TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Canadian AI company Caseway has partnered with Taiwanese hardware firm MiTAC Advance Technology to develop an AI-powered threat identification and response system.
“You can think of MiTAC as the eyes, and we’re the judgment layer on top,” Caseway Founder and CEO Al Vigier told Taiwan News. “They’re pulling in information, and we’re the intelligence on top of that.”
Vigier describes Caseway as a sovereign AI company, meaning its systems are built so that sensitive data never leaves the country it operates in. He said tools like the US’ ChatGPT or China’s DeepSeek are unsuitable for defense applications because data is routed through foreign servers.
“Once it’s in a database, it’s accessible by them,” he said, adding that Caseway plans to build dedicated servers in Taiwan to support its local operations.
Synthium is a validate-and-govern decision platform. It combines multi-source sensor data, produces a recommendation with confidence, and logs an audit trail the decision-maker can defend afterward, Vigier explained.
A key focus is counter-unmanned aircraft systems. With China so close, Vigier said Taiwan faces short decision windows. He compared the challenge to the September 11 attacks in the US, where warning signs existed but could not be acted on in time. He said Taiwan has to be ready for quick decisions.
The system also covers maritime drone awareness, using sonar to detect submarines and unmanned underwater vehicles. Vigier noted Taiwan’s vulnerability after undersea cables were cut in 2023, disrupting internet access for weeks. He said distinguishing between fishermen and hostile threats in real time is a challenge the technology aims to address.
Vigier said Taiwanese companies are attractive partners because of their strengths in hardware and willingness to move quickly on new technologies. Looking ahead, he said Taiwan’s technological prominence is drawing more international companies to engage with it directly, regardless of its limited diplomatic recognition.
“The more valuable Taiwan becomes in terms of being experts in hardware, people are going to choose Taiwan over China,” he said. “That’s where Taiwan needs to go.”
