Introducing
INNOVATION ZONE
A platform to showcase our emerging customers’ innovations

Pursuit of innovation never stops. TSMC is always passionate about working with startup customers. We consistently invest in enabling their success through our dedicated teams and resources. Over the years, we are honored and proud to have helped more than 1,500 startup companies transform forward-looking ideas into innovative products through TSMC Grand Alliance. In fact, many of these early startups have become the foundation of today’s Fabless industry.

Since 2021, TSMC began hosting Innovation Zone at the TSMC Technology Symposium to showcase cutting-edge products from this community. Here, attendees can witness innovations from wide-range applications in HPC, communication, automotive, IoT and consumer segments. Many disruptive products have been demonstrated at the show, for examples high-speed interconnect, cashier-less retail, satellite-mobile communication, lidar, battery-free devices, power electronics, facial recognition, cloud AI system, and more.

Re-live Innovation Zone highlights below and read here to learn how we support our customers through technology leadership, manufacturing excellence, a comprehensive design ecosystem, process technology, and roadmap planning.

Award Winners
Demo of the Year Award
Demo of the Year Award is presented each year to the most popular demo elected by Innovation Zone visitors.
The TSMC Trophy

The bespoke TSMC Trophy is from our green manufacturing innovation. It is sculptured with copper and cobalt regenerated from TSMC’s fab process.

The trophy’s shape embodies the strength, aesthetics, and spirit as envisioned through TSMC’s relentless pursuit of innovation with our Grand Alliance partners.

