TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Google is expanding its Project Hatcher initiative in Taiwan, offering up to NT$11 million (US$350,000) in Google Cloud credits and broader technical and international support to help local AI ventures commercialize and scale globally, the company said Monday.
Project Hatcher enters its third cohort, combining Google Cloud credits, AI expert guidance, and connections to more than 20 partners across industry, government, academia, and research, according to Google's Official Blog. The program aims to help teams overcome technical and cost barriers and turn AI into market-ready products while linking them to overseas capital and customers.
Yu Chung-ning (余忠寧), head of startup ventures in the Greater China area, said that since 2021, the program has pooled cross-sector resources to build a more robust and supportive startup ecosystem in Taiwan. Yu said Taiwan’s startups have strong technical and innovative capacity but need greater support at key growth stages to compete internationally.
Yu added that converting AI concepts into commercial products brings dual challenges in technology and cost, from early-stage computing burdens and architectural design to scaling pressures later on. Each stage can become a growth bottleneck if not addressed.
To ease those constraints, Google is providing up to NT$11 million in Google Cloud credits for model training and agentic AI development, alongside courses on overseas scaling and ad optimization to help startups internationalize their brands. The company also seeks to facilitate connections with global venture capital and multinational clients.
Google will continue acting as a long-term partner to Taiwan’s startup ecosystem, bringing international resources and opportunities to help local AI teams find clear paths to deployment and expansion, per CNA.
