Startups

Meet the 7 winners of the Taiwan Excellence awards, presented by ShowStoppers and TAITRA

Comment

Taipei 101 amidst modern buildings against sky in city
Image Credits: Cavan Images (opens in a new window) / Getty Images

Taiwan is known for being a tech powerhouse, the headquarter of companies like Foxconn, Pegatron, TSMC, Acer and Asus. But while Taiwan’s tech industry is defined by well-established players, it is also home to a growing startup scene. Ahead of the official start of CES, the Taiwan Excellence awards were announced by nonprofit trade promotion group Taiwan External Trade Development Council (known as TAITRA) and ShowStoppers, giving a preview of what its startups offer. Awards went to seven startups, while 11 other companies also presented. They cover a wide range of sectors, ranging from fitness and health to industrial monitoring.

More startups will showcase their tech next week at CES’ Taiwan Pavilion, organized by Taiwan Tech Arena.

The seven Taiwan Excellence Award winners are:

Advantech’s WISE-2410 vibration sensor. Image Credits: Advantech

Advantech‘s LoRaWAN solutions are designed to control applications across wide distances and have been used for a diverse array of scenarios, including monitoring floods, critical care patients in hospitals and transportation infrastructure. Two of its latest devices include the WISE-6610, a gateway for connecting up to 500 sensors and sending their data to cloud platforms using 3G/LTE or wired Ethernet connections. The other one is the WISE-2410, a vibration sensor for monitoring motor-powered mechanical equipment and identifying potential issues so manufacturers can schedule maintenance before machines malfunction, resulting in expensive downtime.

Image Credits: CyberLink

CyberLink is the developer of the machine learning-based FaceMe Facial Recognition Engine, which is used in AIoT applications, including security, smart retail and surveillance. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, CyberLink’s new product FaceMe Health can identify faces even with masks on, and send alerts if someone isn’t wearing a mask or has a high temperature. It is meant to assist in pandemic control measures at places like hospitals, airports, retail stores and factories.

Image Credits: Dyaco

Dyaco‘s workout equipment line, called SOLE Fitness, includes its new SOLE CC81 Cardio Climber, which combines features from steppers and climbers into one machine. The SOLE CC81 is designed to be ergonomic, so users can get high-intensity cardio workouts while reducing wear on their joints.

Image Credits: Green Jacket Sports

Green Jacket Sports is showcasing its Golface smart system, which helps golf courses monitor and collect data on their operations in real time, while allowing golfers to track their performance. The smart system’s other features include includes aerial videos and real-time scoring functions.

Image Credits: Maktar

Maktar is the maker of a smartphone backup device called Qubii. Shaped like a small cube, Qubii automatically backs up phones while they are charging and doesn’t need internet or Wi-Fi connections. Instead, users insert a microSD card into Qubii and connect it to their smartphones with their usual power adapters or chargers. Every time the smartphone is charged, Qubii backs up their photos, videos and contacts. The device also has a patented SD card lock feature to protect data.

Image Credits: MioMiTAC Digital Technology’s Mio dashcam range produces clear videos even in dark spaces like parking lots. The latest Mio dashcam, called the MiVue 798, uses Sony’s lowlight STARVISTM sensor and an all-glass lens, and produces wide-angle videos with quality of up to 2.8K. The MiVue 798 also has embedded WiFi connectivity for video backups and online sharing through the MiVue Pro App. Other features include GPS tracking, a patented smart alert system with fixed-distance warnings and speed limit alerts, and a driver assistance system that warns of lane departures, driver fatigue and forward collisions.

Image Credits: Winmate

Winmate will present its M133WK Ultra Rugged Tablet PC, created for vehicle diagnostics. Powered by 8th-gen Intel Core i5-8265U Whiskey Lake processor, for high-performance with low power consumption, the M133WK features a 1920 X 1080 PCAP touchscreen that is viewable even in heavy sunlight.