2023 North America
How Ambiq’s neuralSPOT® Harnesses AI for Real-Time Heart Health Monitoring.
2023 Europe
Highly efficient GaN power module deliver power density and sustainability.
Innovation Zone Highlights
2023
TSMC hosted full-scale Innovation Zone at three regional Technology Symposiums. Total 48 customers showcased diverse product demos in AI, automotive, communication, healthcare and IoT.
2023
North America
16+ Participants
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Demo Highlights
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2023
Europe
8 Participants
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Demo Highlights
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2023
China
First in-person event took place in Shanghai International Convention Center. 22 customers showcased product demos in automotive, IoT, medical, power management and HPC applications.
2022
TSMC hosted the first in-person Innovation Zone at the TSMC 2022 Technology Symposiums. 37 customers have participated in the events in 3 regions.
2022
North America
Participants
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Demo Highlights
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2022
Europe
Participants
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Demo Highlights
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2022
China
13 customers showcased their product innovations in first China-dedicated Innovation Zone online.
2021
The Innovation Zone took place online, showcasing startup customers across the globe and their innovative products.
2021
Worldwide
Participants
Customer Profile and Demo Videos
North America
Europe
Customer Testimonies
North America
Europe
Astera Labs
Astera Labs, Inc., headquartered in Silicon Valley, is a leader in purpose-built connectivity solutions for data-centric systems throughout the data center. The company’s product portfolio includes system-aware semiconductor integrated circuits, boards, and services that enable robust and intelligent CXL, PCIe, and Ethernet connectivity.
www.asteralabs.com
Empower Semiconductor
Empower Semiconductor’s mission is to minimize the energy footprint of the digital economy by developing novel fully-integrated power management solutions both increase the performance and reduce power consumption of energy-hungry, data-intensive applications. Empower IVR™ technology solves the power density challenge of a wide range of applications, including mobile, wearables, 5G, AI, and data centers. In 2020, the capacitor technology platform was added to further address power density. E-CAP revolutionized the capacitor industry as the world’s smallest, highest performing, and incredibly reliable capacitor for wearables, mobile, and SoC applications. The company is based in Milpitas, CA and led by a highly-experienced team of power experts and executives.
www.empowersemi.com
Everactive
Everactive helps developers easily design connected products without worrying about power management, batteries, or network constraints. The Everactive Edge hardware toolkit and managed network are purpose-built for the rapid design and deployment of low maintenance, always-on IoT systems. The company's proprietary technology stack enables new applications to scale to massive numbers of devices in previously un-monitored locations, each generating way more data than previously possible using conventional battery-powered alternatives. This truly revolutionizes how developers approach designing products, leading to the proliferation of devices long predicted for the IoT.
www.everactive.com
GaN Systems
GaN Systems is a leading Gallium Nitride (GaN) power semiconductor company with an extensive GaN transistor portfolio that uniquely addresses today’s most demanding industries. Applications cover consumer electronics, data center power supplies, renewable energy systems, industrial motors, and automotive electronics. GaN Systems enables the design of smaller, lower cost, and more efficient power systems, helping power conversion companies revolutionize their industries and transform the world.
www.gansystems.com
Kinara, Inc.
Kinara delivers unrivaled edge artificial intelligent (AI) solutions that include AI processors and easy-to-use software tools. These solutions accelerate and optimize real-time decision making by powering smart edge devices and edge appliances that demand responsive AI computing with high energy efficiency. Led by Silicon Valley veterans and a world-class development team in India, Kinara envisions a world of exceptional customer experiences, manufacturing efficiency, and greater safety for all. Kinara is headquartered in Silicon Valley with development based in Hyderabad, India.
www.kinara.ai
Kura Technologies
Kura builds leading augmented reality glasses compatible with a global telepresence and remote collaboration platform with a performance of 150° field of view (9x of existing), 95% transparency (4x of existing), 8K resolution, high brightness, and in a compact form factor. Kura’s business model includes both hardware sales and SaaS recurrent revenues from software sales (telepresence platform, computer vision/AI SDK, and AR data platform). Kura’s ultra-high-performance products feature a patented display/optical architecture that includes fully customized optics and displays (micro-LED display), custom ICs and silicon devices; and in-house, proprietary optical design and optimization software.
www.kura.tech
Navitas Semiconductor
Navitas Semiconductor, founded in 2014, is the industry leader in gallium nitride (GaN) power ICs. GaNFast™ power ICs integrate GaN power with drive, control, sensing, and protection to enable faster charging, higher power-density, and greater energy savings for mobile fast and ultra-fast charging applications; and consumer, enterprise, eMobility, and new energy markets. Over 150 Navitas patents are issued or pending, and over 50 million units have been shipped with zero reported GaN field failures, leading to the industry’s first 20-year limited warranty. To support the mission to “Electrify Our World™”, Navitas released the GaN industry’s first sustainability report that comprehensively quantifies the positive impact of GaN power semiconductors on climate change based on global standards. Navitas is the first semiconductor company to achieve CarbonNeutral®-company certification, with every GaN power IC shipped saving 4 kg of CO2 emissions.
www.navitassemi.com
Ouster
