2012 ITRI Forum Focuses on New Technologies and Venture Capital

SAN JOSE, CA--(Marketwire - Jun 26, 2012) - Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), renowned throughout Taiwan and overseas for its applied science and technology research and development, held its annual ITRI Forum at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in the Bay Area city of Milpitas yesterday, June 25. The theme of this year's forum was Collaboration in Innovation and Commercialization Across the Pacific. ITRI President Dr. Jyuo-Min Shyu commented, "In recent years the organization not only has continued to emphasize technological innovation and the cultivation of talent but also has sought to strengthen its innovative technology incubation mechanism, thereby streamlining the process of commercializing research successes." Dr. Shyu added, "We hope these regularly held ITRI Forums will help forge a closer relationship between Taiwan and the innovation system in North America and create a foundation for enhanced cooperation."

ITRI has promoted an "institution-to-institution" international cooperation model in recent years, aggressively seeking to work together with the world's most advanced industrial, academic and research bodies to promote science and technology R&D strategic alliances and start-up incubation services. Sean Wang, president of ITRI International Inc., the agency's arm in North America, stated, "ITRI has established collaborative relationships in recent years with Stanford University, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Intel and Arizona State University." He added, "This year's ITRI Forum was aimed specifically at promoting greater interaction and cooperation with LBNL as well as with the corporate and research community in Silicon Valley."

Industrial Technology Investment Corp. (ITIC) President Herb Lin noted, "ITRI also hoped to take advantage of this year's event to find cooperative partners in the form of individuals or enterprises to participate in the GVT Fund, while also looking for potential investment targets. The GVT Fund, which was formed via cooperation between ITRI and Japan's Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Venture Capital, and is being funded by a variety of financial institutions including Grand River Capital Management, is looking to invest in the emerging green energy industry and is seeking cooperative opportunities on a number of fronts."

Lin added, "The GVT Fund is mainly interested in green energy-related start-ups involved in basic energy technologies, renewable energies, energy efficiency improvements, energy storage technology, enhanced transport efficiency, new agriculture and water resource processing technology."

Morning discussions at the 2012 ITRI Forum focused on the commercialization of high technology, looking specifically at the state of development of Asia's high-tech venture capital sector as well as highlighting some of ITRI's latest technological successes, such as high safety material STOBA lithium batteries, fibrous separator technology used in power batteries, cloud operating systems technology and applications, digital laser scanning microscopes, a noninvasive blood glucose monitor, and intelligent automation. These were followed by a plenary session during the noon hour involving Dr. Richard Dasher, director of the U.S.-Asia Technology Management Center at Stanford University, LBNL Deputy Director Horst Simon, and ITIC President Herb Lin, who discussed cross-Pacific collaboration in innovation and commercialization. Discussions in the afternoon focused on three themes, namely cloud systems, medical imagery, and biomass materials.

ITRI has long looked upon its talent as its most important resource. Since 2002, it has held annual career fairs in North America to recruit high-tech talent overseas. At this event, ITRI sought to recruit highly qualified individuals for about 50 positions in the main areas of research covered by ITRI, including cloud computing, biomedicine and medical devices, electronics and optoelectronics, mechanical systems, green energy, information and communications, and IT-enabled services. ITRI hopes introducing this international talent to Taiwan will help enhance Taiwan's R&D capabilities and promote overall industrial development.

Introduction to ITRI:
As a national R&D organization engaging in applied research and technical services, ITRI aims to develop innovative technology to assist in creating value for Taiwan's manufacturing sector. Founded in 1973, ITRI has helped train more than 70 CEOs and has incubated more than 170 start-ups. Both Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and United Microelectronics Corp., world leaders in the semiconductor industry, can trace their origins to ITRI. In addition, ITRI engages in long-term collaborative R&D arrangements with MIT, Carnegie Mellon University, the University of California at Berkeley, and Stanford University. It founded ITRI International Inc. in the Silicon Valley and has established offices in Japan, Germany and Russia.

In recent years, ITRI has continued to focus on systems, software and services in its drive to engage in state-of-the-art cross-disciplinary R&D. This research, covering fields such as information and communications, electronics and optoelectronics, material, chemical and nanotechnology, medical device and biomedical technologies, mechanical systems, and green energy and environmental technologies, has helped ITRI accumulate about 16,000 patents. The organization is undertaking a comprehensive initiative to promote a green and low-carbon campus. It is also working to strengthen the commercialization of its research achievements and provide industrial services, thereby expanding the benefits of applied science and technology for the greater good. With a workforce of more than 5,000 highly talented individuals, ITRI continues to embrace the objective of engaging in technological research and development to generate industrial development, create economic value and enhance social wellbeing. ITRI has played an instrumental role in developing groundbreaking and crucial technologies and is working together with industry to nurture emerging technologies and enterprises that will help to create a future characterized by innovation and sustainability.