TAIPEI, TAIWAN - Media OutReach - 3 October 2018 - Taiwan'sMinistry of Science and Technology held the "GEC+ Taipei 2018 Startup PitchProgram" at the Taiwan Tech Arena (TTA), Taipei. The program exposed TTA andthe Taiwan tech-startup teams to the globe.

Taiwan Tech Arena (TTA) host interviews with 8 influential investors to discuss the future of Taiwan's startups from the perspective of Silicon Valley veterans. (From the left to right: Mr. Alfred Mandel, Mr. Allen May, Ms. Lucy Lu, Ms. Gloria Maceiko, Mr. Suresh Pai)

8 InfluentialSilicon Valley Investors to Link Taiwan Startups to the Globe

After spending more than 20 yearsin the valley, these mentors have achieved exceptional accomplishments in thefields of life sciences, internet of things (IoT), semiconductors, and greenenergy.  In a series of interviews, theyshare their insights on how to nurture talent and enable Taiwanese startups togo global.

Allan May has been involved as afounder or chairman of more than 80 MedTech, biotech, and diagnosticstartups.  His renowned early-stageinvestment group, Life Science Angels (LSA), was named the top U.S. angelinvestment group with more than 60 million USD invested. In his interview, hetouched upon the importance of future innovation in business models and thelean startup methodology. When asked about the role of government, he said, "Everytechnology converges in healthcare. Data technology, AI, genomics...the globalwinners will be made in medical technology, and this is a good place forgovernment involvement."

Gloria Maceiko, a serial entrepreneur,has more than 25 years of experience in Silicon Valley's high-tech companiesand has yielded an impressive track record in recognizing new trends, such asthe predecessors of iPhone and Facebook. As a mentor, she believes that a bigpart of creating future opportunities for Taiwanese startups is thegovernment's role in supporting an ecosystem. She said that, "Inviting peoplefrom other successful regions to expose [to] the Taiwanese startups and findingand supporting startups with grants, is always a great start because without money, few things happen. [That's why]initial funding from government isextremely important."

Hatim Chraibi, cofounder, CEO and managing director in NorthAmerica of SPIRE Bioventures, is another mentor with over 18 years ofexperience in the global medical device industry.  He's adept at identifying the needs of keyopinion leaders and development teams as evidenced by his major contributionsin building global organizations. During his visit to Taiwan, he hopes tointeract with Taiwanese entrepreneurs and assist talented teams to succeed on theinternational stage.

Alfred J. Mandel has offered marketing andmanagement related consulting services to 50 top global corporations. Hefounded Tenex Medical Investors which went on to become the largest health andlife sciences angel capital firm in the United States.

SiliconValley to Inject Capital into Taiwan Startups for New Opportunities

With over 30 years of experiencein the biotech industry, Lucy Lu has ledthe global company Roche Diagnostics as Vice President of Technology Managementand Head of the U.S. CTO. She now serves as aboard member of Life Science Angels (LSA)in San Francisco. She emphasized theimportance of networking, brainstorming, and the role of incubators tofacilitate this interaction as in LSA where, "when we have a question we don'tunderstand, in a couple of phone calls we can find someone to talk to."

Suresh Pai is an entrepreneur and angel investor inmedical devices. He serves as principal at LamaMed Solutions and heads aSilicon Valley startup incubator by investing aggressively and promotingexternal cooperation in product development of medical technologies. In his first visit to Taiwan,he expressed eagerness to meet startup teams, understand their technology, forgepartnerships, and find resources.

The final two SV mentors includeDr. Kengatharan, currently CEO of Auxesia Orion and managing partner atAtheneos Ventures. The latter is an evergreen healthcare incubator fund focusedon opportunities in orphan drugs and rare diseases. Mr. Xavier Sansó Mata is afounding partner at Metrix Partners, a boutique finance advisory; he also actsas advisor in biotech and drug companies. As SV mentors, they both look forwardto participate in GEC+ Taipei and speak to many of Taiwan's best startups.

TeamingUp with Elite Silicon Valley Mentors tonvision a Startup Future for Taiwan

The Global Startup ecosystem believes thatnurturing early stage startups can significantly influence the startups'potential growth. Therefore, TTA attempts to act as a platform that bringstogether entrepreneurial resources from Taiwan and abroad, and aims to furtherengage acceleration resources, talent and funds from all over the world.

TTA invited Taiwan's beststartups to meet 1-on-1 with the eight Silicon Valley investors. As atechnology startup resource and information exchange platform, TTA invitedglobal partners to not only to participate in the startup pitch program, butalso to have in-depth discussions with Taiwanese startup teams at the TaiwanNight hosted by TTA.

Further information: Visit Taiwan Tech Arena's (TTA)official website.