Qualcomm Technologies announced the shortlist for the 2021 "Qualcomm Innovate in Taiwan Challenge", which uses technologies such as 5G, cellular Internet of Things, and machine learning to develop smart healthcare, smart cities, robots, and drones. 10 start-up teams based on relevant applications were selected, each team will receive a 10,000 USD entry bonus and will carry out a 6-month incubation plan.

10 Shortlisted teams for innovative software or hardware solutions for furniture are (in alphabetical order of company names): AcuSense (Xiang’an Biomedical), Avalanche (Kuijing Computing), AVILON (Aorong Technology), Bamboo (Zhuqian Technology), Heroic Faith (Yuxin Medical), iHH (Huan Hong Zhilian), LINGBO (Lingbo), Memorence AI (Memorence), NUWA Robotics (Nuwa Creation), Spatial Topology (Situ Technology).

The 10 shortlisted teams this year fully demonstrate the advantages of Taiwan's innovation. In addition to both hardware and software capabilities, AI has become the basic technology of the innovation team, and half of the teams have proposed plans to use 5G networking to strengthen product features. In response to global digitalization and 5G commercial transformation, Taiwan's start-up team has the ambition to apply 5G and cutting-edge technology vertically.

The third "Qualcomm Taiwan Innovation Competition" will start in January 2021 with the cooperation of the Taiwan Technology Innovation Base (TTA) affiliated to the Ministry of Science and Technology. Two online presentations and two in-person presentations will be held in Tainan and Kaohsiung. QTIC received applications from more than 120 start-up companies. After online discussion and selection, Qualcomm announced the list of 10 shortlisted teams today.

Qualcomm launched the "Qualcomm Taiwan Innovation Competition" in 2019, and launched the "Qualcomm Taiwan Innovation Center" in March 2020 as a QITC base, providing exclusive laboratories and technical support. In the first and second QITC, Qualcomm cultivated a total of 19 teams. During the incubation period, the teams filed 21 patent applications, with impressive results.

When it comes to assisting the shortlisted teams improve product competitiveness and network internationally, specific achievements include RelaJet, Nestech and QT Medical, Lebang Safety Control (LUBN) and four other teams were invited to join the Qualcomm® Advantage Network and become members of Qualcomm’s global business ecosystem. Insight launched its own brand product in March this year equipped with Qualcomm’s Bluetooth chip - Otoadd Assistive Listening Headphone N1. In December 2020, in the world's first 5G millimeter wave enterprise private network smart factory project in cooperation with Chunghwa Telecom and ASE, Qualcomm introduced the first shortlisted team Zhuozhuo Technology (DT42), which made its artificial intelligence detection system highly recognized at home and abroad.

Xu Zengru, director of the Department of Industry, Academia and Park Business of the Ministry of Science and Technology, pointed out: "This time being shortlisted for the "Qualcomm Taiwan Innovation Competition" represents that the innovation and R&D strength of each team has been greatly affirmed. Talent cultivation and new innovations will enhance Taiwan's global technology industry, competitive advantage has always been an important policy of the government. Taiwan's semiconductor talents and industries have been recognized globally, and the recent COVID-19 epidemic has also highlighted the importance of digital transformation. The Ministry of Science and Technology launched a capital investment in Tainan in April this year. Anji Smart Technology R&D Building will gather the energy of industry, government and academia in the future, and set up related bases such as: South Taiwan Science and Technology Innovation Base (TTA South) to develop the Greater Southern Technology Corridor and accelerate the development of related fields. Through the competition, Qualcomm has explored and cultivated a Taiwan start-up team for three years in a row. I hope that Qualcomm will continue to cooperate with TTA and the future TTA South to cultivate more excellent Taiwan start-up teams, so that Taiwan's new start-up R&D and international market demand will be closely linked, and the overall development of Taiwan will be accelerated. 5G is the development of cutting-edge technology applications.”

