News
最新消息
Daicel Group Accelerator Achievement: ITRI and Foodland Ventures Mentor Internal Teams to Deepen Taiwan-Japan Innovation Ties
2026.01.01
2026.01.01
(Hsinchu, Taiwan / Tokyo, Japan) The Daicel Corporate Accelerator, a collaboration between the century-old Japanese conglomerate Daicel Group and the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), successfully held an internal R&D innovation Demo Pitch event at Daicel's Tokyo headquarters on November 11, 2025.
The event featured heavyweight judges, including Dr. Lewis Chen, General Director of ITRI's Commercialization and Industrial Service Center (CIS), and Mr. Victor Chen, Founder & CEO of Foodland Ventures. The pitch not only showcased the excellent achievements of the 2025 Daicel Accelerator Grand Prize winner, Singular Wings Medical (奇翼醫電), but also provided precise and practical market commercialization strategies for five of Daicel Group's internal R&D teams' "startup-ization." This demonstrated Daicel's commitment to accelerating corporate R&D and external ecosystem collaboration through Open Innovation.
Figure 1. Dr. Lewis Chen, General Director of ITRI's Commercialization and Industrial Service Center (CIS), was invited by Daicel to serve as a judge for the internal corporate venture seed team Demo Pitch at the Group's Tokyo Headquarters, providing commentary and startup advice.
I. Daicel Accelerator Affirms Taiwan's Innovation Energy, Deepens International Collaboration
The event opened with remarks from Dr. Michael Ho, Daicel Accelerator Partnership Director from ITRI's CIS.
Dr. Ho first elaborated on ITRI's crucial role in Taiwan's industrial services and startup linkage. He expressed sincere gratitude to the Daicel Group for affirming Taiwan's startup innovation energy and for the multi-faceted exchange and collaboration, successfully building a model for Corporate Startup Engagement (CSE) between Taiwan and Japan. He highlighted that the two-year collaboration has expanded beyond introducing external startups to Daicel's internal R&D and manufacturing teams. In 2025, it expanded to launch a Demo Pitch event for Corporate Venture R&D seed teams focusing on internal innovation, inviting experts from Taiwan's startup ecosystem to serve as judges. He believes this two-way innovation exchange (Outside-in and Inside-out) facilitated by the Daicel Accelerator will accelerate the overall commercialization synergy of the Group's R&D efforts.
Figure. 2. Dr. Michael Ho, Partnership Director of Daicel-ITRI Accelerator, introduces ITRI's services and relevant R&D achievements.
II. Grand Prize Winner Singular Wings Medical Demo Pitch Showcases Smart Healthcare Momentum
The event's highlight followed, with David Lee, CEO of the 2025 Daicel Accelerator Grand Prize winner, Taiwan startup Singular Wings Medical (奇翼醫電), delivering a demo pitch. Singular Wings Medical stood out with its innovative solutions in smart medical technology (smart medtech) and non-invasive vital sensing. Singular Wings Medical has already engaged in R&D and technical exchange with the Daicel Group, deepening PoC (Proof of Concept) collaboration under the witness of Dr. Lewis Chen, General Director of ITRI's CIS, bringing tangible synergy to the commercialization of technologies and new business development for both parties.
Figure 3. The Singular Wings Medical team delivering their technical presentation at Daicel's Tokyo Headquarters, participating in the Demo Pitch event hosted by Daicel Group's internal R&D innovation teams.
III. Daicel Internal Teams Focus on Five Technical Seeds, Prepare for Market Startup-ization
Subsequently, five internal R&D teams from the Daicel Group took the stage sequentially to pitch their technology commercialization and startup ideas. These teams transform Daicel's deep foundation in materials into potential market-ready startup seeds:
Figure 4. Daicel Group's 1st Internal R&D Team presenting their startup concept.
Figure 5. Daicel Group's 2nd Internal R&D Team presenting their startup concept.
Figure 6. Daicel Group's 3rd Internal R&D Team presenting their startup concept.
Figure 7. Daicel Group's 4th Internal R&D Team presenting their startup concept.
Figure 8. Daicel Group's 5th Internal R&D Team presenting their startup concept.
