Taipei

The startup ecosystem of Taiwan is less developed than neighboring Singapore and Hong Kong, but the island has some unique strengths for startups looking to scale into Asia. The public sector, the main driver of the startup ecosystem, is heavily invested in establishing smart cities and adopting sustainable energy sources.

Taiwan is a key link in the global supply chain for electronics, computer, semiconductors, and mobile phones, and as such the local talent is strong in these sectors. It also works as a central hub for shipments and trans-shipments in East Asia and a major center for advanced R&D. Taiwan also ranks among the best in the world in terms of its industrial cluster development.

For more information, check out and download our ecosystem report below.

Reasons to go

• Good for advanced prototyping and hardware-software integration
• Great opportunities within Greentech and energy
• Strong semiconductor industry means there is good infrastructure for startups in this space
• Startup friendly government and policies
• Low corporate taxes (17%) and access to free trade zones

Key sectors

• Manufacturing, Smart Cities

City clusters

• Hsinchu, Taichung, Tainan