The National Applied Research Laboratories (NARL) on Thursday held an event to match businesses and technology innovators and gave a presentation showcasing the work of 20 research teams from across the nation, with NARL saying the event was a good opportunity for young entrepreneurs to access capital.
The event, the second of its kind this year, was overseen by the Ministry of Science and Technology and held as part of the fourth “From IP to IPO” (from intellectual property to initial public offering) project aiming to encourage researchers to begin startups and help them market their ideas.
The event was attended by 19 research teams — whose inventions stood out from those of 20 others during the first round of the competition — and attracted more that 30 “angel investors” — venture capital companies that invest in startups in exchange for part ownership or convertible bonds.
The teams’ projects were mainly concerned with three fields: biotechnology and medicine; new electronic technology; and cloud-based services and applications, according to NARL.
Tumor Cell Hunter, one of the teams showcasing innovations, said its technology is a cutting-edge cancer cell dialysis method called “negative selection,” which is used in its PowerMag system.
With the system, the company has been able to consistently and continually dialyse cancer cells from blood samples, it said.
The invention would help oncologists find tumors at an early stage and monitor development during treatment, thereby increasing the chances of curing their patients, it added.
Meridian Technology was also a participant with its Next Generation Intelligent Vehicle Safety System, which uses a high-tech steering wheel cover fitted with a micro-electrocardiogram that determines a driver’s biological data, then transmits them via Bluetooth to their smartphones for analysis.
A compatible app would then issue a warning to the driver if the analyses found irregularities such as sudden changes in heart rate, a low blood oxygen count or excessive alcohol content.
Depending on the conditions, the app would guide the driver to the nearest hospital or a rest stop, play soothing music, or call one of the driver’s contacts to inform them of potential danger.
According to the research team, the invention greatly helps to reduce car accidents caused by alcohol or fatigue.
The company currently has capital of approximately NT$550,000 but hopes to increase that by more than 10 times to NT$6.6 million (US$217,400) by June next year by seeking funding from investors.
Hung Tzu-jung (洪梓容), a NARL employee who is on the From IP to IPO project, said the 19 contenders would need to go through another round, which would cut down the number of teams to four to six. The last teams to remain in the competition would each be given a bursary of NT$2 million which is granted by the ministry and a number of the nation’s business leaders, Hung said.
The teams that make it to the final stage are to receive training from lecturers in related industries and have access to accounting and patent review officials from the Intellectual Property Office, who are to assist them making financial plans and acquiring international patents, she said.
She said that the program, introduced in March last year, has recieved more than NT$70 million in private-sector investment.
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