A seminar on directions in the global semiconductor market was held by Taiwan Science and Technology Hub Jan. 8 in Las Vegas, spotlighting the country’s industrial and R&D prowess in the sector, the National Science and Technology Council said.
Titled “Semiconductors, Global Trends, and Taiwan,” the daylong event involved an introduction to Taiwan’s chip-based industrial innovation program. With a budget of NT$300 billion (US$9.6 billion) from 2024 through 2033, the program aims to integrate generative artificial intelligence with chips, improve domestic talent cultivation and attract global professionals and accelerate adoption of advanced technologies to attract international startups and investment.
According to the NSTC, David Wang, senior vice president of GPU technologies and engineering at Advanced Micro Devices Inc., delivered a talk on the sector’s major trends while Chenming Hu, professor emeritus in the Electronic Engineering and Computer Sciences Department of the University of California, Berkeley, gave a keynote speech on the importance of semiconductors.
A panel discussion was also held on the topic of next-generation semiconductors and their applications, such as blockchains and electronic design automation ecosystems, as well as how Taiwan and the U.S. collaborate in this sphere. The panelists included Hu; Hou Tuo-hung, director general of Taiwan Semiconductor Research Institute; and Deirdre Hanford, chief security officer for California-based Synopsys Inc.
The seminar ended with demos from Taiwan startups such as Hsinchu City-headquartered FaceHeart Corp. and National Taiwan University’s Taipei-based Medical Informatics Lab.
The event was held ahead of the Consumer Electronics Show Jan. 9-12 in Las Vegas, the NSTC said, adding that it followed the success of similar events staged at Stanford University and in Seattle last June and August, respectively. Launched in January 2023, the Stanford-based Taiwan S&T Hub is committed to promoting cooperation with the U.S. in research exchanges, startup promotion and personnel training, according to the council. (YCH-E)
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