Taiwan's MOEA Sees Over 40% Annual Increase in Approved SBIR Projects After Subsidy Boost, with a Focus on AI

(CNA, Taipei, June 9, by reporter Tseng Yun-Ting) The Small and Medium Enterprise and Startup Administration, Ministry of Economic Affairs, stated today that efforts to assist SMEs in innovation R&D have shown results since the subsidy amount for the central SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) program was increased this year. As of now, 52 subsidy projects have been approved, a 44% increase compared to the same period last year, with approved funding exceeding NT$78 million. Most of these cases focus on AI application adoption and digital transformation.

The administration held a press conference today on the "Achievements of the SBIR Small Business Innovation Research Subsidy." Director-General Li Kuan-Chih stated that SBIR is a crucial policy tool to help SMEs obtain their first pot of gold for R&D. Since its launch in 1999, it has approved over 8,100 projects, with a cumulative subsidy of about NT$12.96 billion, which has in turn driven approximately NT$24.2 billion in corporate R&D investment and engaged about 6,800 R&D personnel.

The administration noted that SBIR is divided into three main types based on different corporate development needs: local, central, and cross-domain. The local type focuses on local specialty industries, the central type supports industrial technology innovation and service upgrades, and the cross-domain type encourages cooperation between SMEs and startups to drive industrial upgrading and transformation through technological or business model innovation.

Regarding the division of labor among the central, local, and cross-domain SBIRs, Li Kuan-Chih explained that the local type is implemented by county and city governments, while the central and cross-domain types are promoted by the administration. The Ministry of Economic Affairs allocates a budget of about NT$350 million to NT$400 million annually, of which about NT$200 million is provided to local governments for local SBIRs, and the remaining NT$150 million is used for central and cross-domain projects.

Li pointed out that in response to industrial upgrading needs, the administration announced an increase in the central SBIR subsidy cap at the end of last year. The subsidy for Phase 1 (preliminary research) was increased from NT$1 million to NT$1.5 million, for Phase 2 (research and development) from NT$10 million to NT$12 million, and for Phase 2+ (value-added application) from NT$5 million to NT$6 million, hoping to help companies invest in R&D with higher technical barriers.

Li stated that the central SBIR has approved 52 projects so far this year, with subsidies totaling about NT$78.91 million. Additionally, a subsidy for patent application fees was added this year, with a maximum of NT$30,000 per case for domestic patents and NT$100,000 for foreign patents, to encourage companies to develop their intellectual property. So far, it has assisted 4 approved companies with a total of NT$103,000.

Li noted that the cross-domain SBIR this year will focus on deep tech fields, including AI applications, drones, unmanned ships, navigation and positioning systems, and net-zero technologies, and will strengthen the application of AI in areas such as quality inspection in manufacturing, production management, elderly care, and sports technology.

Regarding future directions, he stated that the central and local SBIRs will further strengthen cooperation next year, hoping that projects selected by local governments can align with national strategic industry directions, driving the dual digital and net-zero transformation of SMEs.

The press conference also featured several subsidized companies sharing their R&D achievements. Wang Pang-Jen, special assistant to the general manager of Hsin-Jung Machinery, a manufacturer of automotive components, said the company previously faced challenges with old processing equipment that took up large spaces, consumed high energy, and issues with the succession of senior technicians' skills and labor shortages. With the support of the SBIR program, the company invested in R&D for an automotive brake piston system, improving the traditional horizontal machine to a vertical design. This reduced equipment footprint by over 80%, lowered energy consumption by over 50%, and increased production capacity by 151%. The company plans to continue applying for central SBIR subsidies to further introduce AI technology and promote smart manufacturing transformation.

Chen Kuan-Lin, executive vice president of Yoshan Tea, stated that tea blending highly relies on the long-term experience of master blenders, and cultivating talent often takes more than 10 years. Through an SBIR subsidy, the company developed an AI tea-viewing platform, digitizing the masters' blending experience and establishing a quantifiable quality management system. This helps maintain the consistency of tea quality and has successfully allowed them to enter the supply chains of international tea merchants in the UK, France, and South Korea.