Block Party - Meet Global Startups X Start2 Group
Join us for a special Block Party co-hosted by Startup Island TAIWAN - Silicon Valley Hub and Start2 Group, bringing together founders, investors, corporates, and ecosystem partners during CES week. This event aims to spark meaningful conversations, showcase emerging innovations, and strengthen global startup collaboration across Taiwan, Silicon Valley, and the international community.
This informal gathering will feature Taiwanese startups joining us for CES, alongside partners from the global innovation network. Whether you’re exploring new technologies, seeking investment opportunities, or building cross-border partnerships, this Block Party is the perfect chance to connect in a relaxed, high-energy environment.
What to Expect
A curated mix of founders, VCs, corporates, ecosystem leaders, and global partners
Showcases and networking with Taiwanese startups across AI, semiconductors, healthcare, frontier tech, and more
Casual drinks, conversations, and opportunities to build new collaborations
A space to exchange insight from CES and expand cross-border innovation ties
Who’s Attending
Founders, investors, innovation leaders, corporate partners, and community builders from:
Start2 Group’s global network
Startup Island Taiwan’s Silicon Valley Hub
Taiwanese startups participating in CES
Partner accelerators, venture funds, and ecosystem organizations
Why Attend
This Block Party marks the beginning of our collaboration with Start2 Group. Together, we aim to create new pathways for:
Global market expansion
Investment and partnership opportunities
Founder-to-founder knowledge sharing
Stronger ties between Taiwan’s startup ecosystem and the global tech community
Come join us to celebrate innovation, exchange ideas, and build the connections that will shape the next wave of global startups.
Agenda
5:30 PM – 5:40 PM | Opening Remarks
5:40 PM – 6:00 PM | Ice Breaking
6:00 PM – 6:50 PM | Panel Discussion
6:50 PM - 7:10 PM | Panel Q&A
7:10 PM – 7:15 PM | Closing Remarks + Group Photo
7:15 PM – 8:00 PM | Open Networking
Panelists
Marvin Liao: An Investor, executive coach and formal advisor to several Family Offices. Marvin was formerly a Partner at Venture Capital Fund 500 Startups, running the SF based accelerator program as well as investing in Seed stage start ups. He Invests in Digital Media, Enterprise SAAS, AI, Marketplace, Mobile, AdTech/MarketingTech, Digital Health, Internet of Things & Fintech startups.
Jens Weitzel: Technology executive with 20+ years of international experience, having worked in large enterprises and startups. Strengths are in market assessment, strategy development, business development, and industry focuses like AI. Familiar with international ecosystems in the Bay Area, including the Taiwanese ecosystem.
Ram Srinivasan: Broad and deep executive and investment experience across the technology spectrum - from embedded systems, systems software, big data, deep learning, SaaS solutions and mobile. Specialties include Mobile Eco-system and Applications, Digital Media, SaaS, Big Data, Business Intelligence, Data Warehousing, Applied AI for business problems, Business Analytics, Enterprise Software, Entrepreneurship, Business Plan Development. Trend detection and identifying structural shifts is a hobby.
Aaron Wu: Born in Taiwan and trained as an aerospace engineer, Aaron spent his career building things that push boundaries - from hypersonic simulations to AI that engineers can finally trust. He is now the Founder & CEO of Khorium AI, his third venture, where they are building the AI infrastructure for the physics world - accelerating how hardware, robotics, and aerospace systems get designed, tested, and launched.
Carol Tsao: Business Development Lead at Ubestream Inc., a Taiwan-based AI startup developing proprietary semantic and text-mining algorithms for edge AI and chip-level computation. The company provides AIaaS solutions for knowledge extraction, semantic search, and hybrid human–AI dialogue systems. Ubestream is expanding toward multilingual support and integrated semantic data services, with applications in smart retail, OMO digital stores, and contactless technology, aiming to grow into a global AICT/AIoT enterprise.