Industrial Technology Research Institute

Origins

In the early 1970s, the Taiwan government sought to restructure the island's economy following a series of political and economic setbacks, including the global oil crisis and Taiwan's withdrawal from the United Nations.^[8][9][10] ITRI was established in 1973 to consolidate industrial research under the Ministry of Economic Affairs.^[11] In 1974, then Minister of Economic Affairs Yun-Suan Sun, Director General of Transportation and Communications Yu-Shu Kao, ITRI President Chao-Chen Wang, Telecommunication Laboratories Director Bao-Huang Kang, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Hua Fei, Director General of Telecommunications Hsien-Chi Fang, and Radio Corporation of America (RCA) Laboratories Director Wen-Yuan Pan held a meeting to discuss Taiwan's semiconductor industry.^[12][13] Following the meeting, ITRI launched an initiative for integrated circuit (IC) development.^[14] This led to a technology transfer agreement with the U.S.-based Radio Corporation of America (RCA) in 1976, which officially introduced semiconductor technology to Taiwan.^[15] ITRI then constructed Taiwan's first 3-inch wafer fab, which served as the training ground for the nation's semiconductor talent.^[5][16]

1980s and 1990s

In 1981, United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) was spun off from ITRI's IC plant as Taiwan's first professional wafer manufacturer.^[17]

In 1986, Li Kwoh-ting, representing the Executive Yuan, invited Morris Chang to serve as the president of the ITRI and offered him a blank check to build Taiwan's chip industry. At that time, the Taiwanese government wanted to develop its semiconductor industry, but its high investment and high risk nature made it difficult to find investors. Chang was turned down by Texas Instruments and Intel before Philips signed a joint venture contract with Taiwan to put up $58 million, transfer its production technology, and license intellectual property in exchange for a 27.6 percent stake in TSMC. In 1987, ITRI spun off Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), which eventually became the world's largest dedicated semiconductor foundry.^[18][19]

During the 1980s, ITRI supported R&D in CNC machine tools, displays, and laptops. In 1985, ITRI partnered with Giant Manufacturing to develop carbon-fiber bicycle frames, helping Taiwan become a leading global supplier of high-end bicycles.^[20][21] In the 1990s, ITRI focused on optical discs, LEDs, optoelectronic components, and energy technologies. In 1990, ITRI and 46 local computer manufacturers formed the Taiwan Notebook PC Consortium, marking the beginning of Taiwan's laptop development.^[22]

2000s to present

In the 2000s, ITRI developed new materials and energy applications such as solid-state capacitors and solar cells.^[23][24][25] In the 2010s, it advanced digital and green technologies such as cloud computing, big data, AI, IoT, and lithium battery applications.^[26][27][28] In the 2020s, the Institute has focused on R&D innovation in hydrogen energy, 5G, and smart healthcare to address the challenges in net zero transition and an aging society.^{[29][30][31][32]}

In 2019, ITRI banned all smartphones and computers made by China's Huawei from their internal network for security reasons.^[33][34] China's Taiwan Affairs Office reacted negatively to the decision with their spokesperson saying that the decision "jeopardizes the mainland and Taiwan's regular economic cooperation for political purposes".^[35]

In summer 2025 ITRI ceased its involvement in the Taiwan Space Agency's 5G LEO communications satellite project saying that they had realized that satellites were outside of their area of expertise. ITRI was replaced by private firms.^[36]