U.S. chip giant Qualcomm Inc. opened an innovation center in Taipei Monday (March 10) to promote the development of a startup ecosystem in Taiwan and deepen the company's collaboration with Taiwan.
Qualcomm Taiwan President S.T. Liew (劉思泰) and Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Hsu Yu-chin (許有進) attended the opening ceremony of the Qualcomm Innovation Center, Taiwan.
The center will be used as the base for the Qualcomm Innovate in Taiwan Challenge (QITC), a contest and incubation project that has been well-received by the startup community, according to the company.
Liu said the design of the center is different from ordinary labs and is devised to provide a public space for startup teams to discuss solutions to problems and inspire creativity and innovation.
The center, equipped with labs, will offer startup teams an environment for product development, measurement and debugging. It also comprises different styles of conference rooms and work spaces that can be used for holding seminars on top-end technology and startup operations, as well as intellectual property rights and patent management.
It will facilitate exchanges of innovations in which members of the startup community can contribute their expertise, according to information provided by the company.
Liu would not disclose how much money has been invested in the center, saying only that Qualcomm will provide not only technical assistance to Taiwan's startup teams but also training courses in finance and intellectual property rights.
Meanwhile, Hsu said, the Ministry of Science and Technology will provide support in the areas of talent, techniques, marketing and capital in the hope of establishing an innovative research and development system in Taiwan. He also expressed gratitude to Qualcomm for its support of the development of the system.
The second Qualcomm Innovate in Taiwan Challenge, which supports the development of Taiwan's startup ecosystem by identifying and nurturing innovative, new small and medium-sized companies and products, is accepting submissions until late March.
The preliminary selection of submissions has been scheduled for April and the final selection will be carried out in November.