The Executive Lounge (董總會客室) channel has officially launched. The first episode takes "strategic investment" as its theme. Host Sharon invited three guests: APLEX Technology Chairman Li Chuan-Te (李傳德), AIWin Chairman Aaron Lin, and Shen Hsueh-Jen (申學仁), investment advisor at the National Innovation and Entrepreneurship Association, to share their insights from the investor's and the investee's sides, with the advisor exploring the value of the role strategic investors play.
Representing the investor, Li Chuan-Te said that APLEX Technology has long focused on industrial computer hardware development and has ample capital. With the rapid rise of AI technology, market demand for integrated hardware-and-software solutions has multiplied, and APLEX hopes to combine hardware with software and AI applications to realize its vision of smart manufacturing. That is why it saw value in AIWin's extensive experience in AI technology and smart manufacturing, hoping the combination can create greater value in the market.
APLEX chose to invest externally rather than build its own department internally because the talent and knowledge for software and hardware differ so greatly, and it felt that external innovation might be faster than internal R&D. By leveraging AIWin's technological strengths, APLEX Technology can move quickly to seize the lead in the smart manufacturing market. "This investment is an important part of our future strategy," Li Chuan-Te added.
On the investee side, Dr. Aaron Lin shared the challenges encountered during fundraising. He said AIWin is an R&D-centered technology company, with R&D staff making up as much as 70% of its workforce. Its technology-driven culture makes its products competitive, but it also makes it hard for investors to grasp the business value intuitively, which was the main reason it had long been unable to reach a consensus with investors on investment value.
Aaron Lin admitted that to win investors over, the business plan was revised at least a hundred times during the search for investors before a balance between technology and business model was gradually found, finally allowing investors to understand how the technology translates into concrete market returns. "Investors care more about the viability of the business model than the details of the technology itself."
In addition, Shen Hsueh-Jen pointed out that the role of the investment advisor in strategic investment is to build a bridge of communication between the two sides and maximize the benefits of the collaboration.
For example, in this collaboration the two sides held multiple evaluations and discussions on technology valuation, the clarity of market prospects and future value. From the investee's perspective, AIWin believed its technology deserved a higher valuation, while APLEX Technology, given that market prospects were still unclear, felt future value was hard to pin down. The advisor helped both sides ensure the collaboration could reach consensus and deliver stable business returns. "That is the biggest difference between strategic investment and financial investment."
For startups, technology alone is not enough to attract investors; what matters more is turning technology into concrete business value and attracting strategic investment with a concrete market plan. Through the in-depth analysis and practical experience shared by its guests, "The Executive Lounge" channel hopes to help startups and investors explore the potential of strategic partnerships and gain valuable practical insights from the program.
Article: https://reurl.cc/36rm48