rooms, event spaces, professional consultations, and landing services to establish a two-way bridge between Taiwan and Silicon Valley’s innovation ecosystems, welcoming all sectors to make extensive use of these facilities.