Taipei, Nov. 27 (EFECOM).- Taiwan President William Lai announced on Thursday that the government will allocate more than NT$30,000 million (US$3,857 million) in 2026 to promote “ten major construction projects in artificial intelligence,” CNA reported.
The strategy seeks to strengthen the island’s industrial and technological ecosystem through focused investments in silicon photonics, quantum computing, drones with artificial intelligence and intelligent robotics.
Lai, who accepted the winners of the Exemplary Entrepreneur Awards, emphasized that artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies are indeed “key pieces” to enhancing Taiwan’s economic resilience in a context characterized by international competition, energy transition and geopolitical tensions.
He noted that the goal is to build an “innovation-driven” environment that closely links industry, talent and research.
The president noted that the reform of the Industrial Innovation Law, which integrates artificial intelligence and energy efficiency into investment tax credits, was completed this year.
In addition, the National Development Fund launched an angel investment program worth NT$10 billion (about US$1,286 million) for projects related to artificial intelligence, carbon neutrality, semiconductors, and smart manufacturing.
Lai acknowledged that Taiwan’s SMEs face difficulties arising from mutual tariffs, digitalization requirements, emissions targets and expansion into international markets.
To support them, the executive raised the aid program stipulated in the Resilience Law to NT$93 billion (about US$11,958 million) and maintained an annual investment of more than NT$10 billion (about US$1,286 million) to modernize SMEs and microenterprises.
This announcement reinforces the central role that artificial intelligence plays in the island’s economic growth.
The Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER) expects GDP to grow by 5.94% in 2025, driven by strong global demand for advanced chips and AI-related equipment.
Taiwan’s own statistics bureau estimates that GDP advanced 7.64% year-on-year in the third quarter, with technology exports – especially high-performance semiconductors – the main driver.
Taiwan, home to giants such as TSMC and Foxconn, is set to strengthen its leadership in strategic technologies.
The government expects silicon photonics, quantum computing and robotics to generate hundreds of thousands of jobs and trillions of Taiwanese dollars in production in the coming decades, as it aims to place the country among the world’s top five developers of artificial intelligence. Aficom