Taiwan has formally committed over NT$100 billion (US$3.2 billion) to a new national initiative to turn the island into a global hub for artificial intelligence. The funding, reported by Nikkei Asia on Tuesday, November 18, will support a ten-point strategy focused on next-generation hardware, with government officials naming silicon photonics, quantum computing, and AI robotics as priority areas for research and development.
The AI push is being modelled after the "10 Major Construction Projects" of the 1970s, a campaign widely credited with modernising Taiwan’s infrastructure. This time, the government wants AI to serve as the new industrial core, capable of generating NT$7 trillion in added value by 2028 and NT$15 trillion by 2040. The draft 2026 budget alone sets aside more than NT$30 billion for early-stage deployment.
