Next Big Startup Island – Taiwan, selects Gogoro among 8 other companies to convey local energy innovation to global markets.
In Taiwan, The National Development Council (NDC) announced the launch of “Next Big” category of companies to promote the image of Taiwan as an innovation hub overseas. Among the selected 9 companies, we took particular interest in Gogoro, a local leader in electric scooters and mopeds, and battery swapping technology.
Gogoro is a distinct leader in Taiwan with its battery swapping network. Just days ago the company announced they surpassed 200 Million battery swaps, with over 400,000th Gogoro Network subscribers. The company has also surpassed 200 million battery swaps millions of kilograms of CO2 in the process.
“Gogoro’s strong momentum in monthly subscriber growth and total swapped batteries, along with our expanding list of partnerships with vehicle makers, are all strong indicators of our global leadership in urban battery swapping and smart mobility services,”
“We are proud of our success to date and the progress we have made with our customers to save more than 300 million kilograms of CO2. With this momentum and our recent strategic announcements in India and China, we’re just getting started.”
Horace Luke, founder, and CEO, Gogoro Inc.
In addition to their local leadership, Hero MotoCorp and Gogoro announced joint-venture to introduce Gogoro’s Battery Swapping Network in India. Hero being the largest 2-wheeler manufacturer in their local market and with international reach as well.
Gogoro has been partnering with some of the largest manufacturers in Asia such as Yadea and Dachangjiang Group (DCJ) in China, and plan to expend their reach to more potential partners worldwide.
The NEXT BIG nomination:
The NDC spent 6 months for the selection process with visits to each nominee before deciding on their picks. The list included prominent electric scooter manufacturer Gogoro, cosmetics group Greenvines, e-commerce travel platform KKday, and live social entertainment group 17LIVE.
The innovators selected by the “Next Big” jury will encourage even more entrepreneurs to try out new projects, the NDC said. The Taiwanese government will help companies promote their image overseas and boost international cooperation.
The nine NEXT BIG are:
- Gogoro: established in 2011, Gogoro is a leading smart electric scooter, moped and motorcycle brand in Taiwan. They’ve gained national recognition since their first product, making their products the new generation of environmentally friendly automotive vehicles. Having recently signed a contract with Hero® MotoCorp Ltd., a leading motorcycle brand in India, they hope to develop electric motorcycle blueprints in the two countries and to establish the collaboration as a model for global electric motorcycle development.
- CoolBitX: founded in 2014, CoolBitX is committed to blockchain security technology’s innovation and development. They produced the world’s first cold wallet “CoolWallet” and provided tailor-made software services for the product Sygna Bridge, simplifying the compliance process while allowing dealers to comply with the anti-money laundering regulations in various countries.
- Greenvines: established in 2011, Greenvines is a skincare brand, also the third B corp in Taiwan. It is also the only B corp in Asia that has won the “Best for the World” environmental award for five consecutive years. Relying on science and sustainability, they discarded more than 2,700 non-essential ingredients and streamlined the daily skincare routine, making it a sustainable practice.
- iKala: established in 2011, iKala’s mission is “AI Empowerment”. They provide AI-driven solutions for companies to achieve business transformation, acceleration, and creation of new business models. They currently provide services to more than 400 companies and 15,000 advertisers and brand owners across 8 countries in Asia.
- KKday: established in 2014, KKday has become Asia’s largest in-depth travel e-commerce platform covering more than 30,000 itineraries in 92 countries, and 550 cities around the world. They have received US$75 million of C round investment from Cool Japan Fund, National Development Fund, CDIB Capital Group, Darwin Venture, and others.
- KDAN MOBILE: established in 2009, KDAN MOBILE provides enterprise cloud solutions. Their products have already achieved more than 200 million downloads and have accumulated more than 10 million registered members worldwide. 65% of their users are based in Europe and America. They are devoted to helping enterprises create mobile offices.
- Pinkoi: established in 2011, Pinkoi is the leading design e-commerce platform in Asia, helping more design brands to enter the international market. By providing digital transformation online, and brand experience offline, they continue to make an impact on the current and future generations of designers.
- 17LIVE: established in 2015, 17LIVE is the largest live streaming platform in Asia. Starting from Taiwan, it has expanded to Japan, Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, the United States and other regional markets. It combines AI and machine learning technology applications to provide more authentic, zero time difference streaming services.
- 91APP: established in 2013, 91APP is the first to provide Online Merge Offline (OMO) new retail software cloud service in Taiwan. They provide three self-developed retail software clouds, helping brands to quickly enter the e-commerce market. In May this year, it became the first SaaS company listed in Taiwan, with a market value exceeding NT$40 billion
The NDC will hold an official presentation of the “Next Big” project later in the year, featuring in-depth interviews with the selected participants, according to the CNA report.
Source: TaiwanNews, PRNewsWire