Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs awarded NT$100 million ($3.16 million) in subsidies to Solomon on May 18 for development of Vision-Language-Action (VLA) technology for humanoid robots. The grant was part of the ministry's sixth round of R&D funding, which supported three robotics and materials innovation projects. Solomon, known primarily for its 3D vision systems used in industrial automation, is now expanding into the humanoid robotics space with AI-driven perception and control systems.
Strategic positioning in humanoid race The grants represent Taiwan's effort to establish a foothold in humanoid robotics as the sector attracts billions in global investment. Vision-Language-Action systems enable robots to interpret visual data and natural language commands to perform physical tasks—a critical capability for general-purpose humanoid robots. Solomon's existing strength in industrial 3D vision could provide an advantage in developing robust perception systems for humanoids operating in real-world environments.
Taiwan's supply chain advantage Taiwan's semiconductor and precision manufacturing ecosystem positions it well for humanoid robotics production, even as it lags behind China and the US in AI software development. The government subsidies aim to help domestic companies move up the value chain from component suppliers to system integrators. With companies like Foxconn already manufacturing humanoid robots for partners like Figure AI, Taiwan is betting it can leverage its hardware expertise to capture a meaningful share of the humanoid robotics market projected to reach tens of billions of dollars by 2030.
