Qualcomm Taiwan Announces the Shortlisted Teams for the Qualcomm Innovate in Taiwan Challenge 2021

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. today announces the shortlisted teams of the Qualcomm Innovate in Taiwan Challenge (QITC) 2021. Ten startup teams using technologies such as 5G, AI, Cellular IoT, and machine learning to develop applications in smart health, smart cities, robotics, drones and more were selected. These teams have each received a grant of US$10,000 to use during a six-month incubation program.

Ten companies with innovative hardware or software solutions were chosen for the shortlist of this year’s QITC. The shortlisted companies are (in alphabetical order): AcuSense, Avalanche, AVILON, Bamboo, Heroic Faith, iHH, LINGBO, Memorence AI, NUWA Robotics, and Spatial Topology.

Half of the Teams will Develop 5G-related Products to Enhance Competitiveness

The 10 startup teams shortlisted this year fully show the advantages of Taiwan’s starups. In addition to having both software and hardware strengths, and adopting AI technology at the core of their products, half of the teams put forward proposals that use 5G to enhance their product competitiveness. This demonstrates that Taiwan’s startup teams are ambitious to accelerate the vertical applications of 5G and cutting-edge technologies amidst the global digitization and 5G deployment.

Ten Startups will Enter a Six-month Incubation Program and will Have the Chance to Win Final Prizes of US$300,000 in Total

Launched in January 2021, the third annual QITC is a collaboration with Taiwan Tech Arena (TTA) under the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST). Two online application roadshows and two physical roadshows in Tainan and Kaohsiung were held, attracting more than 120 startup companies to sign up for the competition. After the first stage of the selection process, Qualcomm Technologies today announces the list of ten shortlisted teams.

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. launched the "Qualcomm Innovate in Taiwan Challenge" in 2019, and opened the "Qualcomm Innovation Center, Taiwan" in March 2020 as a QITC base equipped with a lab to provide technical support for the teams. In QITC 2019 and QITC 2020, Qualcomm Technologies supported 19 startup teams, and a total of 21 patents were collectively filed by the shortlisted teams during the incubation period, marking an outstanding result.

In terms of helping to enhance the product competitiveness and linkage to international markets, the QITC program has already seen substantial results, including RelaJet and Nestech of QITC 2019, and QT Medical and LUBN of QITC 2020 entering the Qualcomm® Advantage Network and become members of Qualcomm Technologies’ global commercial ecosystem. RelaJet launched its own brand product Otoadd N1 Wireless PSAP device equipped with Qualcomm Technologies’ bluetooth chip in March 2021. In December 2020, in the world's first 5G mmWave private network with smart factory project in cooperation with Chunghwa Telecom and ASE, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. introduced DT42, the shortlisted team of QITC 2019, so that the effectiveness of its AI detection system was recognized by domestic and international companies.

“Becoming a shortlisted team of the QITC is a recognition from Qualcomm of the team’s R&D strength. I would like to congratulate all shortlisted teams,” said Dr. Tseng-Ju Hsu, Director General of the Department of Academia-Industry Collaboration and Science Park Affairs of the MOST. “Improving Taiwan’s leadership in the world’s technology industry competition through fostering talents and startups has been an important government policy. Taiwan’s semiconductor industry and talents are globally recognized. The COVID pandemic has also indicated the importance of digital transformation. In this April, the MOST launched Shalun Smart Green Energy Science City Zone C at Tainan, the unit aims to develop Southern Taiwan Technology Corridor and accelerate development of relevant fields via collaborations of government - industry - university - research institute. Setting up TTA South and numbers of startup ecosystem programs are also one of the main activities of the Smart building. Qualcomm has been discovering and incubating Taiwanese startups via QITC for three years, MOST hopes that Qualcomm will continue to work with TTA and TTA South to develop more excellent Taiwanese startups teams and build tight links between the R&D efforts of Taiwanese startups and the demands of international markets. The cooperation between TTA, TTA South and Qualcomm will accelerate the development of 5G and advanced technologies in Taiwan.”

