History & Background
Global AI Developments and Taiwan’s Strategic Positioning
In recent years, rapid advances in generative artificial intelligence, large-scale foundation models, and autonomous systems have fundamentally reshaped the global technological landscape. These developments have emerged as critical determinants of national competitiveness, industrial transformation, and technological sovereignty. In response, governments worldwide have made substantial, coordinated investments to establish national-level, world-class AI research centers. Prominent examples—including Japan’s RIKEN Center for Advanced Intelligence Project (AIP), Canada’s Vector Institute, and the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence (AI2) in the United States—demonstrate that such centers serve as strategic anchors for national AI ecosystems, integrating academic leadership, talent cultivation, and policy support.
Since 2023, Taiwan’s Executive Yuan has launched the Taiwan AI Action Plan 2.0, committing significant resources to the development of human capital, industrial innovation, and advanced AI applications. The overarching objective of this initiative is to enhance Taiwan’s international competitiveness in artificial intelligence while fostering a self-sustaining and sovereign AI ecosystem. Within this national context, the establishment of the NTU Artificial Intelligence Center of Research Excellence represents a strategically aligned and internationally benchmarked initiative. It constitutes a key national effort to maintain Taiwan’s competitive edge in the global AI landscape and to secure long-term technological sovereignty.
NTU’s Research Foundations and the Establishment of a World-Class AI Center
From the perspective of research capacity and institutional foundations, National Taiwan University possesses exceptional strengths that uniquely position it to host the NTU Artificial Intelligence Center of Research Excellence . In the QS World University Rankings 2025 for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, NTU is ranked 39th globally, making it the only institution in Taiwan to be placed within the world’s top 50 in this field. NTU has further demonstrated sustained excellence through notable achievements in international competitions and the development of critical AI technologies. Internally, the university supports a rich and interconnected research ecosystem, encompassing multiple AI-focused research centers, interdisciplinary research teams, and the NVIDIA-NTU Artificial Intelligence Joint Research Center.
Building upon these robust foundations, the establishment of this Center represents a strategic integration and elevation of NTU’s existing research clusters. Through clearly articulated research themes and the strategic concentration of resources, the Center aims to advance NTU’s AI research ecosystem to a level of national strategic importance and global academic influence. It seeks to function as an international hub for leading AI researchers, enabling Taiwan’s AI research community to remain closely aligned with the global research frontier while maintaining a sustained and visible presence within the international academic arena. In doing so, the Center addresses critical gaps in Taiwan’s AI development strategy, particularly in long-term foundational research and enduring international scholarly impact.