Taiwan Incubator (TI, 台灣孵化器) was established to improve the success rate of start-ups, which is currently at 1 percent, TI chief Jack Lin Ying-chieh (林英杰) said at a launch ceremony on Friday.
Speaking at the Central Taiwan Science Park (中部科學園區), Lin said that despite the number of Taiwanese entrepreneurs increasing every year, the survival rate of start-ups is very low.
Citing statistics from the Small and Medium Enterprise Administration, Lin said that 99 percent of Taiwanese start-ups fail within the first five years.
Common problems start-ups face are a lack of funding and support, government red tape and general skepticism, Lin said.
TI, which was established by start-up organizations and local universities, will focus on cultivating seed-stage start-ups, he said.
It will invest in several emerging companies twice a year and offer them counseling and support, he added.
As the nation’s first self-funded investment incubator, TI not only helps start-ups in a semi-charitable way, but also tries to make early investments, Chaoyang University of Technology (CYUT) vice president Yang Wen-goang (楊文廣) said.
The nation has other start-up incubators, for which the government provides free mentoring and workspace, in addition to investment funds.
Apart from offering consultations and advice, TI is also to provide legal, management, financial and fundraising services to help improve the start-up survival rate, CYUT Office of Industry-Academia Collaboration deputy director Liu Su-chuan (劉素娟) said.
TI was cofounded by the Taiwan Business Incubators Alliance (TBIA, 台灣創新育成聯盟), Feng Chia University, CYUT and Taiwan Accelerator (台灣創速), which invests in emerging businesses at the seed stage.
Separately, the National Applied Research Laboratories (NARLabs) on Saturday established an artificial intelligence (AI) alliance in Kaohsiung to create a platform for businesses, government officials and academics to work together to develop the AI industry.
Speaking at the launch ceremony, NARLabs vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) said he hopes the industry-academia alliance would help bring the nation’s AI industry to the global stage.
Taiwan’s advanced technology and its comprehensive supply chain of services can develop greater potential though the power of AI, Chen said.
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