# Taiwan's AI boom makes early startups harder to fund

> Taiwan's surging stock market is drawing investors away from venture capital and toward public AI stocks, leaving early-stage startups struggling to raise seed funding.
- Title: Taiwan's AI boom makes early startups harder to fund
- Summary: Taiwan's surging stock market is drawing investors away from venture capital and toward public AI stocks, leaving early-stage startups struggling to raise…
- Keywords: taiwan, startups, venture capital, ai stocks, taiex, seed funding, semiconductor, investor capital, business, technology, Taiwan's, boom
- Source: Business Insider — https://businessinsider.com/taiwan-stock-exchange-taiex-ai-boom-early-stage-startups-challenges-2026-11
- Author: Huileng Tan
- Published: 2026-11-03T05:01:01.203+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: taiwan, startups, venture capital, ai stocks, taiex, seed funding, semiconductor, investor capital, business, technology
## Taiwan's stock market surges on AI
Taiwan's benchmark Taiex index is up more than 50% this year, making it the world's best-performing major index after pulling ahead of South Korea's Kospi.
## Gains spread across the chip supply chain
The gains extend well beyond Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., spanning chip design, advanced packaging, networking, and server companies. About 7% of Taiwan-listed stocks have doubled this year.
## Investors prefer public market returns
Anderson Chen, founder of Y Combinator-backed Operon Solutions, said the stock market's returns shaped his fundraising strategy. He chose to raise his startup's seven hundred thousand dollar pre-seed primarily from Silicon Valley investors.

> The market in semiconductors is just too good, and you can get 10X returns from the stock market
## Seed funding deals collapse in Taiwan
Seed and angel rounds made up 38.4% of investment deals by Taiwanese VC firms in 2021. By 2024, their share had fallen to 17.1%, according to Findit, a government-commissioned platform tracking Taiwan's startup ecosystem.
## Investors chase later-stage deals instead
Taiwanese investors increasingly favored B- and C-round and pre-IPO companies, where the route to returns was clearer. B- and C-round deals accounted for 29.1% of total investment in 2024.
## Founders look overseas for early backing
Operon's Chen said fundraising had become easier for Taiwanese deep-tech startups seeking overseas capital. His startup's seven hundred thousand dollar pre-seed round closed within three days, but he noted it was easier to fundraise abroad…

> It's gotten easier to fundraise in general, but maybe not necessarily in Taiwan
## Key takeaway

Taiwan's AI-driven stock boom is redirecting investor capital from early-stage startups to public markets, making seed funding scarcer for founders building the country's next generation of tech companies.