[International] Taiwan's ITIC Partners with French Investment Bank to Focus on Semiconductors and Deep Tech

Industrial Technology Investment Corporation (ITIC) and Bpifrance (French Public Investment Bank) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to promote information sharing and plan to jointly establish a venture capital fund focusing on strategic industries such as semiconductors and deep tech. ITIC, a venture capital arm of the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), stated that under the witness of ITRI and ITIC Chairman Wu Cheng-chung, Taiwan Representative to France Hao Pei-tzu, and Director of the French Office in Taipei Franck Paris, ITIC General Manager Yu Wan-ju and Bpifrance CEO Nicolas Dufourcq signed the MOU. This demonstrates the shared ambition of Taiwan and France in technological investment and highlights Taiwan's crucial strategic position in the global technology supply chain. In an interview with CNA, Yu Wan-ju said that France is one of the strongest technological powers in Europe, excelling in standard-setting and technological innovation. This platform can help Taiwanese startups go global. She pointed out that Bpifrance is an investment bank with a national scope, capable of accessing a wide range of startup projects, and is a trustworthy partner. ITRI, closely related to ITIC, connects R&D and industry resources, and it is hoped that these energies can be utilized to secure high-level strategic partnerships for Taiwan. ITIC stated that this MOU establishes a structured and progressive bilateral cooperation mechanism. In the future, both parties will promote investment information sharing through regular meetings, deepen the exchange of expertise among investment teams, and focus on substantive strategic investment cooperation. They plan to jointly establish a venture capital fund targeting promising early-stage startup investment opportunities, primarily focusing on strategic high-tech industries such as semiconductors and deep tech in Taiwan and France. Yu Wan-ju said that this strategic partnership is an important milestone in the collaboration between ITIC and Bpifrance, elevating the synergistic effect between Taiwan and France in the semiconductor and deep tech fields to a new strategic level. Amidst the global trend of emphasizing technological sovereignty and sovereign AI, it proves that Taiwan is an indispensable and trustworthy strategic partner for democratic tech nations in the process of building a secure global supply chain. According to ITIC, Dufourcq said that this partnership perfectly combines the strengths of both innovation ecosystems, which will facilitate the rise of European and international "champion enterprises" and strengthen technological sovereignty. (Editor: Liu Hsiang-hua)