TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — YouTube co-founder Steve Chen (陳士駿) is working on recreating Silicon Valley in Taiwan by connecting talent between the two tech hubs.
In an interview with KRON4 published on Wednesday (Dec. 27), Chen said that due to the COVID pandemic, what was meant to be a short stint in Taiwan has turned into a long-term stay. Having returned to the land of his birth, Chen is now on a mission to replicate Silicon Valley’s start-up environment in Taiwan.
Chen said one of the main challenges in Taiwan is that although it has a strong base in hardware, especially semiconductors, it has struggled to foster growth in the software sector. He said that over the past 20 years, there have been unsuccessful efforts at promoting an environment in which startups can thrive and he is now looking at lessons learned from the past to help Taiwan transition to a software development center.
One approach Chen is advocating is to have the co-founders of Taiwanese startups live for an extended period in Silicon Valley to absorb knowledge from the environment. At the same time, a team in Taiwan “on the engineering side, on the UI, UX design side” can coordinate with the management in California.
His goal is to establish a virtuous cycle of “more globally experienced entrepreneurs that were originally from Taiwan but now have had and spent experience time in Silicon Valley.” Chen said that over time, as more experienced professionals return from their stays of “three months, six months, a year,” they can aid other startups in getting off the ground in Taiwan.
Another facet of Chen’s vision is to further leverage the Gold Card program to bring global talent to Taiwan. He said that he was invited to receive the first Gold Card in 2018 and has been so pleased with the program that he has renewed his card.
Chen described the program as a way to attract skilled professionals who “otherwise would not have really considered Taiwan as a destination that they want to move to.” He said he is currently working with the government to better streamline the online application process.
