Project Summary

Taiwan's manufacturers produce the majority of the world's AI chips and advanced electronics. They are now deploying AI on their own factory floors with no governance framework, in a language that every major AI governance publication ignores. This is not a niche gap. The governance literacy of Taiwan's industrial decision-makers has direct implications for how AI hardware gets built, certified, and regulated globally.

The Taiwan AI Governance Forum is the only Traditional Chinese-language AI governance community serving this population. Founded September 2025, it has grown to 7,224 active members and generated 14,733 post views across 34 issues with zero external funding. Members are predominantly founders, CEOs, and senior managers in Taiwan's manufacturing supply chain — the decision-makers who determine how their companies adopt and govern AI.

This grant funds Issues 17–28 of the Bi-Weekly Report, one public event in Taiwan, and one annual research report — sustaining and expanding production through the period when EU Cyber Resilience Act obligations begin taking effect.

What Are This Project's Goals? How Will You Achieve Them?

The gap:

Taiwan is the semiconductor chokepoint in global AI development. TSMC and its supplier ecosystem produce the hardware on which frontier AI systems run. That same ecosystem is now under simultaneous pressure to:

• Deploy industrial AI on factory floors

• Comply with EU Cyber Resilience Act requirements covering all connected devices sold into Europe, with high-risk obligations applying from August 2026

• Navigate US export controls reshaping their supply chain relationships

The founders and senior managers making these decisions read Traditional Chinese. The English-language AI governance ecosystem has zero reach into this population.

Theory of change:

This project builds AI governance literacy among the decision-makers who set procurement, compliance, and technology adoption policy for Taiwan's manufacturing supply chain. Direct outcomes:

• Founders and senior managers who understand AI governance frameworks and what EU conformity assessment requires of their products

• A manufacturing leadership class that begins demanding governable AI products from their suppliers and vendors

• The first systematic Traditional Chinese-language record of how industrial AI is actually being deployed in Taiwan — data that does not currently exist in any form accessible to English-language governance researchers or policymakers

What we produce:

• 12 issues of the Bi-Weekly Report (Issues 17–28) over 6 months, each 1,200–1,800 words in Traditional Chinese

• Published in the Taiwan AI Governance Forum (7,224 active members) and distributed by newsletter

• Topics: CRA implementation timelines, OT/IT security requirements, AI Act high-risk classification, practical compliance cases from direct advisory work

• One public event in Taipei or Taoyuan — target 80–100 manufacturing sector founders and senior managers

• One annual research report: AI Governance in Taiwan's Manufacturing Sector, 2026 Assessment — 8,000–10,000 words, bilingual Traditional Chinese and English summary, open access, zero paywall

• Target: 10,000 additional post views over the grant period, building on 14,733 already generated

How Will This Funding Be Used?

Without this funding, production continues at reduced cadence and the event and research report do not happen. The $35,000 request funds the full program.

Budget breakdown:

• PI time (research, writing, editorial review): $18,000

• Design and layout, 12 issues: $1,800

• Distribution infrastructure (LinkedIn + email): $600

• CRA regulatory monitoring and source subscriptions: $900

• Public event (venue, speaker fees, catering, 80–100 attendees): $9,000

• Annual research report (research, writing, translation, design): $3,000

• Contingency: $1,700

• Total: $35,000

Unit economics:

• Cost per Bi-Weekly Report issue: $1,458

• Cost per post view at current engagement rate: under $2.50

• Cost per event attendee: $90–$113

Who Is on Your Team? What's Your Track Record?

Wesley Lin — Founder, Wesley AI Inc. (Taiwan UBN: 00247295)

This is not a publication about Taiwan manufacturing. It is a publication from inside Taiwan manufacturing, written by someone who sold industrial equipment to these factories for two decades and now advises them on EU regulatory compliance.

Industry background:

• Delta Electronics — Global Product BU Head, Lighting Solutions (2023–2024)

• ABB — Taiwan Country Business Area Head, Motion (2020–2022)

• Schneider Electric — Taiwan Country Business Unit Head, Power Systems (2018–2020)

• 20 years total in industrial automation across Taiwan

Education:

• MBA, International Business, University of Portsmouth

• M.S., Bio-Industrial Mechatronics Engineering, National Taiwan University

Track record:

• 7,224 active Forum members, grown from zero since September 2025

• 14,733 post views across 34 issues — average 433 views per issue

• Audience verified by LinkedIn analytics: founders (6.4%), CEOs (3.6%), senior managers

• 16 Bi-Weekly Reports published, zero missed since launch

• Zero external funding — entirely self-funded through CRA advisory work

• 6,100+ LinkedIn connections, primarily Taiwan industrial sector — built over 20 years, not purchasable

What Are the Most Likely Causes and Outcomes if This Project Fails?

Failure mode 1 — Decision-maker reach without behavior change (medium)
Forum members are founders and CEOs, not factory-floor engineers. Mitigation: each issue includes specific regulatory deadlines, compliance steps, and vendor questions — decision-support material, not general awareness content.

Failure mode 2 — Single-person operational risk (medium)
Advisory client load could compress production cadence. Grant funding directly mitigates this by decoupling production from revenue. Commitment: if two consecutive issues are missed, Manifund is notified immediately.

Failure mode 3 — Event execution risk (low-medium)
Main risk is venue scheduling conflicts with major trade shows. Mitigation: venue booking begins month one with two backup dates secured.

Downside scenario: Forum continues at reduced cadence. Less impact, not wasted funding.

How Much Money Have You Raised in the Last 12 Months, and From Where?

Wesley AI Inc. has received no external grants or investments in the last 12 months. All operations have been self-funded through CRA compliance advisory revenue and initial paid-in capital of $45,000 at founding. The newsletter and Bi-Weekly Report series have been sustained entirely without philanthropic funding to date.