In recent months, AI has received strong interest from both VCs and companies as new applications and innovations are shared and announced. As the organizer of InnoVEX, Taipei Computer Association (TCA) stated that InnoVEX has seen an upward trend of participation from AI startups since it started in 2016 and AI startups are expected to be among the top 5 industries in 2024. Looking at the statistics, AI startups have consistently grown from 10% of exhibitors from InnoVEX 2017 to 19% of the exhibitors in 2023. In addition, the AI category has shifted from general AI, cloud, and big data to include a significant amount of AI & Data Analysis.

According to Crunchbase, recent global startup funding has been dropping since 2021, with the total global startup investment in 2023 dropping to USD 285 billion, a 38% decrease from 2022. However, this is not the case for AI related investments which have actually grown by 9% and reached USD 50 billion in 2023. This trend is mainly supported by the continued interest in GenAI and LLM such as solutions delivered by OpenAI, Anthropic, Inflection AI, and more. In addition, investment in semiconductors and battery tech also grew in 2023 as the 2 industries performed better than the generally declining market.

Applications to Lead AI Growth and AI Investments

AI covers a large spectrum of industries ranging across multiple verticals. According to Saad Sidiqui, a general partner at Telstra Ventures, in the most recent tech transition, most of the large infrastructure winners were already well-established tech players at the time while startups usually perform better on the application layer. This trend might be seen again in AI, especially as larger tech companies have gathered a massive amount of data from their products and users.

Navin Chaddha, a managing director at Mayfield Fund shared the sentiment and said that certain layers of AI such as the semiconductor or cloud layers are already dominated by major players. However certain layers such as the middleware tools and applications provide opportunities for startups to grow and thrive.

InnoVEX 2024 Continues to Host Matchmaking Events

TCA states that the main goal of InnoVEX has always been to support startups in seeking funds and partners to elevate their business. As InnoVEX is held concurrently with COMPUTEX, participating startups will have the opportunity to find corporate partners or investors to accelerate the completion of their Proof of Concept or product verification.

InnoVEX 2024 will continue to host mainstay events in addition to the on-site event to help startups find investment or partnerships with VCs, CVCs, buyers, and more. The events include the InnoVEX Pitch Contest and Awards, matchmaking events & night party, online exhibition, and more.

The InnoVEX Pitch Contest and Awards provide participating startups with the best opportunity to showcase their innovations to judges and visitors. Participating startups also have a chance to win various prizes from the prize pool which is already valued at more than USD 50,000 which includes the Grand Prize and multiple Special Prizes from our sponsors. The final round of the Pitch Contest will be held live as well as livestreamed to online viewers to further promote the startups to a larger audience scale.

InnoVEX will also have multiple matchmaking events both during and outside the onsite event. During the onsite event, startups and visitors can arrange a direct and private meeting via their My InnoVEX account. The 15 finalists of the InnoVEX Pitch Contest can also join a dedicated 1-on-1 matchmaking event with pre-selected VCs and VIPs. The InnoVEX Night Party is one of the matchmaking events officially organized by InnoVEX for startups and VIP guests to meet, mingle, and network.

InnoVEX exhibitors will also receive free online exhibition in the InnoVEX Online platform for 8 months from May 1 to December 31, 2024. TCA reminds both startups and corporations interested in joining the matchmaking event to register for the event to reserve their slots.

About InnoVEX
Started in 2016, InnoVEX is a startup-focused exhibition organized by the Taipei Computer Association (TCA) and the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA). Positioned as the innovation hub of Asia, InnoVEX is held alongside Asia's leading ICT B2B Tradeshow, COMPUTEX, to connect startups and their innovations to global VCs, CVCs, manufacturing partners, buyers, and media.

Follow the InnoVEX Social Media channels for more news and updates:
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