Taiwan Meets Silicon Valley: Inside the Semiconductor & AI Event Powering the Next Wave of Deep-Tech Startups

Bridging Silicon Valley and Taiwan: Semiconductor & AI Synergies

January 13, 2026

Tuesday 5 PM PST

Startup Island TAIWAN - Silicon Valley Hub

299 California Ave STE 300, Palo Alto, CA 94306

Hosted by Sparknify on behalf of the Taipei Computer Association (TCA) for the IC Taiwan Grand Challenge (ICTGC), an initiative of Taiwan’s National Science and Technology Council, in Palo Alto, this event attracted over 400 early-stage founders, venture capitalists, accelerators, corporate partners, university researchers, and hardware startup communities, underscoring Taiwan’s growing role as a strategic destination for deep-tech innovation. The strong turnout and active participation reflected rising global interest in Taiwan’s semiconductor leadership, AI capabilities, and founder-friendly innovation support programs. Venue design and cultural elements reflected Taiwan’s spirit of innovation, with a Golden Gate Bridge motif symbolizing cross-Pacific collaboration, and attendees enjoying signature Taiwanese bites like popcorn chicken and bubble tea.

Speaker Highlights:

The program featured thought-provoking sessions from four leading voices across venture capital, accelerators, and deep-tech startups, offering attendees actionable perspectives on scaling innovation through Taiwan–Silicon Valley collaboration.

Laura Swan, General Partner at Silicon Catalyst Ventures shared insights from her talk “Accelerating the Future: How Semiconductor Startups Scale from Idea to Impact.” Drawing from decades of hands-on engineering and venture experience, Swan highlighted the importance of aligning technical rigor with ecosystem support, emphasizing Taiwan’s unique ability to help founders move efficiently from architecture and prototyping to manufacturing and deployment.

Andy Lombard, Founder and CEO of Tesoro Venture Capital, delivered “Bridging Capital and Innovation: How VCs Empower Global Tech Collaboration.” Lombard discussed how venture capital, accelerators, and supply-chain access must work in concert to unlock global scale, pointing to Taiwan as a critical hub where capital, manufacturing expertise, and international partnerships converge for AI and semiconductor startups.

Janis Skriveris, Principal and Deeptech Lead at Plug and Play Ventures, presented “Empowering the Global Semiconductor Ecosystem: From Innovation to Scale.” Skriveris emphasized the growing need for platforms that connect early-stage innovation with corporate partners and global markets, highlighting Taiwan’s ecosystem as a powerful enabler for startups seeking both technical validation and commercialization pathways.

Sam Fok, Co-Founder and CEO of femtoAI, shared real-world lessons from building ultra-efficient AI inference solutions for embedded devices. He illustrated how breakthroughs in silicon and software co-design—combined with Taiwan’s advanced manufacturing capabilities—are enabling intelligence to scale across everyday products while dramatically reducing energy and cost constraints.

The event also featured an interactive open-mic session led by Michael Raspuzzi, Global Lead of the Hardware Meetup community. This segment invited builders to present short talks on the projects they are developing, many of which aligned closely with ICTGC’s focus areas in AI, hardware, and applied sciences, reinforcing the grassroots energy of the global hardware ecosystem.

Startups, research teams, and innovators worldwide are encouraged to apply to ICTGC Batch 4, with applications open until February 28, 2026. Selected teams will gain access to mentorship, corporate partnerships, manufacturing resources, and the opportunity to showcase at COMPUTEX and InnoVEX 2026 in Taipei.

In addition, ecosystem partners, investors, and startups are invited to participate in InnoVEX 2026, taking place June 2–5, 2026, Asia’s premier startup platform connecting global innovation with Taiwan’s unparalleled technology and supply-chain ecosystem.

Through initiatives like ICTGC, Taiwan continues to strengthen its position as a global launchpad—where ambitious ideas evolve into scalable, world-ready technologies.

For more information and to join IC Taiwan Challenge, please visit:

👉 https://ictaiwanchallenge.org

About ICTGC

The IC Taiwan Grand Challenge (ICTGC) is Taiwan’s flagship initiative to unite global innovators with the nation’s unparalleled semiconductor and hardware ecosystem. Created to accelerate breakthroughs in AI, robotics, next-gen computing, and deep-tech disciplines, ICTGC supports founders and researchers through mentorship, prototyping and manufacturing resources, corporate partnerships, and international investor connections. Rooted in Taiwan’s decades of leadership in semiconductor design, advanced packaging, and precision engineering, ICTGC empowers teams from around the world to build, test, and scale groundbreaking technologies. The program fosters global collaboration and drives forward a shared vision of innovation that bridges Taiwan and the world.

ICTGC Batch 4 is now open for online applications until February 28, 2026.

https://ictaiwanchallenge.org