2018 Success Stories

Sushiro is the number one conveyor belt sushi brand in Osaka, Japan. It is extremely cautious when assessing overseas investments, and took many factors into consideration before expanding overseas to Taipei. Taipei City is a friendly and highly internationalized city. It is the political, economic, and cultural center of Taiwan, and about 75% of its industrial structure is made up by the service industry. Taipei City offers high quality talent, convenient transportation, good public security, and ICT, healthcare, and education infrastructure, which has attracted many multinational corporations and financial institutions. The rent of office space in Taipei City is more competitive than Beijing, Shanghai, Seoul, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Tokyo; fuel, water, and electricity is also cheaper, and information on commercial real estate is transparent. All of these advantages attract the food and beverage service industry to invest in Taipei City. Even more importantly, Sushiro hopes to let people around the world understand the culture of sushi. Many consumers in Taipei City are a big fan of Japanese cuisine. They are familiar with Japanese sushi culture and understand the taste of sushi. These are important factors taken into consideration by Sushiro when expanding in Taipei.

To establish its first flagship store in Taipei City, Sushiro searched for the most suitable location, applied for a permit, looked into local laws and regulations, and completed interior design through Daiwa House Group, the most trustworthy house group in Japan. Sushiro went through many procedures for the first time because it was opening its first store in Taiwan.

The building construction and store opening process were both delayed because Sushiro was unfamiliar with Taipei's investment environment. Cross-departmental administrative assistance was provided through Invest Taipei Office (ITO), which provided one-stop service, including industry information, consultation, and introduction. ITO assisted Sushiro in business registration and negotiations concerning building management laws, helping Sushiro to eliminate barriers and successfully open its store in Taipei City. President Mizutome of Sushiro said that business is booming in both stores in Taipei City, which has many locals and tourists. Sushiro plans to open at least 10 stores in Taipei in hopes of letting everyone be able to taste authentic sushi. He also thanked consumers in Taipei City for their love and support for Sushiro.

Sushiro's successful expansion in Taipei City was made possible through the preparations of Daiwa House Group and assistance of ITO, which allowed it to successfully obtaining a building permit and consultation for the investment. ITO not only provides companies with consulting and assistance in the various issues that they encounter when expanding into Taipei City, but also provides strategic partner services. If Sushiro has any needs related to ingredient selection, ITO is happy to introduce it to Taipei City's agriculture companies and promote Taipei City's agricultural specialties.

ITO is a one-stop window provided by Taipei City Government for foreign companies to make investments in Taipei City. Companies making investments in Taipei City are welcome to contact ITO, which will provide the best services to investors!

AIxMED is a biotech startup in Silicon Valley that brings together AI and medicine. The company has chosen Taipei as a new base for new business developments, mainly due to the importance of Taiwan's role in international ICT and medical developments. Biotechnology is an important industry in Taipei City, which has an abundance of talent in electrical engineering, ICT, and clinical medicine. The ICT and biotechnology industries in Taipei lead the country and have high level of internationalization. Taipei is within one hour drive of New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan, and Hsinchu, and only 30 minutes away from Hsinchu Science Park by Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR). The convenient transportation is one of the main reasons why AIxMED selected Taipei City for its new base.

Taipei City is the nation's center for industrial development and professional services such as finance. AIxMED hopes to integrate cross-disciplinary talent, medical institutions, and school resources for the development of smart healthcare in Taiwan. Taipei City has outstanding students in the field of electrical engineering and medicine. This pool of engineering and medical talent meets AIxMED's demand on AI and biomedical talent. Taipei City also boasts convenient transportation with all major cities in the country less than two hours away by THSR. Travel overseas is also convenient as major cities in the Asia Pacific can be reached in 2-4 hours. The convenient MRT network allows businessmen to quickly arrive at the international airport, and is also one of the factors taken into consideration by AIxMED when choosing Taipei City to set up its new business location.

In addition to the outstanding talent and convenient transportation, Taipei City has excellent conditions for the development of biotechnology with respect to data and environment.

As access to Taiwan's medical data is provided in the future, the integration of data from National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei Hospital, Veterans General Hospital, and other hospitals will create favorable conditions for AIxMED's business development. Taiwan also has one of the world's best national health insurance systems and digitalized management.

Combined with its excellent clinical medical technologies and complete databases, as well as the development advantages offered by the industrial cluster at the National Biotechnology Research Park in Nangang, now is a good time for AIxMED to secure a spot. The National Biotechnology Research Park in Nangang will formally open in 2022 and create a cluster effect. This is extremely appealing to AIxMED, which has chosen to seek new development in Taipei City at this time in hopes of seizing future opportunities.

AIxMED was introduced by TAITRA's Taiwan Trade Center, San Francisco, and Invest Taipei Office (ITO) provided great assistance in searching for an office in Taipei City, also providing professional assistance and advice regarding laws, accounting, and company registration. ITO also provided substantial assistance such as information on subsidy projects for artificial intelligence innovation, research and development, and investments. AIxMED went through a complex application process for company registration when it first came to Taiwan.

Besides providing information on company establishment, ITO also recommended the Business Center of Taipei World Trade Center and allowed AIxMED to quickly find a suitable office, saving it considerable time that could be redirected towards research and development. ITO's assistance eliminated many barriers and helped AIxMED navigate through the administrative formalities.

The founder of AIxMED is a Taiwanese American whose main considerations for developments in Asia included the city's internationalization, talent, transportation, schools, and medical institutions. After taking all of the factors into consideration, the founder finally chose Taipei City for AIxMED's new location.

With the assistance provided in financing and networking, as well as the startup encouragement plans of the Ministry of Science and Technology and Ministry of Economic Affairs, Taipei City is the best place for startups to be.

Taipei City is very suitable for business development with respect to talent, resources, policies, and degree of freedom, which naturally makes it the first choice for startups. ITO also plays an important role in helping entrepreneurs find a place in Taipei City. We believe that the assistance of ITO along with Taipei City's excellent software/hardware resources will remove all development constraints for investors in Taipei City!