The IP2 Launchpad program is helping Israeli startups become familiar with and enter Taiwan's market and find strategic partners and investment funds.
Taiwanese innovation company Innovation to Industry (i2i) has launched the IP2 Launchpad program to expose Israeli startups with exposure to the whole ecosystem, and provide a center to launch their activities, validate their technologies and to penetrate the growing East Asian markets with strong strategic partners. The program will invest up to $70 million in Israeli startups with up to $200,000 in the first phase and up to $3 million at the end of the program.
IP2 is managed in Israel by the Israeli consulting firm Healthier Globe headed by Rani Shifron, which assists and supports startups and organizations in entering and developing global markets.
The aim of IP2 is to create collaboration between Israeli innovation and the technology and healthcare markets in Taiwan, to connect Israeli companies with leading strategic partners from the manufacturing and distribution industries, the healthcare system, R&D organizations and potential investors, as well as to establish the Asian Business and Innovation Center in Taiwan for Israeli companies, to help accelerate their entry into East Asian Markets. The program was kicked off in the wake of the global coronavirus crisis, and from March of this year i2i and Healthier Globe scoured dozens of Israeli companies from which an industry panel selected startups from the fields of digital healthcare (60% of companies), cybersecurity (24%) and AIOT (16%). The companies are in the early stages of sales or in preparation for the market, and most of them are after initial investment rounds. With the launch of the program, eight strategic cooperation agreements were announced and signed between the Israeli startups and the partners in the program. The agreements include piloting, feasibility studies and clinical validation studies.
i2i chairman Dr. Gary Gang initiated the program following his recent visits to Israel, his familiarity with Israeli innovation and his vision for strategic cooperation. "I am excited to launch the program today and believe that integrating the Israeli innovation industry with the hardware and healthcare industry in Taiwan will fuel the industry innovation in Taiwan."
Ho Chin-Tsang, director general of the Small and Medium Enterprise Administration (SMEA) Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) in Taiwan said "I am pleased of the strengthening of the business ties with the Israeli innovation industry. I believe that the integration of the leading Israeli industry in software solutions with the huge hardware industry in Taiwan, a world leader in personal computers, LCDs, semiconductors and mobile phones as well as Taiwan's leading healthcare system, will advance the development of each of the parties."
Healthier Globe CEO Rani Shifron notes that Taiwan has one of the best healthcare systems in the world. The country has successfully coped with the coronavirus, the economy has worked relentlessly and continued to work more vigorously and therefore is a significant and real business center especially during this period, for Israeli companies seeking to penetrate global markets. In addition to the ecosystem exposure and the guidance, Israeli companies benefit from reduced tax payments in Taiwan for their income, grants, an office center and living quarters. The program is annual and is intended to run for at least three years and includes a two week all expenses paid trip for the startups.