NSTC: Semiconductor Advantages Attract Global Startups to Taiwan, Fueling AI Applications

The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) held the awards ceremony for the 4th round of the IC Taiwan Grand Challenge (ICTGC) today at InnoVEX, the startup exhibition of COMPUTEX 2026. The NSTC pointed out that the ICTGC has gradually become an important window for global semiconductor and AI startups to connect with Taiwan and establish local operations. The NSTC held the 4th ICTGC awards ceremony and innovation technology presentation today, announcing the 11 winning teams selected from 209 startup and academic research teams worldwide. This event combined awards, technology presentations, and pavilion displays to showcase the results of ICTGC in linking international innovative technologies with Taiwan's semiconductor and ICT industrial ecosystem, hoping to fulfill the core spirit of ICTGC: 'Opening doors to global tech talent and attracting them to Taiwan for cooperation and landing.' Su Tzung-tsang, Deputy Minister of the NSTC, stated in his speech that the NSTC has been hosting the ICTGC since 2024 with the goal of leveraging Taiwan's semiconductor and ICT industry advantages to attract global talent in IC design innovation, chip application innovation, and system integration to Taiwan for cooperation. Since the competition began, it has attracted nearly 600 startups from 56 countries across five continents, with international startups accounting for over 70%. Su stated that the 4th round of ICTGC attracted 209 startup and academic research units from 38 countries worldwide, setting a record for the number of participating teams. Finally, 11 startup teams from the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Israel, and Taiwan were selected, covering professional fields such as chip design verification, IP, key components, data center infrastructure, and autonomous ships. The winning teams will exhibit their innovative technologies at the InnoVEX 2026 ICTGC pavilion until June 5th, engaging in technology matching and business opportunities with domestic and international industries. The NSTC pointed out that in addition to the 11 international startup teams selected in this round, the ICTGC also planned for 2 highlight teams from the previous 3 rounds, totaling 13 startup teams, to exhibit simultaneously at the InnoVEX 2026 ICTGC pavilion. The NSTC stated that the winning team from Singapore, TurboNext.ai, is one of the representative cases. The team specializes in AI software optimization, which can make existing server equipment operate at several times the speed. Under the guidance of ICTGC, it has successfully connected with a major domestic IC design service company and is expected to tape out verification chips in the third quarter of this year. It has completed POC verification, achieving a 3 to 5 times acceleration effect. TurboNext.ai has currently established an R&D base in Hsinchu, choosing to root itself in Taiwan. In addition, the US startup 3D Architech, selected in the previous round, is also a highlight case. The company possesses world-leading '3D micro-structure liquid cooling' technology, which can provide next-generation heat dissipation solutions for AI servers. Through ICTGC guidance, it will conduct POC verification with micro-channel heat spreaders, and after verification is completed, it will simultaneously connect with domestic industrial resources.