Canadian semiconductor technology research and development partnering delegation to Taiwan
Request for expression of interest
Delegation dates: September 3 to September 6, 2024
Global Affairs Canada (GAC), through the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei (CTOT) and in collaboration with the National Research Council of Canada's Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP) invites you to apply to participate in the Canadian semiconductor technology research and development partnering delegation to Taiwan under the Canadian International Innovation Program (CIIP).
Interested companies must apply no later than June 14 2024.
Note: This delegation is being planned as an in-person event which will require travel to Taiwan. Travel, however, must be consistent with both Taiwan and Canada's international travel advice and advisories. If these advisories recommend against travel to Taiwan at the time of the delegation, it may take place virtually. This means that all business to business (B2B) meetings and speaking opportunities would be held virtually and some elements of the program may have to be cancelled. In addition, any funding approved for participant travel to the delegation would be withdrawn.
Delegation objective
The delegation objective is to foster partnerships between Canadian small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with potential Taiwanese SMEs, research institutions, and large corporations for purpose of research and development (R&D) collaboration in silicon photonics and/or photonics compounds semiconductor sector.
Examples of R&D collaboration include, but are not limited to the following:
- validation of the suitability of Canadian technology to the Taiwanese market and/or other markets,
- adaptation of Canadian technology to meet Taiwanese and/or other market characteristics,
- joint development of new products and/or services by combining Canadian and Taiwanese technologies.
Canadian delegation profile
Canadian participants in the delegation should meet the following requirements:
- Profit-oriented, small- or medium-sized enterprise (SME) incorporated in Canada,
- Previous experience in commercializing technology for domestic and/or international markets,
- Capacity and interest to co-develop technology with Taiwanese partners
- Sufficient working capital and human resources to undertake multi-year R&D collaboration and commercialize the results.
Technology and products of particular interest for this delegation include:
- Manufacturing: Integrated Circuit Design; Process Integration; Chip-on-Wafer-on-Substrate (CoWoS) or co-packaged optics advanced packaging; quantum and artificial intelligence (AI) chips; and novel solutions that can be used by Chip Manufacturers/Foundries, Fabless design house, and Outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) etc.
- III-V photonics: AI enabling, new generation tele/datacom, and photonic sensors for autonomous vehicles or drones for example.
Delegation program
The program in Taiwan will take place between September 3 and 6, 2024. It will include a briefing session and market overview at the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei; a day-visit to SEMICON Taiwan 2024 trade show which is the largest and most important tradeshow in Taiwan; a half-day seminar followed by B2B meetings; as well as site visits to selected Taiwanese semiconductor companies.
Below are some examples of the Taiwanese large corporations (* actual companies attending the one-on-one meetings may vary):
Winbond is Taiwan's largest brand-name memory chip maker and a leading global supplier of semiconductor memory. Winbond is interested in Canada's IC design capacity (for MCU and EV related application) and AI on chip energy efficiency.
Each Canadian company will have 3-mins to present to Winbond's executive teams during the corporate visit.
WIN Semiconductor is Taiwan's first pure-play 6-inch GaAs (Gallium Arsenide) foundry and now the largest GaAs foundry in the world. WIN Semiconductor is currently working with several Canadian companies as well as with NRC's Advanced Electronics and Photonics Centre (AEPC).
Each Canadian company will have 3-mins to present to Winbond's executives.
KINSUS is a globally leading IC substrates manufacturer and a subsidiary of Taiwan's Pegatron Group.
TSMC:
The world's most valuable and the largest pure-play semiconductor foundry, with a 55% global semiconductor foundry revenue share. Clients include AMD, Apple, ARM, Broadcom, Marvell, MediaTek, Qualcomm and Nvidia.
Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Crop (PSMC):
The world's sixth largest chip foundry, after its cross-town rivals TSMC and UMC. Its foundry services focus on memory-related chips used in communications, consumer electronics, and PCs.
A medium-sized leading local power module company who plans to set up a micro factory and an OSAT line in North America and is looking for ecosystem partners.
Delegation itinerary
Tuesday, September 3
Delegates attend a briefing session, a market Overview session and networking session with TSIA (Taiwan Semiconductor Industrial Association). Site visit to Winbond Electronics or PSMC (based in Taipei).
Wednesday, September 4
Day 1 of SEMICON Taiwan 2024. Delegates will attend the keynotes, walk the show floor, do on-site B2B meetings.
Thursday, September 5
Day 2 of SEMICON Taiwan 2024. The Canadian Semiconductor Forum will be held in association to the event. The Canadian Trade Office in Taipei (CTOT) will conduct a half-day seminar that will focus on Canada's capability in the silicon photonics field, followed by a networking luncheon and B2B session.
Friday, September 6
Delegates will participate in site visits to local semiconductor companies in Hsinchu. Example of companies to be visited: WIN Semiconductors, TSMC, Kinsus, Sentec Group.
Why Taiwan?
Taiwan plays a critical role in the manufacturing of the advanced chips that power cutting-edge technologies such as generative artificial intelligence and the latest smartphones and electric vehicles.
Taiwan produces over 60% of the world's semiconductors and over 90% of the most advanced ones. It is home to the world's most notable technology makers and the world's largest semiconductor foundry (TSMC and UMC) and one of the world's largest fabless design companies - MediaTek (MTK).
Taiwanese companies are looking for new business partners with a more open, sometimes eager attitude in forming partnerships from other countries, including Canada.
This PDA will help Canadian companies to:
- explore potential R&D partnerships with Taiwanese companies
- benefit from Taiwanese companies' strengths in semiconductor advanced manufacturing and dominance of the global supply chain
- commercialize Canadian R&D in the sector and scale up in international markets
- gain access to Taiwanese and Indo-Pacific markets by forming partnerships with Taiwanese ICT companies
Financial support to participate in the delegation
The Canadian International Innovation Program (CIIP) may provide financial support to eligible Canadian SMEs participants for up to 50% of all eligible expenses (see application process below) that include but are not limited to the following:
- Economy class airfare
- Local transportation
- Accommodation
- Meals (per diems)
- Conference registration fees
Consult the Canadian International Innovation Program (CIIP)Applicant Guide for the complete list of eligible expenses. To access the CIIP Applicant Guide contact the CIIP team at innovation@international.gc.ca.
How to apply for participation
- Interested companies and organizations should request an application form from the CIIP team at Global Affairs Canada: innovation@international.gc.ca.
- Completed forms are to be submitted by June 14, 2024, to the CIIP team at Global Affairs Canada: innovation@international.gc.ca.
- Global Affairs Canada, the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei (CTOT) and NRC-IRAP will select Canadian companies to participate in the delegation and provide selected applicants with a notification by June 28, 2024.
- Companies formally selected to participate in the delegation will be invited to apply for travel funding support.
- Companies who apply for travel support will be notified of the funding decision by July 12, 2024.
Important notes
Participation is limited. Applications submitted will be assessed and vetted to determine eligibility based on the quality of the information provided. In addition to the technical merits of the proposed technology, the company's internal capacity to adequately support and manage an international R&D project with Taiwanese partners will also be assessed.
Academia, Research Technology Organisations (RTOs), Incubators, Industry Associations are welcome to submit an application for the delegation but will not be eligible for financial support for travel and participations expenses.
If you have any questions concerning the application process, please see the CIIP webpage and/or email the CIIP team at innovation@international.gc.ca.
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