PUBLICATIONS & REPORTS

PUBLICATIONS & REPORTS

The Cooperation with Startups by Taiwanese major EMS: A Case Study of Wistron Group

Author KISHIMOTO Chikashi
Date of Publication 2024. 3
No. 2024-06
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Contents Introduction

The purpose of this study is to elucidate the actual situation of collaboration between large companies and startups (Corporate Startup Engagement: CSE) in Taiwan. To that end, I conduct a case study of Wistron Corporation, one of the Taiwanese leading contract electronics manufacturing companies and one of the largest companies that are very active in CSE. Since the mid-2010s, Wistron has explored new businesses that will lead the next decade in addition to the existing ICT industry. Wistron has always had a culture that emphasizes innovation, and in the past it was mainly internal activities (encouragement of intrapreneurs, etc.). But in recent years, the company has been trying to incorporate new external winds by collaborating with startups in parallel. Wistron started investment in startups (CVC) in 2010, but in recent years, the scope of 2 investment has expanded to include fields that are considerably further away from existing businesses. When collaborating with startups, it is necessary to clarify the company's own growth strategy in advance. In addition, the continuous support and commitment of the company's upper management is indispensable. Business units directly involved in fostering and cooperating with startups need to cultivate a culture of tolerance and engage in sustainable and flexible initiatives. In order to alleviate this burden and provide a wide range of support, Innovation Integration Center (IIC), a department specializing in supporting startups, was established in 2015. In addition, Wistron works closely with proven accelerators like AppWorks and Garage+ to make it easier to explore promising startup teams.