Germany’s Infineon Technologies AG, the world’s leading automotive chipmaker, will establish a research and development center in Taiwan at an estimated cost of NT$1.2 billion (US$37.06 million), Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs announced Monday in Taipei.

The ministry and Infineon jointly revealed the creation of the advanced automotive and wireless communication semiconductor R&D center during a publicity event at the German Institute Taipei.

The new center will focus on transferring Infineon’s next-generation technology to Taiwan for Bluetooth chip development and manufacturing. This initiative marks the first time a major European chipmaker has set up such an R&D facility in Taiwan, emphasizing the country’s growing significance in the global semiconductor and automotive chip sectors, according to the ministry.

Economics Minister J.W. Kuo stated that Infineon’s R&D center is expected to bring the world’s leading automotive wireless remote control technology to Taiwan. This will enhance technical cooperation between domestic manufacturers and international automotive electronics experts, aiding local industry players in entering the global automotive market.

At the event, Sam Geha, executive vice president of IoT, compute, and wireless business at Infineon, expressed his admiration for Taiwan’s vibrant innovation ecosystem, which includes highly skilled R&D talent and robust industrial clusters. Geha noted that Infineon has maintained a strong presence in Taiwan since 1999, and the new R&D center represents an upgrade from their existing wireless communication R&D lab in Taiwan, partly supported by financial backing from the MOEA’s global R&D and innovation partnership program.