With global industries accelerating AI adoption and moving toward a new era of Edge AI applications, the Institute for Information Industry (III) announced on May 5th the establishment of the "Edge AI Application Industry Alliance" and signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Phison Electronics. The two parties will combine their capabilities in technology R&D, industry adoption, and field validation to build a cross-industry Edge AI ecosystem, and establish a joint demonstration platform and pilot base for Taiwan's Edge AI industry.
To address the high barriers, high costs, and implementation challenges enterprises often face when adopting AI, the Alliance is centered on establishing application models that are deployable, replicable, and scalable. It connects AI models and algorithms with edge hardware and the real-world needs of various industry sectors, helping enterprises integrate AI technology directly into their daily operations without having to start from scratch. At the same time, the Alliance will strengthen the cultivation of in-house Edge AI talent within enterprises, accelerating both the practical deployment of AI and industry upgrading.
At the event, III also unveiled the first application-oriented AI notebook (AI NB) capable of running large-parameter models locally, enabling enterprises to securely run large AI models entirely within a single laptop. The device is being introduced by III into industry application settings, incorporating Phison's PASCARI aiDAPTIV™ technology (*Note) to effectively balance DRAM and SSD resource allocation, with system integration carried out on Acer's high-performance laptops. Through this architecture, the notebook can run inference for 120B-parameter-class MoE (Mixture of Experts) models locally and in real time, using the SSD card to offload model parameters. This enables real-time edge inference for ultra-large-scale parameter models, combining high performance, low latency, and strong data security.
Dr. Chun-I Fan, President of the Institute for Information Industry (III), stated that III has long served as a bridge between scientific research and industry. The establishment of the "Edge AI Application Industry Alliance" represents an important strategic move in response to the global trends of edge computing and AI autonomy. Through the Alliance's integration of cross-disciplinary resources, III aims to help enterprises build their own AI application capabilities and strengthen Taiwan's competitive advantage in the international market.
He further noted that industrial digital transformation is evolving from the adoption of single technologies toward a digital ecosystem integrated across organizations and application fields. Through forward-looking research and field validation, III is establishing replicable application models to guide enterprises in pursuing vertical integration and gradually build a complete and sustainable cycle of industry development. Real-world field requirements are being packaged into plug-and-play AI Agents and Skill modules, which are then deployed on edge AI devices. These serve as key enabling tools to accelerate enterprise adoption of AI applications, further driving the deployment and large-scale growth of AI.
Pua Khein-Seng, CEO of Phison Electronics, stated that Phison's PASCARI aiDAPTIV™ technology can effectively improve AI computing efficiency and reduce infrastructure costs, allowing enterprises to deploy AI in a more flexible manner. This collaboration with III will further expand the technology's application scenarios, accelerate the maturation of the industry ecosystem, lower the barriers for enterprise AI adoption, and enhance both application efficiency and tangible benefits.
On May 5th, both parties also showcased the first wave of deployed application results in the rail transit and semiconductor industries, demonstrating Phison's PASCARI aiDAPTIV™ technology alongside III's EdgeMind AI KM solution, as well as designs addressing common cross-vertical requirements. These solutions help enterprises tackle pain points such as labor shortages, knowledge transfer, document confidentiality, and knowledge management, showcasing the cross-industry application benefits of Edge AI.
Also on display were several real-world case studies of AI integrated with industry applications. These included the New Taipei Metro's adoption of AI collaboration and train inspection applications to enhance operational efficiency; the integration of Nanya Technology's AiSK structured AI data retrieval platform to improve enterprise knowledge management efficiency; and Siliconware Precision Industries' adoption of AI-assisted smart training to support engineer training and knowledge transfer. Going forward, these technologies can be further replicated and expanded—in partnership with IT service providers—into diverse fields such as manufacturing, transportation, retail, logistics, legal services, healthcare, and education.
III is the exclusive training partner for PASCARI aiDAPTIV™ edge AI application talent, proactively promoting international AI talent development. Through a systematic training mechanism, III aims to strengthen the industry's supply of AI talent and accelerate the deployment of AI applications. Moving forward, III will continue to deepen cross-domain collaboration through the Alliance platform, integrating technology, equipment, and application fields to expand the scale of demonstration applications and talent cultivation—accelerating the widespread adoption of AI applications and comprehensively empowering the upgrading and transformation of Taiwan's industries.