Taiwan launches chip-based innovation office, eyes increased dominance

Taipei, May 7 (CNA) Taiwan on Tuesday opened a chip-based Industrial Innovation Program office with NT$300 billion (US$9.27 billion) in funding earmarked over 10 years, during a ceremony witnessed by representatives from IC design and foundry companies such as PSMC, Mediatek and TSMC.

The program, which was approved in 2023, starts this year and aims to boost the innovation of Taiwan's generative AI in all industries and continue IC technological development on the basis of Taiwan's edge in chip making, National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Minister Wu Tsung-tsong (吳政忠) said at the launch event.

Wu, who has been the main figure promoting the program, said Taiwan is now "treading a path where it no longer has anyone to follow" and has to "advance with the support of everyone in the country."

Wu said Taiwan's semiconductor industry has a lead of at least 15 years, but it is crucial the country uses that 15-year gap to further strengthen its prowess across the IC chain, from upstream IC design and intellectual property design to equipment, materials and chemicals.

Approving Wu's comment, Vice Premier Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) said at the event that it was the reason Wu proposed the program to President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in 2023.

Cheng said Taiwan can enlarge its current 20 percent share of IC design market by making advances in edge AI products and AI applications -- or those AI products and applications that move computing away from the clouds to the users' devices.

He also noted the strengths of Taiwan in an era of changing geopolitics and supply chain reshuffles.

"Taiwan is a reliable and trustworthy science research partner and also a go-to partner for friend-shoring [or sourcing from geopolitical friends]," Cheng said.

While there has been a call for "Taiwan plus one" -- meaning companies trying to de-risk their manufacturing by moving to countries other than Taiwan -- "as long as Taiwan has a leading edge in the semiconductor ecosystem, it would be meaningless to have 'plus one' if you don't have Taiwan in the first place," the vice premier stressed.

The program's office unveiled officially on Tuesday will serve as a platform coordinating resources from the government, the industrial sector and academia, according to Chiueh Tzi-dar (闕志達), acting executive chief of the office.

"It will operate with the aim of undertaking the four areas of the program -- industrial innovation with AI, IC design advancement, talent cultivation, and facilitating foreign investment with the lure of Taiwan's IC infrastructure," Chiueh said.