Inside Arizona: How Global Investors Enter America's Fastest-Rising Tech Hub
As of early 2026, Taiwan has become Arizona's second-largest trading partner, with bilateral trade surpassing US$21.2 billion. On top of its committed US$165 billion investment, TSMC recently pledged an additional US$100 billion at its latest earnings call. The TSMC effect has drawn in over 200 major players including Intel, Apple, and NVIDIA, propelling Phoenix to become the second-largest data center market in the US.
Since 2020, Arizona has attracted more than 70 semiconductor expansions and over US$314 billion in investment—the most of any state—and is projected to create some 80,000 jobs over the next five years while producing roughly 20% of the world's most advanced chips. By 2030, Arizona is poised to stand alongside Oregon's Silicon Forest and New York's chip corridor as one of America's principal semiconductor hubs, with a complete ecosystem spanning chip design to advanced packaging.
Beyond the semiconductor cluster, Arizona offers the lowest flat individual income tax in the US at 2.5%, a 4.9% corporate income tax, and top-ranked infrastructure. As global capital races to stake its claim, how should Taiwan's investors and founders enter this market—and what local resources can they tap?
▍Taiwan's Gateway to North America
This April, SIC and the Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) signed an MOU on cross-border tech startup investment, focused on four sectors—semiconductor supply chain, medical biotech, aerospace and defense, and AI—to build a clear pathway for Taiwanese startups and investors into the North American market. For this SIC Meet Genius, we're honored to welcome Agnese Sturmane, Vice President of International Trade & Investment at the Arizona Commerce Authority, who will offer a firsthand, government-level view of market-entry pathways, tax incentives, and soft-landing resources, along with her outlook on the next wave of investment and entrepreneurship.
▍Four Key Takeaways
🔹 How to Enter: A state-government perspective on the pathways and entry points for global capital into the Arizona market.
🔹 Incentives & Tax Benefits: From the 2.5% flat tax to a range of local incentives—the concrete support ACA offers foreign investors and incoming companies.
🔹 Soft-Landing Programs: The resources and support that help international companies establish and gain their footing in Arizona.
🔹 Future Trends: Where the next wave of opportunity lies—from semiconductors, medical biotech, and aerospace & defense to AI.
▍Speaker｜Agnese Sturmane
Based in Phoenix, Agnese Sturmane serves as Vice President of International Trade & Investment at the Arizona Commerce Authority. A trade and investment specialist with over a decade of experience across the public and private sectors, her expertise spans foreign direct investment (FDI), economic development, and global market strategy. From 2018 to 2021, she served as Economic and Commercial Counselor at the Embassy of Latvia in China, leading investment-attraction efforts and supporting companies' entry into the Chinese market—giving her deep, firsthand command of cross-cultural business and government-to-business strategy.
▍Event Details
Date: Aug 31, 3:00–4:30 PM
Venue: Songyan Creative Hub, Taipei｜Directions Map
Fee: NT$1000 (complimentary registration available for SIC members / portfolio companies)
The organizers reserve the right to make final amendments to, reinterpret, or cancel this event.
▍Agenda
3:00–3:30 PM｜Check-In & Registration
3:30–4:15 PM｜Keynote
4:15 PM onward｜Q&A / Networking
▍Co-Hosts
Sustainable Impact Capital (SIC)
Founded in 2022, SIC has grown into one of Taiwan's most dynamic angel investment networks—some 200 angels across 13+ cities on 5 continents, including entrepreneurs, second-generation business leaders, and top executives. SIC invests across deep tech, AI, healthcare, circular economy, and impact-driven innovation, aligning its work with the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Track record: 35+ startups backed, with ~US$15.7M in direct investment and ~US$6.7M in co-investments enabled (a 2.35x leverage ratio).
Notable portfolio: Quantinuum (quantum-computing unicorn, US$15B+ market cap at its June 2026 Nasdaq IPO), Together AI, and CloudMile, among others.
More than investing: 226 community events over three years (~6 per month), with 5,000+ participants to date.
Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA)
The Arizona Commerce Authority is the state's leading economic development organization, with a core mission to grow and strengthen the local economy by driving business expansion, investment attraction, and startup development. It maintains a trade office in Taipei and has long fostered bilateral trade and investment between Taiwan and Arizona.