“I am very excited to announce the shortlisted teams of this year’s QITC because these outstanding Taiwanese startup teams will have the opportunity to join Qualcomm Technologies' global startup ecosystem,” said ST Liew, vice president, QUALCOMM CDMA Technologies Asia-Pacific Pte. Ltd., and president, Qualcomm Taiwan. “Over the past three years, we have all witnessed the amazing results from Qualcomm’s Technologies' support of Taiwan's startup ecosystem. In addition to investing in the establishment of “Qualcomm Innovation Center, Taiwan," 19 startup teams incubated in QITC 2019 and QITC 2020 have had concrete progress in their company development either in technical research and development, fundraising, enhanced market awareness or becoming members of Qualcomm Technologies' global commercial ecosystem. Through the competition and Qualcomm Technologies’ technology platform, Qualcomm Technologies hopes to help nurture more Taiwanese startups to show their competitiveness in the 5G and AIoT era and shine on the global stage. I believe this QITC program can help nurture the 5G economy and provide a win-win situation for Taiwan and Qualcomm Technologies.”

Sudeepto Roy, VP, Engineering, Qualcomm Incorporated and Lead of Regional Strategy and Engagement for Qualcomm Technology Licensing (QTL), congratulates the 10 shortlisted teams and highly praises the 5G proposals of half of the teams to enhance product competitiveness. "Startups are at the forefront of identifying geographically relevant use-cases of emerging technologies. Incubating the QITC 2021 startups technically can help them strengthen their business plan and protect their innovations through patenting. We're living in a time where networks follow devices, and connected devices should be ready before the commercial rollout of the 5G network. Qualcomm Technologies is already at the forefront of edge AI, and with 5G networks, we're looking at a new era in edge computing and innovation."

In addition to the grant awarded to the shortlisted startups, QITC 2021 will offer intellectual property training, business coaching, engineering resources and incentives for filing patents. The finals will be held at the end of this year, where one winner and two runner-ups will be selected by a jury of industry leaders to split prizes of US$300,000 in total.

Shortlisted teams for Qualcomm Innovate in Taiwan Challenge 2021 (company names sorted by alphabetical order)

1. AcuSense BioMedical Technology Corp. - AcuSense BioMedical Technology Corp. is committed to providing a safer medical environment for patients and healthcare professionals in the world. Our product combines wearable medical device, multi-bed IoT monitor system and A.I.-based algorithms to effectively improve medical safety and quality of care.
2. Avalanche Computing Taiwan Inc. – Provides AI Accelerator Tools for the AI industry and helps companies develop and deploy AI models with in-house talents in a few clicks.
3. AVILON INTELLIGENCE CO., LTD.- avilon intelligence creates an industrial autonomous drone and fleet management solution that lets clients get repeatable and reliable missions from anywhere in the world, even in GPS-denied environments.
4. Bamboo Technology Ltd. - Bamboo Technology Ltd. develops AI emotion applications in depression disorder prevention, mental health care and education, depression prevention recurrence to help both patients and doctors.
5. Heroic Faith Medical Science – We believe that the healthcare solution in the digital era should be based on humanity. While new technology facilitates our life in so many ways, it is time for us to develop a trustworthy technology to empower the medical devices in the future.
6. iHH Co., Ltd. - A solution with multi-terminal direct and encrypted video interaction and file access via distributed network to facilitate online transaction, negotiation, consultation and learning.
7. LINGBO Co., Ltd. - LINBGO is committed to establishing a regional IoT energy network to provide energy companies with digital transformation solutions
8. Memorence AI – AI learning system for optimal inspection on manufacturing, medical, agriculture, food and so on.
9. NUWA Robotics - We created the most interactive and expressive AI robot to the market. Our team is dedicated to AI robot development and singularly focused on integrating cutting-edge technology and art for the ultimate user experience.
10. 10.Spatial Topology Technology - Spatial perception, digital reconstruction, and positioning of the IoT, influence how mobile users interact with physical world.