Karthik Tadepalli at Asterisk:
ITRI is an applied R&D lab, founded to rapidly elevate Taiwan’s technological capabilities, particularly in electronics.1 In addition to conducting research, ITRI acquired technology from abroad, trained Taiwanese firms to use it, and even provided services to firms directly — with the ultimate goal of making Taiwan a global leader in the electronics industry.
It succeeded, to say the least.
ITRI started with a shoestring budget of NT$210 million ($16 million today) and 400 employees, of whom only 10 had PhDs.2 It became one of the highest-return research initiatives in history. ITRI was responsible for creating multiple billion-dollar companies — including the legendary TSMC— and driving Taiwan to produce 60% of the world’s chips today.
How did it do it?
More here.
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