Innovation to Industry - i2i, the Taiwanese company that runs the IP2 LaunchPad innovation program for accelerating companies’ entry into the Taiwanese ecosystem, announced that the program will expand into five more nations in view of its success in Israel. The program has recently begun operating in Canada and Australia, on the basis of the Israeli model, and it is expected soon to commence in the UK, the Netherlands, and Sweden. The program operates at the Startup Terrace innovation center, which is supported by the Taiwanese Ministry of Economy’s Small and Medium Sized Enterprises Administration and provides a local center of business operations for the participating companies.
Taiwan has been strengthening its position as a hub for tech companies worldwide as it continues the investment policy that it began implementing in 2018 and experiences positive economic growth while dealing with the coronavirus epidemic, which is having limited influence on the local economy and industry. According to figures published by Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs, in November 2021 Taiwan’s exports grew by 30.2% over the previous year and the global recovery boosted demand in almost every field of the Taiwanese economy. Taiwan’s Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) predicts that the country’s GDP will grow in 2021 and 2022 by 6.09% and 4.15% respectively.
“A year and a half ago or so, when we launched our first program in Israel, I talked about our vision of launching the program in further places around the world, and today I am excited to announce the opening of additional centers of operation. Taiwan is at work consolidating its standing as the hub of East Asian startups, increasing international exposure of the ecosystem, and advancing global projects of cooperation; and by 2023, the Taiwanese government is expected to have invested around one billion dollars to achieve that goal,” said Dr. Gary Gong, chairman of i2i, which founded and administers a technological ecosystem supporting and connecting Taiwan’s stakeholders in innovation and has run Taiwan’s largest software incubator for 21 years now.
“The Taiwanese economy’s handling of the coronavirus epidemic, the predictions of continued growth, and the government’s investment in a plan to turn Taiwan into a hub of innovation and of accelerated entry into the markets of the East all provide Israeli companies with opportunities to participate in Taiwan’s global growth. In recent days, we opened registration for the third cohort of the IP2 LaunchPad program for accelerating the activity of Israeli companies in the Taiwanese ecosystem. Ten companies will be selected into the program, in the fields of digital health, cyber security and renewable energy,” said Rani Shifron, CEO of Israeli consulting firm Healthier Globe, and head of the program in Israel, and representative of i2i.
IP2 LaunchPad had its start in Israel in June 2020, and it has achieved success with both its active cohorts so far. In this past year, its activity expanded in Israel and two programs were added for Israeli companies, the IP² Plus program, a continuation program for alumni of the first round and for veteran Israeli companies that would like to penetrate into new markets, and the IP² Sustainability program, which runs in cooperation with Startup Nation Central and generates progress in the sustainability area. Over the past year and a half, almost 50 companies have participated in the various programs, which have involved more than 300 virtual and in-person meetings and yielded 25 signed cooperation agreements. Among them: Israeli startup Resymmetry signed a joint venture agreement with Karma Medical Products. InCyber, which focuses on cyber security, signed with Lydsec, which addresses the corporate market. Quality Line, which provides analytical software for improving production efficiency, signed with the Might Electronic Group. Cellwize, which develops an automation platform for 5G Open RAN technology, signed with E-Formula, which is Taiwan’s leading distributor of solutions for cellular technology. The two last-mentioned ventures also opened Taiwan offices at the Startup Terrace innovation center.
About i2i - Innovation to Industry
i2i spin-off from Taiwan’s largest IT research institute. Since 2000, i2i has been one of Taiwan's four government-approved organizations which run incubators, and it runs Taiwan's largest software incubators - Nan-Kang Software Incubator and Kao-Hsiung Software Incubator.
i2i has founded, and manages, a technology ecosystem supporting and connecting stakeholders within the Taiwanese tech ecosystem and operates the IP² LaunchPad program. which accelerates the entry of Israeli companies into the far eastern markets and Taiwan's ecosystem. The program operates at the Taiwan Startup Terrace, which is supported by the Small and Medium Enterprises Administration (SMEA), Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) in Taiwan. Rani Shifron — CEO of Israeli consulting firm Healthier Globe, representative of i2i, and head of the program in Israel. The second cohort of the program includes companies in advanced stages, after their preliminary round of funding and attaining initial sales, as well as companies dealing with digital transformation in the healthcare, high-tech and renewable energy industries, based on big data, AI, IoT, 5G and Cyber Security. In addition, it has begun running the IP² Plus and IP² Sustainability programs, which operate in cooperation with Startup Nation Central.
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