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The National Central University and the Department of Youth Affairs of the Taoyuan City Government together held the 2019 Startup Star Entrepreneurship Competition. The event focuses on enhancing the U.S. market development capability of the teams. Through a series of global advancement training courses, teams with potential are selected to exhibit at TechCrunch Disrupt SF and visit famous Silicon Valley companies from October 2 to October 4 to promote Taiwan’s R&D strength on the global stage, garner attention for Taoyuan's startup brands, and help develop the global market.
Wei-Wen Hu, Associate Director of the Center for Academia and Industry Collaboration of the National Central University, and Chun-Hui Tu, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Youth Affairs of Taoyuan City Government, led five teams to Silicon Valley to develop the market. The five teams stood out from the 126 teams that competed in the Startup Star Competition on July 4. These teams not only received prizes for winning, but also received a series of global market advancement training courses, and even the opportunity to attend TechCrunch Disrupt SF.
IOE Smart Technology Co., Ltd. (IOE) developed a wireless traffic signals system based on the Internet of Vehicles and the Internet of Things. DiDi Point provides interactive smart projectors that make home living smarter and more convenient. RE Green, with a focus on environmental sustainability, uses the zero-waste fertilizer maker to promote home composting and gardening with zero food waste. Papayum created a convenient ordering mode that provides a new dining experience for restaurants and consumers. Midas Touch developed a smart capacitive fingerprint lock as a solution for lost keys and forgotten passwords. On the first day of the exhibition, IoE attracted U.S. companies including self-driving vehicle creators such as TESLA, UBER, and GM. There were also 7 venture capitalists and 7 companies that expressed their willingness to collaborate. Foreign companies also expressed interest in DiDi Point.
The startup market development journey began on September 30. The group visited HTC VIVE (HTC's branch in North America), Google (the world's largest search engine), ITRI International Inc. (ITRI’s branch in North America), Sky Deck (Berkeley's accelerator), Plug & Play (accelerator), Esun Foundation (venture capital group), and 10x Innovation lab (accelerator) in Silicon Valley.
Many startup cultivators from Taiwan attended this event, including Taiwan Tech Arena, TSS, Startup Terrace, and III, and led 45 startups to exhibit at the Taiwan Pavilion to showcase the innovative energy of Taiwan's technology to the world. The National Central University was the only university in Taiwan at the exhibition, and its active support of innovation and entrepreneurship also received recognition.