Here are the other 11 startups that TAITRA and ShowStoppers are presenting:

ATrack‘s AK11 Fleet Hub is a 4G LTE device for the real-time management of fleets across different verticals.

ELECLEAN 360 uses what it describes as the “world’s first nano-catalysis electrochemical technology” to turn water into hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl radicals, for cleaning and disinfection.

In Win Development is introducing the SR Pro CPU Cooler, which uses patented twin-turbine pumps running in parallel to optimize water flow and ensure thermal performance. It comes with high-airflow AJF120 fans to cool PCs more quickly.

Innolux makes full range of LCD panels for televisions, monitors, notebooks, industrial, medical, mobile and other applications.

Planet Technology is building a secure network called PLANET Powerful Enterprise VPN Cybersecurity and Firewall Solutions for the “post-COVID-19 era.”

Rice Air makes LUFT Cube, a small filterless nanotech personal air purifier.

Systems & Technology Corp. (Systech)‘s fleet management platform uses intelligent telematics so organizations can track where vehicles are and more efficiently manage their fleets.

Tokuyu Biotech creates smart massage chairs and health care-related products that are connected to apps and sensor technologies.

Winnoz is the maker of Haiim, a portable vacuum-assisted device for collecting blood samples from fingertips.

WiseChip develops transparent OLEDs with touch functions for use in home appliance control panels, automotive, transportation applications (like passenger information display systems) and wearable devices.

Yztek‘s E+ Autoff is an IoT device created to stop people from forgetting to turn off their stoves. In addition to auto turn-off, it also has cooking time adjustment and energy saving features.

More TechCrunch

Tech sovereignty has become a looming priority for a number of nations these days, and now, with the demand for compute power at its highest level yet thanks to uptake…

Germany’s Black Semiconductor raises $273M for graphene-based chip connectivity tech

Featured Article

Let there be Light! Danish startup exits stealth with $13M seed funding to bring AI to general ledgers

It’s not the sexiest of subject matters, but someone needs to talk about it: The CFO tech stack — software used by the chief financial officers of the world — is ripe for disruption. That’s according to Jonathan Sanders, CEO and co-founder of fledgling Danish startup Light, which exits stealth…

1 hour ago
Let there be Light! Danish startup exits stealth with $13M seed funding to bring AI to general ledgers

Fresh off the success of its first mission, satellite manufacturer Apex has closed $95 million in new capital to scale its operations.  The Los Angeles-based startup successfully launched and commissioned…

Apex’s off-the-shelf satellite bus business attracts $95M in new funding

After educating the D.C. market, YC aims to leverage its influence, particularly in areas like competition policy.

DC’s political class doesn’t know Y Combinator exists — yet

Lina Khan says the FTC wants to be effective in its enforcement strategy, which is why it has been taking on lawsuits that “go up against some of the big…

FTC Chair Lina Khan tells TechCrunch the agency is pursuing the ‘mob bosses’ in Big Tech

With dozens of antitrust cases and close to a hundred on the consumer protection side, the agency is now turning to innovative tactics to help it fight fraud, particularly in…

FTC Chair Lina Khan shares how the agency is looking at AI

The ability to pause your activity rings is a minor feature update for most, but for those of us who obsess about such things to an unhealthy degree, it’s the…

Apple Watch is finally adding a feature I’ve been requesting for years

Featured Article

Why Apple is taking a small-model approach to generative AI

It’s a very Apple approach in the sense that it prioritizes a frictionless user experience above all.

9 hours ago
Why Apple is taking a small-model approach to generative AI

When generative AI tools started making waves in late 2022 after the launch of ChatGPT, the finance industry was one of the first to recognize these tools’ potential for speeding…

Linq raises $6.6M to use AI to make research easier for financial analysts

In addition to the federal funding, the state of New Mexico — where SolAero is based — committed to providing financing and incentives that value $25.5 million.

