Taiwan’s TMI Launches Hardware Acceleration Program With Backing From Kaifu Lee

Taipei-based incubator, Taiwan Mobile Innovation (TMI), has launched its hardware acceleration program earlier this month. It hopes to attract mobile and internet-related hardware startups to take part in this inaugural program, and will render support required from prototype to mass production stage.

Hardware acceleration program details

The program will take approximately nine to 12 months, depending on the product development cycle. As for the funding, seed capital will be provided but according to CEO of TMI, Lucas Wang, it is a separate decision process. It will work more like an angel investment decision along with its investors, and typically the investment amount would be around US$100,000.

The incubator does not seek profit from incubating its startups. In exchange for its incubation services, TMI has the option of being entitled to “discounts” when startups raise their next round of funding. They look to seek “profit” via means of capital gain in the near future. Lucas explains more:

[If] we work with a startup by helping them to get the best fit manufacturing or design service, and they charge this whole production for US$30k, TMI will [not charge] for the extra service in managing the whole process. TMI does not charge on the manufacturing side for [the linking-up] fee and does not charge startups for service fee.

TMI is looking to incubate around six to eight startups. It will be providing guidance on how to penetrate into the Asia market, as well as issues pertaining to manufacturing and production. Startups incubated will receive knowledge on the best design for production, material and component adoption, production schedule planning, quality testing and quality control, forecasting, as well as sourcing of manufacturers and partners.

There will be senior project managers hailing from manufacturing backgrounds as well as investors from hardware design and manufacturing companies. Lucas clarifies the difference in mentorship for hardware startups versus software startups:

In hardware innovation, one of the key points is to deliver the real product that can best comply with the original/innovative design within the planned schedule. TMI converts mentorship, which is popular in software innovation, into project management in the manufacturing side. To startups, it is like Apple being served by Foxconn. TMI helps them connect with the right manufacturers for their businesses.

TMI also explains that it is different from other hardware incubator, such as Shenzhen’s HAXLR8R.

To make things clear, Lucas tells us that there are four differences between HAXLR8R and its program: