Microsoft Corp yesterday said it aims to help foster 40 local start-ups within three years of the launch of its first accelerator program in Taiwan, which is to focus on artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.
It is the latest move by the US software giant to scale up its global accelerator program by supporting local start-ups and providing an opportunity for them to become a part of Microsoft’s ecosystem.
The company has launched similar accelerator programs in Beijing, Shanghai and London, among other cities.
“Our goal is to help Taiwan quicken its pace in fostering next-generation start-ups via this platform. We can help reduce risks for Taiwanese start-up companies and help them take off,” Microsoft Taiwan Corp general manger Ken Sun (孫基康) told a media briefing.
Microsoft would introduce about 10 to 15 local start-ups into the accelerator program in its first round, Sun said.
New start-ups would be joining the program every four months via a selection process, he said.
The company would help selected start-ups with technology and mentoring, and provide legal and financial consulting services, as well as access to global marketplaces or partners, Microsoft said.
Microsoft usually selects start-ups valued at US$5 million to participate in its accelerator programs, but the criteria would be eased in Taiwan, given the nation’s smaller market.
As local manufacturers are keen on upgrading their factories by using AI technologies to reduce costs and overcome labor shortages, it is likely that local start-ups will come up with innovative ideas to address the issues, Microsoft Accelerator director Peter Hu (胡德民) told the news conference.
“Launching an initial public offering is not the only road that start-ups can take. Those start-ups can leverage Microsoft’s technologies, and its local partnerships and ecosystems to grow,” Hu said. “We hope to help local start-up teams to find their own formulas to success.”
Microsoft said it would not take any shares in the start-ups accepted into its accelerator program, nor would it send representatives to intervene in their operations.
Microsoft has worked with local start-up Smasoft Technology Co (偲倢科技) to develop a technology to find flaws in manufacturing processes and to create a smart supply chain using Microsoft’s Azure Machine Learning technology, which was demonstrated at the news conference.
The US company also showcased an air pollution monitoring system for smart cities it developed in collaboration with Tricorntech Corp (創控科技), established in 2013, using Microsoft’s Azure IoT Hub technology.
Microsoft said it has established an AI research and development center, and an Internet of Things innovation center in Taiwan to help local companies embrace the “Industry 4.0” era.
Taiwan’s foreign exchange reserves fell below the US$600 billion mark at the end of last month, with the central bank reporting a total of US$596.89 billion — a decline of US$8.6 billion from February — ending a three-month streak of increases. The central bank attributed the drop to a combination of factors such as outflows by foreign institutional investors, currency fluctuations and its own market interventions. “The large-scale outflows disrupted the balance of supply and demand in the foreign exchange market, prompting the central bank to intervene repeatedly by selling US dollars to stabilize the local currency,” Department of Foreign
Intel Corp is joining Elon Musk’s long-shot effort to develop semiconductors for Tesla Inc, Space Exploration Technologies Corp and xAI, marking a surprising twist in the chipmaker’s comeback bid. Intel would help the Terafab project “refactor” the technology in a chip factory, the company said on Tuesday in a post on X, Musk’s social media platform. That is a stage in the development process that typically helps make chips more powerful or reliable. The chipmaker’s shares jumped 4.2 percent to US$52.91 in New York trading on Tuesday. The Terafab project is a grand plan by Musk to eventually manufacture his own chips for
Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電) yesterday said it plans to resume operations at two coal-fired power generators for three months to boost security of electricity supply as liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply risks are running high due to the Middle East conflict. The two coal-fired power generators are at Mailiao Power Plant in Yunlin County’s Mailiao Township (麥寮). The plant, operated by Formosa Plastics Group (台塑集團), supplied electricity to Taipower’s power grid until the end of last year. Taipower’s decision came about one month after Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) on March 10 said that the nation had no imminent
Some robotaxi passengers were left stranded in the middle of fast-moving traffic in a major Chinese city after their driverless vehicles stopped running, according to police and media reports on Wednesday. A preliminary investigation indicates more than 100 robotaxis came to a halt because of a “system malfunction,” police in the city of Wuhan said in a statement, without elaborating. No injuries were reported. One passenger told Chinese media that their robotaxi stopped after turning a corner. An instruction on a screen read: “Driving system malfunction. Staff are expected to arrive in 5 minutes.” After no one showed up, the passenger pushed
RSS