The event featured heavyweight judges, including Dr. Lewis Chen, General Director of ITRI's Commercialization and Industrial Service Center (CIS), and Mr. Victor Chen, Founder & CEO of Foodland Ventures. The pitch not only showcased the excellent achievements of the 2025 Daicel Accelerator Grand Prize winner, Singular Wings Medical (奇翼醫電), but also provided precise and practical market commercialization strategies for five of Daicel Group's internal R&D teams' "startup-ization." This demonstrated Daicel's commitment to accelerating corporate R&D and external ecosystem collaboration through Open Innovation.
Figure 1. Dr. Lewis Chen, General Director of ITRI's Commercialization and Industrial Service Center (CIS), was invited by Daicel to serve as a judge for the internal corporate venture seed team Demo Pitch at the Group's Tokyo Headquarters, providing commentary and startup advice.
I. Daicel Accelerator Affirms Taiwan's Innovation Energy, Deepens International Collaboration
The event opened with remarks from Dr. Michael Ho, Daicel Accelerator Partnership Director from ITRI's CIS.
Dr. Ho first elaborated on ITRI's crucial role in Taiwan's industrial services and startup linkage. He expressed sincere gratitude to the Daicel Group for affirming Taiwan's startup innovation energy and for the multi-faceted exchange and collaboration, successfully building a model for Corporate Startup Engagement (CSE) between Taiwan and Japan. He highlighted that the two-year collaboration has expanded beyond introducing external startups to Daicel's internal R&D and manufacturing teams. In 2025, it expanded to launch a Demo Pitch event for Corporate Venture R&D seed teams focusing on internal innovation, inviting experts from Taiwan's startup ecosystem to serve as judges. He believes this two-way innovation exchange (Outside-in and Inside-out) facilitated by the Daicel Accelerator will accelerate the overall commercialization synergy of the Group's R&D efforts.
Figure. 2. Dr. Michael Ho, Partnership Director of Daicel-ITRI Accelerator, introduces ITRI's services and relevant R&D achievements.
II. Grand Prize Winner Singular Wings Medical Demo Pitch Showcases Smart Healthcare Momentum
The event's highlight followed, with David Lee, CEO of the 2025 Daicel Accelerator Grand Prize winner, Taiwan startup Singular Wings Medical (奇翼醫電), delivering a demo pitch. Singular Wings Medical stood out with its innovative solutions in smart medical technology (smart medtech) and non-invasive vital sensing. Singular Wings Medical has already engaged in R&D and technical exchange with the Daicel Group, deepening PoC (Proof of Concept) collaboration under the witness of Dr. Lewis Chen, General Director of ITRI's CIS, bringing tangible synergy to the commercialization of technologies and new business development for both parties.
Figure 3. The Singular Wings Medical team delivering their technical presentation at Daicel's Tokyo Headquarters, participating in the Demo Pitch event hosted by Daicel Group's internal R&D innovation teams.
III. Daicel Internal Teams Focus on Five Technical Seeds, Prepare for Market Startup-ization
Subsequently, five internal R&D teams from the Daicel Group took the stage sequentially to pitch their technology commercialization and startup ideas. These teams transform Daicel's deep foundation in materials into potential market-ready startup seeds:
- Cellulose Acetate Resin: A degradable resin made from plants, with high molding performance.
Figure 4. Daicel Group's 1st Internal R&D Team presenting their startup concept.
- Utilization of Liquid Crystalline Polymers microparticles: A new material for low-cost production of LCP based Flexible-Printed-Circuit
Figure 5. Daicel Group's 2nd Internal R&D Team presenting their startup concept.
- WSCA (Water Solvent Cellulose Acetate): A new concepted water-soluble dietary fiber as food ingredient, which can improve gut health and control body weight.
Figure 6. Daicel Group's 3rd Internal R&D Team presenting their startup concept.
- Cyclic Olefin Copolymers with Toughness and Beyond: A new kind of COC with higher electrical performance as Flexible-Printed-Circuit.
Figure 7. Daicel Group's 4th Internal R&D Team presenting their startup concept.
- Monk fruit extract: Focusing on Food for Health Innovation, utilizing it as a sweetener and food additive.
Figure 8. Daicel Group's 5th Internal R&D Team presenting their startup concept.
