TAIPEI, Taiwan--(BUSINESS WIRE)--COMPUTEX 2017, co-organized by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) and the Taipei Computer Association (TCA), announced that 41,378 international visitors from 167 countries attended the show, a one-percent increase over last year. Countries with the highest visitor growth include Thailand (30.63 percent), Indonesia (22.52 percent), India (20.86 percent), Vietnam (20.44 percent), and Russia (14.81 percent). During the show, TAITRA organized 955 one-on-one procurement meetings to directly link 181 VIP buyers with 297 exhibitors. This clearly indicates COMPUTEX standing as the international procurement platform attracting buyers to invest, and leads the ICT industry in building global technology ecosystems. InnoVEX, the startup exhibit at COMPUTEX, attracted 14,977 visits in a short three-day period, an increase of 36 percent over last year.
AI creates a new frontier in the technology industry
Artificial intelligence (AI), regarded by Gartner as one of the strategic technology trends for 2017, shined at COMPUTEX this year. Jensen Huang, founder, president and CEO of NVIDIA, indicated during the NVIDIA AI Forum that AI effectiveness can be raised 10-50 times through the heterogeneous computing of a GPU. Jeffrey A. Rhoda, general manager, Greater China Group of IBM Corporation, predicted AI will become ubiquitous and enhance rather than replace human work. With many featured AI trend discussions and product launches, COMPUTEX became the largest and most international AI trade show platform.
IoT applications improve life style
COMPUTEX 2017 was filled with smart wearable and healthcare devices, and many other IoT solutions. They included: Digitsole, a French leader in connected footwear providing heating and health tracking; Cinema2Go, from Israel, whose MoGo headset enables users to watch movies through mobile phones anywhere and anytime with cinematic experience; iBand+, from the Netherlands, a headband and app helping to improve sleep quality; and Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), which focused on intelligent vision, healthcare, and city, with nearly 30 new technologies and applications.
InnoVEX, Asia’s leading global startup platform
InnoVEX attracted 272 startups from 23 countries/territories showcasing innovations and establishing global partnerships. This year’s InnoVEX Pitch Contest Grand Prize of US$30K was awarded to security-as-a-service startup Amaryllo from the Netherlands. Addweup, a Taiwanese foreign currency service available at airports, received the Foxconn Technology Group Special Award of US$10,000.
Walter Yeh, president & CEO of TAITRA, said, “COMPUTEX went through a positive transformation over the past two years with featured exhibits and forum topics in sync with global technology trends while continuing to maintain its position as a leading ICT show internationally. COMPUTEX showcases the complete ICT supply chain while expanding into the IoT ecosystems and AI applications of today. We intend to bring even more global innovations and startups to join COMPUTEX as the best platform for big corporations and startups to establish strategic partnerships.”
COMPUTEX 2018 runs from June 5-9, 2018.
About COMPUTEX TAIPEI (also called COMPUTEX):
Established in 1981, COMPUTEX TAIPEI is the leading global ICT and IoT show with a complete supply chain and ecosystems. Co-organized by the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) and Taipei Computer Association (TCA), COMPUTEX, based upon Taiwan’s complete ICT clusters, covers the whole spectrum of ICT industry, from established brands to startups and from ICT supply chain to IoT ecosystems. With strong R&D and manufacturing capabilities and IPR protection, Taiwan is a strategic destination for foreign companies and investors looking for partners in global technology ecosystems. Follow COMPUTEX on its website at www.computextaipei.com.tw and on Twitter @computex_taipei using the hashtag #COMPUTEX.
About TAITRA:
Founded in 1970 to help promote foreign trade, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) is the foremost non-profit trade promotion organization in Taiwan. Jointly sponsored by the government, industry associations, and several commercial organizations, TAITRA assists Taiwan businesses and manufacturers with reinforcing their international competitiveness and in coping with the challenges they face in foreign markets.
TAITRA boasts a well-coordinated trade promotion and information network of over 1,200 trained specialists stationed throughout its Taipei headquarters, four local branch offices in Hsinchu, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, and 60 overseas branch offices worldwide. Together with its sister organizations, Taiwan Trade Center (TTC) and Taipei World Trade Center (TWTC), TAITRA has created a wealth of trade opportunities through effective promotion strategies.
In addition to organizing trade delegations & providing customized procurement services, TAITRA also hosts more than 35 international trade shows annually in Taipei and in Kaohsiung. In 2016, 11,128 exhibitors and 83,807 international visitors took part in these events.
