Beyond A Chip Odyssey: Taiwan’s ICT History Also Deserves to Be Recorded and Carried Forward

A Chip Odyssey has become hugely popular lately and is flooding my feed. It primarily describes the history of Taiwan’s semiconductor industry. Taiwan also has its electronics industry, generally called ICT. Its history can be traced back to San Ai Electronics, founded in 1972, which mainly made audio equipment. Wen Shih-jen and Lin Baili then developed electronic calculators. This subsequently grew into major groups such as Kinpo, Compal, Inventec, and Quanta. Another branch of ICT began when Stan Shih founded Acer in 1976. This branch also developed into groups including Acer, Wistron, Asus—if we stretch the connection—Pegatron, BenQ, and Qisda. Taiwan’s ICT industry has continued to grow, making Taiwan a major producer of PCs and notebooks. Today’s red-hot server business also developed out of ICT. Its total revenue and output are no less impressive than those of semiconductors. I wonder whether director Hsiao Chu-chen would be interested in making a film about the history of Taiwan’s ICT industry too. XDDDD --- Robin: “Looking back, we can draw inspiration from our predecessors’ willingness to take responsibility and their entrepreneurial spirit. Different eras call for different approaches. But how do we pass the torch of innovation and entrepreneurship to the next generation? Our generation must connect that legacy to the future. We cannot still be living off achievements from forty or fifty years ago. We must create a new era for the next generation.”