[Edaily Marketin Soyoung Park Reporter] Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, is expanding its ties with local governments in South Korea. The city plans to work with Seoul Metropolitan Government and Goyang City to enhance their cooperative framework for revitalizing the venture ecosystem. This comes as an innovation startup program launched by Taipei has adopted cooperation with South Korea as a core strategy starting this year.

The city intends to hold discussions with South Korean institutions to facilitate the entry of South Korean and Taiwanese companies into third markets, such as the United States and Japan. Industry attention is focused on whether this inter-city cooperation will establish itself as a model for startups from both countries to expand overseas.

According to the global investment banking (IB) industry on the 21st, “Startup@Taipei,” a flagship innovation startup program led by the Taipei City Government’s Department of Industrial Development, is seeking to strengthen cooperation with venture ecosystem stakeholders in South Korea.

Startup@Taipei differs in nature from typical government programs that merely provide grants or acceleration services. It is explained that the program directly supports companies in areas where they need assistance—such as entering global markets, connecting with capital market stakeholders, and preparing for initial public offerings (IPOs)—by leveraging Taipei City’s resources.

Leo Wu, Co-Director of the Startup@Taipei Korea Project for Taipei City, said, “Until now, we have operated the program with the primary goal of entering the U.S., Japanese, and Southeast Asian markets,” adding, “Starting this year, we have adopted cooperation with South Korea as a core strategy to respond to changes in the global tariff and trade environment and the expansion of the AI industry.”

Earlier, representatives from Startup@Taipei participated in “NextRise 2026,” Asia’s largest technology and startup event, held last month at COEX in Seoul. This visit was not merely intended to explore the domestic market; rather, it aimed to create a collaborative model that combines the regional data and AI capabilities of both countries to expand into the Asian market.

Startup@Taipei focused particularly on “AI application services.” From their perspective, the areas where the two countries can generate synergy lie at the intersection of AI with marketing, consumer engagement, and cross-border data. Specifically, they highlighted sectors such as △consumer tech, △retail tech, △fintech, △enterprise AI agents, △data platforms, and △brand growth.

For example, KABOB CLOUD, a Taiwanese retail company, demonstrates that Taipei-based AI firms can serve not merely as suppliers but as digital transformation partners for global retail brands. The company has expanded into global markets including Hong Kong, Singapore, the U.S., Japan, Malaysia, and China. In South Korea, it provides smart retail solutions to major domestic retail channels such as E-Mart, Lotte Mart, Homeplus, GS25, and Daiso.

Plans are also taking shape to join forces with local governments in South Korea to help regional companies from both countries enter third markets such as the United States and Japan. To this end, the Taipei City Government, through the Seoul Business Agency (SBA), is promoting a joint initiative to help regional startups from Taiwan and South Korea expand their services into the Japanese market. It has been engaging in steady exchanges with Goyang City for several years and is supporting two-way investment channels with the Goyang Industrial Promotion Agency (GIA).

Going forward, Startup@Taipei plans to expand the partnerships it has established with major domestic innovation networks, including those in Seoul and Goyang. The goal is to support companies from both countries in jointly participating in the next phase of growth for the Asian AI industry. Miriam Klapp, Senior Manager of the Korea Project at Startup@Taipei in Taipei City, stated, “Based on our collaborative network, we aim to foster talent exchange between the two countries, facilitate entry into both nations’ markets and third-party markets, promote investment cooperation, and cultivate new business opportunities in the Asia-Pacific region.”