The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) has invested NT$1.4 billion (US$47.62 million) of public and private investments into semiconductor research to strengthen the Taiwanese medicine and agriculture sectors, it told the Cabinet in a progress report yesterday.
The investments were part of a policy to leverage the nation’s chipmaking capabilities to spur industrial innovation and upgrades, NSTC Deputy Minister Chen Bing-yu (陳炳宇) told a post-Cabinet meeting news conference in Taipei.
The semiconductor innovation program is key to implementing President William Lai’s (賴清德) agenda to spur the growth of an artificial intelligence (AI) industry and improve healthcare in Taiwan, he cited Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) as saying.
Photo courtesy of the Executive Yuan
The NSTC has facilitated academic and industry cooperation in chip design, the products of which remain in the initial stages of research and development since the program’s launch 18 months ago, Chen said.
The semiconductor research policy is a five-year plan and the government expects to allocate another NT$100 million to it next year, he said.
The investments added NT$100 million of value to the sectors targeted by the policy, Chen said.
The NSTC-funded chip research would be used in medical implants for treating Parkinson’s disease, gene tests for cancer, early detection tests for atrial fibrillation, tests for pests and plant diseases, and autonomous agricultural robots for greenhouses and poultry farms, he said.
Office of Science and Technology Policy Deputy Executive Director Lu Pei-jung (呂佩融) said the council’s role in the policy is to support semiconductor research and development.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs is developing the platforms on which the chips would be used, such as genetic sequencing technology and medical implants, he said.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Health and Welfare are tasked with establishing certification systems, professional education and easing the introduction of new technologies in the applicable fields, he said.
The government has more than 30 corporate and 20 academic partners involved in the semiconductor innovation plan, officials said.
The next phase of the initiative would focus on certifying and applying the novel technologies that had materialized, they said, adding that the step is crucial for the national policy to introduce AI throughout the economy.
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