Figure: Mr. William Wu, Head of Economic Division, Taipei Representative Office in Singapore (front row, center-left), Ms. Sharon Wu, Managing Partner of SMEbig Singapore and Co-founder of AMT (front row, center-right), Mr. Teck Lee, Secretary-General of Singapore Business Federation (second row, center-left).
October 31, 2025: Co-organised by Taiwan’s swem Brand Consulting and Singapore’s BlackStorm Group, and powered by the region’s first SME AI Branding Accelerator SMEbig, the “Taiwan–Singapore AI Branding Exchange Night” took place on October 30, 2025 in Singapore. Supported by Startup Terrace and the AMT Asia-Pacific MarTech Transformation Alliance Association, the event brought together 17 Singaporean and 13 Taiwanese startups and enterprise innovation partners. Participants included representatives from the Taipei Representative Office in Singapore, Singapore Business Federation, Salesforce, venture capital organisations, and various companies in AI and brand technology. The goal of the event was to facilitate cross-border exchange and foster deeper collaboration in innovation, business strategy, and international expansion.
Over the past decade, AI technologies have rapidly reshaped global industries, influencing manufacturing systems, marketing strategies, user experiences, and business decision-making — becoming a core driver of competitiveness. Taiwan, with its comprehensive semiconductor supply chain, ICT manufacturing capabilities, and growing AI startup ecosystem, holds a strong advantage in technological innovation. Meanwhile, Singapore, as an international commercial and financial hub, offers robust regulatory frameworks, open market policies, and a strategic global business gateway. This creates complementary strengths between the two markets in technology, resources, and market reach.
Recognising this synergy, SMEbig designed this exchange as a bridge to connect Taiwan and Singapore’s industries—serving not only as a platform for technological dialogue but as a catalyst for value co-creation across both markets.
According to BlackStorm Group CEO and SMEbig Singapore Partner, Ms Jeslin Bay, the participating Singapore companies shared three core characteristics:
- High internationalization and market connectivity
Many Singapore companies operate regionally across Asia and Southeast Asia, demonstrating strong capabilities in cross-border business development, networking, and ecosystem linkage. - Technology-driven with mature innovation deployment
Companies focus on proprietary technologies, blockchain, and AI MarTech, and are able to rapidly commercialise emerging technologies and expand usage scenarios to enhance competitiveness. - Ecosystem enabler and platform-oriented services
Singapore companies excel in integrating resources and acting as ecosystem connectors — supporting capital access, cross-market partnerships, and enterprise growth networks.
On the Taiwanese side, SMEbig Managing Partner and AMT Co-founder, Ms Sharon Wu, highlighted five advantages shown by the 13 participating Taiwanese companies:
- Strong technology foundation in advanced manufacturing and hardware integration
Demonstrating efficient productisation and engineering capabilities. - Rapid innovation in medical and health technologies
With strong links to hospitals, medical trials, and healthcare venture networks, enabling “medical-ready” commercial models. - Emerging leadership in sustainability and energy transition solutions
Integrating ESG data, energy management, and smart operations to enable practical and scalable sustainability implementation. - Accelerating global expansion and startup incubation capabilities
Initiatives like Startup Terrace reflect government-backed efforts to support international market entry. - High proficiency in cross-domain integration and real-world deployment
From naked-eye 3D to electric mobility SaaS, Taiwanese startups excel in combining software and hardware and deploying in live environments quickly.
Through this event, SMEbig aims to combine Taiwan’s innovation and engineering strengths with Singapore’s role as a regional commerce hub — enabling SMEs to expand globally with stronger capabilities. Participants, including AI innovators, brand strategists, and investors, engaged in keynote sharing, case discussions, and interactive networking, exploring the latest applications of AI in branding and business models. The SMEbig accelerator platform will continue supporting both sides in building long-term collaboration, advancing technology commercialisation, and upgrading business strategies.
About SMEbig
SMEbig (https://smebig.com/) is a digital advisory platform designed for SMEs seeking overseas expansion but lacking capital or manpower. It provides an all-in-one brand success guide, strategic positioning, AI brand-tech applications, and customer engagement services.
About swem
Swem Consultancy Group (https://www.swem.com.tw/) — often called Taiwan’s “McKinsey of Brand Marketing”—was founded in 2000 and today operates from Taipei headquarters with offices in Taichung, Singapore, and Shanghai. The group consists of Swem Brand Consultancy and Swem Marketing Consultancy, combining deep expertise in brand strategy and smart marketing to help companies solve complex brand challenges, drive digital marketing transformation, and build sustainable market leadership.
Swem has an extensive track record of impact. It guided Chunghwa Telecom’s HiNet through the shift from dial-up to broadband, adding 400,000 new members; helped CHIMEI surpass Panasonic and LG in home-appliance market share during an 18-year partnership; and repositioned Chi Mei Industries for international marketing and ESG leadership. Swem also enabled JDV Control Vales to become Asia’s top metal control-valve brand.
About BlackStorm Group
BlackStorm Consulting (https://blackstormco.asia/), a trailblazing force in business consultancy, stands at the forefront of empowering businesses across Southeast Asia, with a stronghold in Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand. Our expertise lies in corporate strategy and market entry, closing strategic gaps that impede companies from reaching their full potential. We elevate businesses by applying a multi-faceted approach across three crucial layers: people, product, and process.
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