Biden administration looks to give Rocket Lab $24M to boost space-grade solar cell production

Some of the new Apple Intelligence features that Apple debuted at WWDC 2024 don’t even feel like AI, they just feel like smarter tools. 

Apple’s AI, Apple Intelligence, is boring and practical — that’s why it works

The TechCrunch team runs down all of the biggest news from the Apple WWDC 2024 keynote in an easy-to-skim digest.

Here’s everything Apple announced at the WWDC 2024 keynote, including Apple Intelligence, Siri makeover

Jordan Meyer and Mathew Dryhurst founded Spawning AI to create tools that help artists exert more control over how their works are used online. Their latest project, called Source.Plus, is…

Spawning wants to build more ethical AI training datasets

After leading the social media landscape, TikTok appears to be interested in challenging Google’s dominance in search. The company confirmed to TechCrunch that it’s testing the ability for users to…

TikTok comes for Google as it quietly rolls out image search capabilities in TikTok Shop

General Motors is investing $850 million into Cruise as the autonomous vehicle subsidiary slowly makes its way back to testing in Phoenix, Dallas and, as of Tuesday, Houston. GM’s CFO…

GM gives Cruise $850M lifeline as it relaunches robotaxis in Houston

These messaging features, announced at WWDC 2024, will have a significant impact on how people communicate every day.

At last, Apple’s Messages app will support RCS and scheduling texts

Welcome to TechCrunch Fintech! This week, we’re looking at Rippling’s controversial decision to ban some former employees from selling their stock, Carta’s massive valuation drop, a GenZ-focused fintech raise, and…

Rippling’s tender offer decision draws mixed — and strong — reactions

Google is finally making its Gemini Nano AI model available to Pixel 8 and 8a users after teasing it in March.

Google’s June Pixel feature drop brings Gemini Nano AI model to Pixel 8 and 8a users

At WWDC 2024, Apple introduced new options for developers to promote their apps and earn more from them in the App Store.

Apple adds win-back subscription offers and improved search suggestions to the App Store

iOS 18 will be available in the fall as a free software update.

Here are all the devices compatible with iOS 18

The acquisition comes as BeReal was struggling to grow its user base and was looking for a buyer.

BeReal is being acquired by mobile apps and games company Voodoo for €500M

Unlike Light’s older phones, the Light III sports a larger OLED display and an NFC chip to make way for future payment tools, as well as a camera.

Light introduces its latest minimalist phone, now with an OLED screen but still no addictive apps

Since April, a hacker with a history of selling stolen data has claimed a data breach of billions of records — impacting at least 300 million people — from a…

The mystery of an alleged data broker’s data breach

Diversity Spotlight is a feature on Crunchbase that lets companies add tags to their profiles to label themselves.

Crunchbase expands its diversity-tracking feature to Europe

Thanks to Apple’s newfound — and heavy — investment in generative AI tech, the company had loads to showcase on the AI front, from an upgraded Siri to AI-generated emoji.

The top AI features Apple announced at WWDC 2024

A Finnish startup called Flow Computing is making one of the wildest claims ever heard in silicon engineering: by adding its proprietary companion chip, any CPU can instantly double its…

Flow claims it can 100x any CPU’s power with its companion chip and some elbow grease

Five years ago, Day One Ventures had $11 million under management, and Bucher and her team have grown that to just over $450 million.

The VC queen of portfolio PR, Masha Bucher, has raised her largest fund yet: $150M

Particle announced it has partnered with news organization Reuters to collaborate on new business models and experiments in monetization.

AI news reader Particle adds publishing partners and $10.9M in new funding

Mistral AI has closed its much-rumored Series B funding round, raising €600 million (around $640 million) in a mix of equity and debt.

Paris-based AI startup Mistral AI raises $640M

Cognigy is helping create AI that can handle the highly repetitive, rote processes center workers face daily.

Cognigy lands cash to grow its contact center automation business