Taiwan launches $120m Silicon Valley VC fund

The Taiwan Silicon Valley Technology Fund - which comprises equal contributions of NT$1.8 billion ($60 million) from government-backed NDF and MST's Science and Technology Fund - will be used to establish a Taiwan investment network in the US. It will back entrepreneurs in areas such as biotechnology, medical devices, the internet-of-things (IoT), cloud computing, robotics and machine intelligence, and cleantech.

The fund is now open to applications from start-ups and will remain so for the next three years. During this period it is expected to raise an additional $180 million from private investors.

Separately, the NDF has agreed to commit $20 million in Infinity e.ventures Asia III - a fund managed by Japan's Infinity Venture Partners, which has a target of $100 million. It makes early-stage investments in consumer internet and mobile technology businesses. The VC firm intends to set up local team in Taiwan, according to the NDF.

The Taiwan government has pledged to support the domestic VC industry. Last year, the executive yuan approved the HeadStart Taiwan Project, with a view to creating a positive and effective start-up ecosystem in Taiwan. Deregulation, attracting global VC funds and establishing physical clusters where start-ups can receive mentoring services are seen as the key initiatives.

The NDF, which manages about $10 billion, is also investing in global VC firms in order to generate more interest in Taiwanese start-ups. Earlier this year, it announced it will commit up to $84 million to four VC funds, including US-based 500 Startups and a fund co-managed by Silicon Valley-based Translink Capital and Taiwan's UMC.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Venture
• Fundraising
• Technology
• Early-stage
• Taiwan (China)
• Venture
• TMT
• Technology
• seed
• Fundraising
• USA
• Growth capital