Foxconn Technology Group (富士康) and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (阿里巴巴) yesterday jointly announced a plan to build a start-up incubation base in Hangzhou, China, with the Taiwanese firm to assist start-ups with hardware production and the Chinese company providing cloud-computing services.
“You [start-ups] have a chance to succeed because the environment, infrastructure and the financing resources are far better than 15 years ago,” Alibaba chairman Jack Ma (馬雲) said at the opening of the the Hangzhou YunQi Conference, which was broadcast over the Internet.
More than 3,000 tech start-ups with more than 20,000 developers registered for the two-day cloud-computing conference, according to event organizer, Aibaba’s cloud-unit, Aliyun (阿里雲).
Photo: Bloomberg
Aliyun president Hu Xiaoming (胡曉明) said Alibaba is willing to share its cloud-computing, big-data technologies, third-party payment and logistics with people who are planning to start their own business.
Alexus Chou (周正皓), who is in charge of the incubator program on behalf of Foxconn, said the company has been investing in Hangzhou for more than a decade and now the firm wishes to pave a path for start-ups to be successful.
Chou said the incubator program integrates resources provided by Foxconn, Alibaba, YunQi Cloud Town (雲棲小鎮) and ZBJ Network Inc (豬八戒網).
YunQi Tech Town is a cooperation inked between Foxconn and the Hangzhou City Government in March this year.
According to the agreement, the Taiwanese firm is to help the Hangzhou government build a software and hardware high-tech base in the city.
Chou said more than 300 start-ups visited YunQi Tech Town over the past few months, when the incubator program was still in its trial period.
So far, more than 120 companies have acquired resources for their business, he said.
Foxconn vice president Jacob Chen (陳振國) said the company plans to build a friendly environment so anyone who has creative ideas can join the program.
Chou said Foxconn will assist start-ups to produce sample products, provide supply chains options and manufacture a small amount of products.
In addition, the company is to provide consultation on patent-related matters, he said.
“The program provides a one-stop service for start-ups to manufacture products and deliver goods to consumers,” Chou said.
Apart from the start-up program, the two companies also unveiled enhanced security for data communications through “quantum cryptography,” according to an e-mailed statement.
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