For Taiwan to efficiently develop startups, it is imperative for the government to help young talent connect to Israel's startup ecosystem and bring back that country's entrepreneurship, according to TA Wang, chief of the Science and Technology Division at Taipei Economic and Culture Center in Tel-Aviv.
Wang told Digitimes in a recent interview that around 350-400 startups are created in Israel per year, bolstered by a sound startup environment. He stressed that Taiwan has to first build a good startup ecosystem integrating technology, talent, funding and environment if it wants to boost the survival rate of the country's startups.
Taiwan should also learn from the innovation environment and self-confidence of startups in the Silicon Valley and Israel, and bring talent and funds into full play, Wang said, adding that such efforts will likely bear fruit in the near future.
Without an automaking industry, Israel has become a global automotive technology center, with at least 15 first-tier international automakers setting up operating offices there, as over 300 startups are now engaged in developing autonomous driving, Internet of Vehicles (IoV) and other automotive solutions there, according to Wang.
Wang cited Israeli government statistics as indicating that Israel now has over 300,000 people or 9% of its population engaged in the tech sector, with their average monthly pay reaching US$6,800.
He said the impressive figures have resulted from hundreds of international tech firms including heavyweights as Intel, Microsoft, Facebook, Google, Apple and Amazon all setting up operations in Israel, offering over 100,000 R&D jobs.