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(CNA News Service, June 6, 2026, 16:27)

The world’s largest startup competition and the “Olympics of Startups,” the Startup World Cup (SWC) 2026 Taiwan Hsinchu Regional Competition, was grandly held today (June 6) at National Tsing Hua University (NTHU). Marking its first-ever event in Hsinchu, the competition was jointly organized by NTHU and its partners, with strong support from the Hsinchu City Government. The event attracted more than 100 startup teams from across Taiwan.

Representing Mayor Ann Kao, Deputy Mayor Lin Kun-Han and Director-General Wu Da-Wei of the Department of Labor and Youth Affairs attended the event to demonstrate the city government's support for youth entrepreneurship and cross-disciplinary innovation. They also reaffirmed the city's commitment to helping local startups connect with international markets through close collaboration among government, academia, and industry, backed by practical and impactful policy support.

Mayor Kao stated that the city government has been actively promoting youth entrepreneurship policies, achieving particularly impressive results this year. One notable example is NeuinX, an outstanding local startup that received intensive mentoring through the Hsinchu Youth Development Center’s Startup Recruitment and Mentorship Program. The company successfully advanced to the national Top 10 finalists amid fierce competition. Founded by a team from NTHU, NeuinX leverages more than 15 years of experience in sports video analytics to develop AI-powered automated sports data technologies that are five times faster than conventional methods. Its achievement not only demonstrates the team’s capabilities but also reflects the effectiveness of the city’s entrepreneurship support initiatives.

In his opening remarks, Deputy Mayor Lin expressed special appreciation to the NTHU Startup Garage for helping bring this landmark international event to Hsinchu for the first time. He highlighted three major startup support programs offered by the city government:

  • “Hsinchu Startup Interest Subsidy Program”, which reduces financial burdens during the early stages of entrepreneurship by providing interest subsidies of up to 2.5% on loans of up to NT$2 million.
  • Startup Recruitment and Mentorship Program, which connects startups with industry resources and professional guidance.
  • AI-Powered Digital Tool Subsidy for Youth, the first program of its kind in Taiwan, providing annual subsidies of NT$3,000–6,000 per person to support the adoption of AI tools.

Together, these initiatives form a comprehensive support system to help young entrepreneurs compete on the global stage.

Prior to the afternoon final round, Director-General Wu visited the venue to encourage the Top 10 finalist teams. He emphasized that the strong lineup of international and domestic venture capital firms invited by the NTHU team demonstrated Hsinchu’s influence as a technology hub. Particularly encouraging was the outstanding performance of startups from the Greater Hsinchu region. In addition to NeuinX, another finalist, Advanced Materials, which received support from the Hsinchu County Government, also advanced to the final round.

As Taiwan’s leading technology city, Hsinchu is actively promoting digital governance across municipal administration. The city government will continue leveraging efficient public services and robust policy resources to complement the incubation achievements of NTHU and neighboring local governments. Through cross-regional collaboration within the Greater Hsinchu area, it aims to build a more comprehensive, internationally competitive innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem.

The Youth Development Center noted that young people are a key driving force in transforming cities and shaping the future. The inaugural hosting of the Startup World Cup in Hsinchu represents a significant milestone in connecting local innovation ecosystems with global venture capital networks through collaboration among government, industry, academia, and research institutions.

Looking ahead, the city will continue expanding financial support through the Hsinchu Startup Interest Subsidy Program and strengthening practical entrepreneurship mentoring. By partnering with universities and top startup teams, Hsinchu aims to empower young innovators to “start from Hsinchu and reach the world,” enabling them to shine on the global stage.

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