Chunghwa Telecom (CHT) announced on October 21 the establishment of its AI subsidiary, CHT InventAI, marking another success in internal startup incubation within the group. CHT chairman Alex Chien said InventAI's launch is just the first step, with at least two more subsidiaries currently in preparation to accelerate the commercialization of technologies from in-house researchers and expand the industrial ecosystem.
InventAI's technical team comes from the Chunghwa Telecom Laboratories (CHTTL), a major research hub of Taiwan's telecom sector. Tian-Tsair Su, director of CHTTL and chairman of InventAI, described the research institute as the group's "arsenal" of technology. However, turning these innovations from lab experiments into market-ready independent companies requires a rigorous vetting process.
Chien revealed that for an R&D team to spin off as a subsidiary, it must pass technical validation, business feasibility assessments, and present a comprehensive operational plan demonstrating viability. The team has to be sure it can survive, he emphasized.
The operational plan must clearly outline market positioning over the coming years, how the technology matches market demand, revenue forecasts, and investment costs. This plan undergoes strict review by the investment department before submission to the board, ensuring a highly disciplined process.
CHT president Rong-Shy Lin added that mindset transformation is critical during incubation. Within the parent company, decisions are policy-driven; once independent, the new startup must be self-sustaining with stable cash flow. Therefore, incubated teams cannot rely solely on the parent's customers but must develop their own client base.
Before its formal founding, InventAI underwent over three years of incubation and accumulated more than 10 clients. Chien expects InventAI to go public within five years.
InventAI's overseas expansion will proceed on three fronts:
First, leveraging CHT's foreign subsidiaries or branches to promote InventAI solutions locally, especially targeting Southeast Asia.
Second, partnering with Taiwanese hardware manufacturers to expand abroad through strategic alliances. Su disclosed that there are ongoing talks with potential partners in biotech and other sectors.
Third, building connections via industry associations. InventAI has engaged with the Taiwan Contact Center Development Association (TCCDA), which networks with customer service groups across Southeast Asia and globally, potentially opening doors to local firms.
CHT encourages internal entrepreneurship and has already established subsidiaries such as Chunghwa Precision Test Tech (CHPT), Chunghwa Leading Photonics Tech (CLPT), and CHT Security. The creation of InventAI signals this wave of internal startups continues unabated.
Chien confirmed that at least two additional teams are preparing to spin off: one focused on intelligent video surveillance (IVS) and another on near field communication (NFC) applications. He hopes both will take shape by 2026.
InventAI CEO Po-Ching Lee described the company's future role as a bridge. He likened CHTTL to a technology treasure trove holding many mature technologies. InventAI operates frontline customer engagement to understand needs.
InventAI's mission is to understand market demands, identify suitable mature technologies from CHTTL, and integrate them with its platform through licensing. This approach aims to deliver more complete solutions to clients and efficiently channel the CHT group's overall R&D capabilities into the market.
Article edited by Jack Wu
