On December 7, Taipei Computer Association (TCA) hosted the InnoVEX Saloon on Corporate Innovation with Techstars and Taiwan's Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST)'s Taiwan Tech Arena (TTA). The saloon is held on the last day of the first ever Startup Week Taiwan. Speakers from leading companies were invited to share their insights on the topic: Dr. Jean Liu, Director of Delta Electronics; Mr. Stephen Ho, Managing Director of DBS Bank Taiwan; Mr. Langley Chen, Partner at ARM IoT Capital; and Mr. Richard Tang, General Manager of SYSTEX Corporation's APAC Telecom Business Unit.

In addition, 11 startup teams from Taiwan, Vietnam, Philippines, US, India, Czech Republic, and more were invited to join the Demo-Pitch session where they presented their innovations in front of the speakers for their feedback. The active on-site interaction also gives more opportunities for startups to grow their businesses.

R&D to External Cooperation: How Rapid Corporate Innovation Evolves

Three of the speakers represent companies from the ICT manufacturing and solutions industry. They shared how the rapidly changing ICT industry requires even faster innovation. Cooperating with startups can effectively accelerate the internal innovation process. In recent years, they have expanded their capabilities to also be corporate investors in the startup ecosystem.

Dr. Liu shared how Delta uses smart manufacturing as a way to expand their IoT capabilities. For Delta, investing externally allows them to get the technologies that complement their tech portfolio as well as exchange expertise and experience with the startup. On the strategic investment side, Delta looks for startups or companies whose products or solutions can complement their products; including sensors, communication modules, security solutions, LPWAN, and more.

As a partner for ARM IoT Capital, Mr. Langley Chen is one of the people who oversees the startup investment side of the business. ARM internally has a large number of engineers who dig ideas, patent, then license them. For external cooperation and innovation, he believed synergy is necessary. Investing in startups can help corporates learn a lot more about real world innovation and serve as an inspiration to bring new technology, thereby driving internal business.

SYSTEX's experience with corporate innovation started when one of their subsidiaries was acquired by Yahoo several years ago. Their corporate innovation now is by establishing a startup boot camp in their company to help connect startups with experts from Silicon Valley. Mr. Tang believes that scalability and innovation goes hand-in-hand and it is important for innovators to always think big to build their business.

In contrast, the banking industry is very heavily regulated. As such, it is quite difficult to innovate. For DBS, most of the innovation is from the consumer side; their job is to provide business analytics and help young companies raise capital in the equity market. DBS also cooperates with startups by providing API and technology; as well as grants for social companies that innovatively use technologies to create a difference.

11 Startups from Around the World Pitch in the InnoVEX Saloon

In order to promote interaction between the participants, a demo-pitch session is included in the saloon. This session is specifically held to give startups the opportunity to promote themselves to investors, open cooperation opportunities, and also get practical business advices from the speakers.

Through recommendations and invitations from partners and co-organizers, a total of 11 startups from around the world were selected to join the demo-pitch session. The startups include Philippines' OneWatt, an IoT startup that was also one of the InnoVEX 2018 Pitch Contest Special Prize winners; Taiwan's Ubiik, an LPWAN startup that recently won an USD 8 Million AMI tender in Taiwan; Taiwan's TMYTEK, a 5G mmWave startup; and more. The industries covered by the startups are: smart manufacturing, 5G communication components, LPWAN communications, etc.

The outstanding innovative technology and business models drew praises and positive feedback from the speakers, other investors, and the audience. Given the great responses, the organizer will make the demo-pitch a mainstay of future InnoVEX Saloons. Startups who are interested are welcome to register.

Next InnoVEX Saloon Preview: Green Energy for a Greener Economy

With the topic of green energy, the next InnoVEX Saloon will be held on December 19, 2018. In addition to inviting startups to share the latest green energy technology trends and green economy ecosystem; KPMG will also share the trends of the smart green energy industry. Taipei Exchange will also discuss about the difficulties and available resources for fundraising for green energy startups.

Startups and investor who are interested in green energy, green tech, circular economy, or their related technologies are welcome to join. Pre-registration is necessary to join. For more details, please visit: innovex.computex.biz/

About InnoVEX

InnoVEX is the most international startup exhibition in Taiwan. Entering the fourth edition in 2019, InnoVEX will be held together with COMPUTEX TAIPEI to promote startups and their innovative solutions. In 2018, InnoVEX hosted 388 startups from 21 countries and attracted 17,867 visitors over a 3-day period.

In 2019, InnoVEX will move to a new venue: TWTC Hall 1. In addition to the mainstays of InnoVEX: exhibition, pitch competition, matchmaking, and forums; InnoVEX will also host theme pavilions for the first time in 2019. The categories are: AI, Blockchain, Biotech & Healthcare, 5G, and Greentech. Startups in relevant industries are welcome to join the theme pavilions for more exposure. The 2019 exhibition regulations have been published and with the addition of theme pavilions, exhibiting startups will have more options to plan their exhibition and participation. More information will be published on the InnoVEX website and social media channels.