TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Industrial Development Administration said that it approved subsidies between January and October for 28 chip and IC design projects from 33 Taiwanese companies, with total funding reaching NT$1.3 billion (US$42 million), CNA reported.
At a press conference on Tuesday, the administration said the program, launched last year, is expected to draw participation from 250 related companies and generate nearly NT$36 billion in output value. The chips developed under the initiative will be applied in fields such as AI, automotive electronics, robotics, drones, smart wearables, and satellite communications. The subsidy is set to rise to NT$2 billion next year.
Huang Sen-huang (黃森煌), chair of PixArt Imaging, one of the subsidy recipients, said the company will develop Taiwan’s first infrared thermal and high-dynamic-range imaging chips for drones. The project aims to challenge US and European dominance in high-end thermal sensors and boost Taiwan’s smart sensing and drone R&D.
PixArt is also developing germanium optical lens technology to tackle challenges such as vacuum packaging and thermal correction. Over the next decade, this is expected to significantly reduce costs and could be applied to military aircraft and consumer electronics.
Jmem Tek, another subsidy recipient, said the cybersecurity sector is moving toward algorithm optimization and aims to advance quantum-safe technologies by 2030. The company will use the subsidy to scale from R&D to mass production and collaborate with domestic semiconductor companies to develop AI inference chips with post-quantum encryption.
The company said that it has integrated post-quantum cryptography technology into its chips, which have entered the US semiconductor supply chain and are being used by government agencies in several countries. The chips are primarily applied in the drone and defense sectors to ensure the security of communications and algorithms.
The administration added that some of the 28 approved subsidy projects have expanded into modular and application development, showing that domestic companies are moving toward complete system solutions. The agency also supports mass production of high-end chips and helps companies combine complex technologies into a single chip for easier use in communication devices and consumer products.
