OwlTing, a Taiwan-based startup engaged in blockchain applications, aims to increase business by 50-100 times from the current level in 5-7 years, with new FinTech services to be the major driving force, according to company founder and CEO Darren Wang.

The advent of Internet of Things (IoT) and Industry 4.0 has increased the demands for robots and edge computing, and the tasks are becoming more and more complex. Force sensors are critical to preventing the machines from breaking. Toronto-based startup ForceN has developed customizable force sensors that are thin and flexible, and do not require design change on machines to accommodate them.

AppWorks, the largest venture capital (VC) firm in Taiwan and Southeast Asia, manages three VC funds with a total asset of US$212 million after 10 years of efforts. Not only has the firm reached profitability, but it has also incubated an accumulated total of 56 startups, including four successful IPOs, one centicorn (worth over US$100 billion), one decacorn (worth over US$10 billion), one unicorn and six centaurs (worth over US$100 million). The entire ecosystem is made up of 400 active startups reaching an estimated total worth exceeding US$10 billion, employing 17,000 professionals and generating annual revenue of US$8 billion.

Massive demand for rapid, secure, and stable transmission of data and information in the age of Internet of Things (IoT) and Industry 4.0 is attracting solution providers to seek opportunities in the manufacturing space. Solace, a middleware solution provider founded in 2001 in Ottawa, Canada, also has its eyes set on the manufacturing sector in Taiwan, and is expanding its business in the market.

Singapore is well-known for its services and finance sectors, but there is much more to the economy of the Southeast Asian country, which is keen on expanding its manufacturing and can be a gateway for Taiwanese firms looking to establish a foothold in the region.

Fractus Antennas, formed by engineers who invented the technology allowing smartphone antennas to automatically switch between different bandwidth networks and launched mini-antennas for the Internet of Things (IoT) era, has recently rebranded itself as Ignion.

How much should one pay for a chip or a component? Lytica, a Canadian supply-chain pricing analytics company, has the answer. Founded by former Nortel chief procurement officer Ken Bradley, who, like many others in the IT industry, was once bemused by component pricing, Lytica is transforming itself into a software-as-a-service (SaaS) company, helping OEM and EMS make well-informed deals when buying or selling.

Canada is the fourth largest vehicle exporting country in the world, making 2.1 million cars a year. And the country is keen to take its car industry to a new level. Last year, Canada's Automotive Parts Manufacturers Association (APMA) launched Project Arrow - an initiative for developing electric vehicles (EV).

As electrification becomes a clear trend for future cars, solutions for infrastructure, power supply and batteries are very much in need to develop a sound and sustainable ecosystem in line with such a trend. Propulsion Quebec is an NPO created to support the ecological transition of transportation by enhancing the collaborative efforts of the industry.

The Canadian Trade Office in Taipei is endeavoring to accelerate collaboration between Canadian startups and Taiwanese companies. Canada's AI strength and car-manufacturing prowess and Taiwan's competitiveness in ICT hardware manufacturing are complementary and have great potential to create synergies.