IV. Judges' Key Takeaways: Practical Strategies from Market Rigid Demand to Product-Market Fit (PMF)
The feedback from the two external expert judges provided valuable market perspective and practical experience to the Daicel internal teams.
Mr. Victor Chen, Founder & CEO of Foodland Ventures, emphasized:
The feedback from the two external expert judges provided valuable market perspective and practical experience to the Daicel internal teams.
Mr. Victor Chen, Founder & CEO of Foodland Ventures, emphasized:
- After locking down the target market, it is crucial to conduct in-depth KYC (Know Your Customer) to understand the genuine needs of potential clients.
- Teams should collaborate with experts in the target market early to optimize product development direction and effectively save time and R&D resource costs.
Dr. Lewis Chen, General Director of ITRI's CIS, offered advice from the perspective of technology commercialization and scalability:
- Technology commercialization must target the potential customers' must-have (剛性需求) to identify a market that is large enough and provide the high-value solutions .
- R&D teams must develop a Functional Prototype, actively seek feedback from 3 or more users to adjust R&D efforts and products, and collaborate deeply with channels to effectively achieve Product-Market Fit (PMF) and scalable up a sustainable, business model.
Figure 9. Dr. Lewis Chen, General Director of ITRI CIS, was invited by Daicel to serve as a judge for the internal corporate venture seed team Demo Pitch at the Group's Tokyo Headquarters, where he engaged in in-depth exchange with Daicel R&D team executives.
V. Future Outlook: Daicel Accelerator Combines Corporate R&D and Startup Ecosystem to Accelerate Taiwan-Japan Innovation Linkage
The successful execution of the Daicel Internal Innovation Demo Pitch is not only a milestone for Daicel Group in accelerating its internal venturing but also demonstrates the Daicel Accelerator's critical role in fostering Taiwan-Japan technology collaboration.
In summary, the future collaboration between ITRI and Daicel will continue to deepen across the following three directions, aligned with the "2025 ITRI New President's New Directions - Key Operating Priorities":
Figure 9. Dr. Lewis Chen, General Director of ITRI CIS, was invited by Daicel to serve as a judge for the internal corporate venture seed team Demo Pitch at the Group's Tokyo Headquarters, where he engaged in in-depth exchange with Daicel R&D team executives.
V. Future Outlook: Daicel Accelerator Combines Corporate R&D and Startup Ecosystem to Accelerate Taiwan-Japan Innovation Linkage
The successful execution of the Daicel Internal Innovation Demo Pitch is not only a milestone for Daicel Group in accelerating its internal venturing but also demonstrates the Daicel Accelerator's critical role in fostering Taiwan-Japan technology collaboration.
In summary, the future collaboration between ITRI and Daicel will continue to deepen across the following three directions, aligned with the "2025 ITRI New President's New Directions - Key Operating Priorities":
- Deep Cultivation in Taiwan: Through the Daicel Accelerator program, ITRI continues to act as a key driver of the startup ecosystem, successfully introducing outstanding Taiwanese startups (such as FlowVIEW Tek, Singular Wings Medical, and other annual winners/finalists) to major international corporations, thereby consolidating Taiwan's competitive advantages in the high-tech industry.
- Global Layout: This cross-border exchange is the best practice for "connecting with international resources and enhancing Taiwan's global visibility," helping Taiwanese startup products market worldwide.
- Talent Gathering: By inviting top experts from ITRI and Foodland Ventures as judges, the event provided Daicel's internal R&D teams with startup thinking and commercialization strategies, fostering cross-institutional and cross-domain collaboration and talent exchange, and developing frontier and key technologies.
Daicel Group is committed to tighter, long-term cooperation with ITRI and the Taiwanese startup ecosystem. The Daicel Accelerator has become the Group's key innovation engine for "Outside-in technology integration" and "Inside-out commercialization acceleration." Externally, it continues to introduce high-potential startups like Singular Wings Medical, jointly exploring the vast potential of innovative materials and smart technology. Internally, through the accelerator mechanism, it successfully transforms the five internal R&D material and health seed technologies into competitive business prototypes. Both parties will continue to leverage the Daicel Accelerator as a cross-border startup collaboration platform, achieving win-win innovation for the Group and the startups, and contributing to industrial innovation in Taiwan, Japan, and globally.