Ouster invented its digital lidar in 2015 and is a leading manufacturer of high-resolution digital lidar sensors used throughout industrial automation, smart infrastructure, robotics, and automotive industries. Ouster’s sensors are reliable, compact, affordable, and highly customizable, laying the foundation for digital lidar ubiquity across endless applications and industries. Hundreds of customers have incorporated Ouster lidar sensors into current and future products.
www.ouster.com
SigmaSense
SigmaSense leads a fundamental technology transformation of the interaction between digital systems and the physical world, ushering in a new era of radically enhanced digital sensing. SigmaSense software defined sensing achieves breakthrough levels of speed, accuracy, resolution, and noise immunity previously deemed impossible. Sensing through the noise, SigmaSense increases the depth and quantity of data and insights that can be captured from the physical world to enable exciting new experiences and capabilities in a wide range of devices including automotive, mobile, and industrial IoT touch displays.
www.sigmasense.com
Faraday Semi, a TDK company
Faraday Semi, acquired by TDK in 2018, develops the world’s smallest class of Point of Load (μPOL™) solutions. The devices incorporate high-performance semiconductors in advanced packaging technologies, such as semiconductor embedded in substrate and advanced electronic components to achieve unique system integration in a smaller size and lower profile through 3D assembly. The company is a leading designer and manufacturer of power management products for growing industrial, data center, and automotive markets.
www.tdk.com/pol
visionICs
visionICs is a leader in the implementation of single photon direct ToF (SPAD ToF) technology and application. It is a global pioneer in the research of single photon dToF three-dimensional imaging technology. visionICs has advanced single-photon avalanche diode design and single photon detection and imaging technology. The company is primarily engaged in one-dimensional and three-dimensional ToF sensor devices, based on single photon detection.
www.evisionics.com
Graphcore
Graphcore makes computer systems for artificial intelligence, powered by the Intelligence Processing Unit (IPU), a state-of-the-art processor, designed around the unique computational requirements of AI. Founded in Bristol, UK, in 2016, the company has offices and customers across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Graphcore systems are used in AI applications across pharmaceutical, financial services, automotive, and consumer internet services industries.
www.graphcore.ai
Hilscher
Hilscher Gesellschaft für Systemautomation mbH is a manufacturer and service provider for communication solutions and automation and was founded in 1986. Hilscher’s core competence is SoC technology for fieldbus and real-time ethernet, along with the development and production of industrial communications for factory automation. The company’s products include PC cards, gateways, OEM plug-in modules to powerful SoCs for all main fieldbus and Real-Time Ethernet protocol stacks. Hilscher offers netX technology for device manufacturers, including development services and customized module manufacturing. Their customers include engineering firms, solution providers, and system integrators.
www.hilscher.com
Inuitive
Inuitive integrates enterprise-ready sensor-and-processor modules into robotics, drones, AR, VR, AIoT, and 3D sensing applications. Together with its ecosystem of field of machine sensing, software development, and commercial manufacturing partners, Inuitive provides human-like visual understanding with optimal capabilities and superior performance. Inuitive’s third-generation Robot-on-Chip (RoC) vision processors are all-in-one chips with a wide range of integrated capabilities, outstanding performance, optimal size, and cost efficiency. These game-changing processors support simultaneous depth sensing, positioning, location algorithms (SLAM), and AI-based object detection and recognition; all the while dramatically shortening system latency, response time, saving power, and improving overall performance.
www.inuitive-tech.com
Picocom
Picocom designs and markets open RAN standard-compliant baseband SoCs and carrier-grade software products for 5G small cell infrastructure. The company, founded in 2018, has R&D engineering sites in Hangzhou and Beijing, China, and Bristol, UK. Picocom founding members have significant experience and a successful track record in leading teams designing baseband infrastructure products. Picocom is a proud member of the Small Cell Forum and O-RAN Alliance wireless industry associations.
picocom.com
Sequans Communications
Sequans Communications S.A. is a leading developer and supplier of cellular IoT connectivity solutions, providing chips and modules for 5G/4G massive and broadband IoT. For 5G/4G massive IoT applications, Sequans provides a comprehensive product portfolio based on its flagship Monarch LTE-M/NB-IoT and Calliope Cat 1 chip platforms, featuring industry-leading low power consumption, a large set of integrated functionalities, and global deployment capability. For 5G/4G broadband IoT applications, Sequans offers a product portfolio based on its Cassiopeia Cat 4/Cat 6 4G and high-end Taurus 5G chip platforms, optimized for low-cost residential, enterprise, and industrial applications. Founded in 2003, Sequans is based in Paris, with additional offices in the United States, United Kingdom, Israel, Hong Kong, Singapore, Finland, Taiwan, South Korea, and China.
www.sequans.com
Valens Semiconductor
Valens Semiconductor pushes the boundaries of connectivity by enabling long-reach, high-speed video and data transmission for the automotive and audio-video industries. Valens’ HDBaseT technology is the leading standard in the audio-video market, with tens of millions of Valens’ chipsets integrated into thousands of products in a wide range of applications. Valens’ automotive chipsets are deployed in systems manufactured by leading customers and are on the road in vehicles around the world. Valens is a key enabler of the evolution of ADAS and autonomous driving and its advanced technology is the basis for the new industry standard for high-speed in-vehicle connectivity.
www.valens.com
XMOS
A deep tech company at the leading edge of the artificial intelligence of things (AIoT), XMOS addresses the evolving market need for flexible compute to serve an ever-widening range of smart things including voice, imaging, and ambient sensing. The company’s uniquely flexible xcore processors allow product designers to architect system-on-chip solutions purely in software, enabling faster time to market with differentiated systems that are cost-effective and energy efficient.
www.xmos.ai