Karen Yu is a pioneer of social entrepreneur, and she co-founded the first Fairtrade company, OKOGREEN, which is listed in Taiwan GISA board. She established the chapter of international Fairtrade Organization in Taiwan and co-worked with global partners to promote fairtrade development worldwide in order to improve producers’ living standard in poor countries.
Yu was elected as a legislator-at-large in 2016. She was passionate about innovation and equality, and pushed the improvement of the startup ecosystem as well as social innovation system by amending laws such as foreign talents recruitment, incentive scheme for foreign capital investment in Taiwan, sandboxes of fintech and unmanned vehicles, angel investment, etc. She also initiated Taiwan-USA talent circulation Alliance and promoted digital economy development between Taiwan and the United State.
Karen took office as the information and technology department director of Taoyuan City Government in 2020 where she led the digital transformation and smart city development. Yu adopted many technology applications to take care of citizens’ life during the pandemic which made Taoyuan City win the first prize in “2022 WITSA Smart Cities Award” on behalf of Taiwan, recognized and praised by global ICT industry, “the Oscars” in the ICT field.
ITIC
ITIC is a venture capital firm operating out of Taiwan. Since our founding in 1979, we’ve invested across the global to nurture industry leaders.
Our unique value proposition to startups and partners lies in the combination of deep tech domain, specialized expertise and a wide network of resources.
Being a subsidiary of the ITRI – with over 6,500 tech experts, 24,000 alumni experts, and 25,000 patents in robotics, advanced materials, biotech and more – ITIC brings a depth of tech expertise that few investment firms can rival. Whether we’re sourcing deals, doing due diligence or supporting the R&D of our portfolio companies, this expertise gives us a formidable edge.
For nearly four decades, we’ve also built a global ecosystem of partnerships. Our portfolio features industry leaders like UMC, AUO, Epistar and a roster of world-class manufacturers. We also work with giants like Mitsubishi UFJ Capital and Applied Materials on joint investments. This network allows ITIC to secure virtually any resource, support and mentorship a portfolio company needs.