Taiwanese start-ups use CES to showcase products

Visitors walk through the Las Vegas Convention Center on the final day of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Jan. 10 last year.

Photo: AFP

A total of 100 Taiwan-based start-ups are showcasing their products at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which opened yesterday and runs until Thursday, and is being held virtually for the first time amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Ministry of Science and Technology’s Taiwan Tech Arena has created a virtual reality (VR) pavilion at CES, the world’s leading electronics show, where the start-ups can show their innovative capabilities to potential buyers.

Taiwan Tech Arena is a platform aimed at cultivating tech start-ups by helping them raise funds.

At a news conference in Taipei, Minister of Science and Technology Wu Tsung-tsong (吳政忠) said that the ministry teamed up with other government agencies, local governments and academia to choose the 100 start-ups from 207 candidates.

The start-ups largely come from the medical care, information security and smart living sectors, the ministry said.

Taiwanese start-ups have since 2018 attended CES, which is normally held in Las Vegas, Nevada. The number of exhibitors grew from 32 in 2018 and 44 in 2019, the ministry said.

As start-ups generally lack experience in promoting themselves in the global market, Taiwan Tech Arena and the VR Taiwan pavilion can help them promote their products and smart solutions at CES and on the world stage, the ministry said.

In the VR pavilion, a TourRing app takes potential buyers on a quick tour of the virtual venue, and allows them to quickly access the types of products and innovations they are interested in, it said.

Hsu Tseng-ju (許增如), director of the Department of Academia-Industry Collaboration and Science Park Affairs, said Taiwanese start-ups have received a combined NT$2 billion (US$70.21 million) of orders at CES over the past three years, and she expects them to continue to receive orders this year.

The VR pavilion would continue to operate for a year to create more business opportunities for the participating start-ups, she added.

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