Taoyuan Youth Innovation Expo gathers international resources and aims to become a landmark innovation hub in the Asia-Pacific r

Taoyuan Youth Startup Expo gathers international momentum. (Photo / Provided by Taoyuan City Government)

Reporter Yang Shuyuan / Taoyuan Report

The "2025 Taoyuan Youth Startup Expo" held its opening ceremony on the 9th at the Taoyuan Convention and Exhibition Center. Mayor Simon Chang stated that this year’s event brings together outstanding startup teams from Taiwan and seven other countries, aiming to build a cross-border exchange platform for young people and promote collaboration among creativity, technology, and markets. It is hoped that all participating teams can find opportunities for cooperation at this exhibition, laying a key foundation for business development and continuing to demonstrate their strengths on both the Taiwanese and global stages.

Mayor Chang pointed out that Taoyuan has actively strengthened its entrepreneurial ecosystem in recent years. This expo is particularly symbolic as the internationally renowned accelerator Plug and Play (PnP) has officially established its presence in Taoyuan this year. Recalling that he visited the United States two years ago to meet with the founder of PnP and personally invited them to develop in Taiwan, after multiple rounds of discussions, PnP set up a base in the Hutoushan Innovation Park this June and launched two annual startup selection programs to help young teams connect with Silicon Valley resources. So far, several teams have already attracted attention and inquiries from international venture capital, demonstrating that Taoyuan has successfully opened a gateway for Taiwanese startups to the global stage.

The "2025 Taoyuan Youth Startup Expo" opens at the Taoyuan Convention and Exhibition Center. (Photo / Provided by Taoyuan City Government)

Mayor Chang further explained that the addition of PnP not only strengthens Taoyuan’s connection to the global entrepreneurial landscape, but also integrates the youth entrepreneurship bases, accelerators, and cross-disciplinary talent resources accumulated by the Youth Affairs Bureau over the years, enabling young entrepreneurs to expand from local beginnings to global deployment. It is hoped that Taoyuan will become a core innovation hub in Taiwan, attracting teams from neighboring countries to connect and experiment here, and positioning Taiwan as a key innovation center in the Asia-Pacific region.

Johannes Rott, Vice President of Plug and Play, expressed his pleasure in officially establishing a base in Taoyuan this year and assisting Taiwanese startups in expanding into international markets. To date, PnP has supported more than 20 Taiwanese startup teams and continues to promote the development of Taiwan’s innovation ecosystem through collaboration among enterprises, venture capital, and academia. In the future, it will continue this momentum and help Taiwan cultivate the next internationally competitive “unicorn” companies.

The Youth Affairs Bureau noted that this expo, themed “Converging from All Directions × Startups Taking Flight Together,” brings together 120 teams and 100 investors and corporate representatives. In collaboration with the globally renowned accelerator Plug and Play, it also hosts the “Plug and Play Taiwan Taoyuan Deeptech Expo,” showcasing Taoyuan’s strong momentum in connecting startups to the global stage. The bureau added that Taoyuan’s startup support chain has gradually taken shape, from campus incubation and international connections to the A8 Taoyuan Smart Industry Accelerator established this year, successfully introducing AI, smart manufacturing, and global startup resources into the local ecosystem. Moving forward, the city government will continue to strengthen cross-disciplinary collaboration and global exchange, attracting more talent and investment to Taoyuan and building a more competitive youth entrepreneurship ecosystem.