Liu Sitai, vice president of Qualcomm and president of Taiwan and Southeast Asia, said: "I am very pleased to announce the list of 10 shortlisted teams for the third "Qualcomm Taiwan Innovation Competition", which means that these outstanding start-up teams in Taiwan will have the opportunity to join Qualcomm's global innovation ecosystem. In the past three years, Qualcomm’s achievements in supporting Taiwan’s new innovation ecosystem are obvious to all. In addition to investing more in the establishment of “Qualcomm Taiwan Innovation Center”, 19 shortlisted teams have been cultivated, whether in technology research and development, fundraising, enhancing market awareness or becoming members of Qualcomm’s global commercial ecosystem. Through the competition and the Qualcomm technology platform, Qualcomm hopes to help nurture more Taiwan start-up teams to demonstrate their competitiveness in the era of 5G and AIoT Internet of Things, so that Taiwan’s start-ups can be seen by the world and become a mutually beneficial and win-win situation for Taiwan and Qualcomm to jointly develop the momentum of the 5G economy!"

Sudeepto Roy, vice president of Qualcomm Engineering and head of regional strategic development of the Technology Licensing Division, first congratulated the 10 shortlisted teams, and highly affirmed that half of the teams proposed plans to use 5G to enhance product competitiveness. At the forefront of identifying geographically relevant use cases for emerging technologies, we look forward to technically incubating QITC 2021 start-up teams while helping them strengthen their business plans and protect their innovations through patents. We live in a world where as long as there are devices, the network will continue to grow, network-connected devices should be ready before 5G commercial networks become popular. Qualcomm continues to lead in edge AI technology, and through 5G networks, we are looking forward to a new era of edge computing and innovation!"

The third "Qualcomm Taiwan Innovation Competition" will not only provide competition prizes for shortlisted teams, but also arrange intellectual property rights training, business counseling assistance, engineering resources, and incentives to apply for patents and other rewards. The finals are scheduled to be held at the end of this year, at which time a judging panel composed of industry experts will select one winner and two selected teams to receive a total final prize of US$300,000.

2021 Qualcomm Taiwan Innovation Contest shortlisted teams (in alphabetical order by company name)

AcuSense BioMedical Technology Corp. - AcuSense BioMedical Technology Corp. - AcuSense BioMedical Technology is committed to providing a safer medical environment for patients and healthcare professionals around the world. Our products combine wearable medical devices, multi-bed IoT monitoring systems and artificial intelligence-based algorithms to effectively improve medical safety and quality of care.

Avalanche Computing Technology Co., Ltd. Avalanche Computing Taiwan Inc.- provides AI industry developers with deep learning accelerator tools, helping internal talents in the company to complete AI model development and deployment with a few clicks.

AVILON INTELLIGENCE AVILON INTELLIGENCE - AVILON INTELLIGENCE has created an automated industrial drone and fleet management solution that allows customers to perform repetitive and reliable tasks from anywhere in the world, even in GPS-less environments.

Bamboo Technology Ltd. - Bamboo Technology develops AI emotional applications that can be used in depression prevention, mental health care, education, and prevention of depression recurrence to help patients and doctors.

Heroic Faith Medical Science - We believe that the medical care solutions in the digital age should be people-oriented. Although new technologies improve our lives in many ways, it is time for us to develop a trustworthy and future medical device. Time for powerful technology!

iHH Co., Ltd. – provides solutions for multi-terminal linear encrypted audio-visual interaction and file access through a distributed node network, making online transactions, negotiations, consultations and learning more convenient and smooth.

LINGBO Co., Ltd. - LINGBO is committed to establishing a regional Internet of Things energy network and providing digital transformation solutions for energy companies.

Memorence AI - AI learning system for optimal detection in manufacturing, medical, agriculture, food and more.

NUWA Robotics - We create the most interactive and expressive AI robots on the market. Our team is dedicated to the development of AI robots and focuses on integrating cutting-edge technologies to provide the ultimate user experience.

Spatial Topology Technology Co., Ltd. Spatial Topology Technology - Spatial perception, digital reconstruction, positioning IoT, and then affect the way mobile users interact with the physical world.