Expanding into Southeast Asia is a milestone many Taipei startups aspire to reach, but the reality is that early market entry often feels like navigating in the dark. Taipei City’s Global Pass programme was created to change that story by giving founders a guided route into fast-moving ecosystems like Thailand and Vietnam, where timing and access make all the difference.

Instead of searching for the right partners or cold-messaging their way into local networks, participating startups enter these markets with curated pathways and built-in credibility. Global Pass acts as a regional compass, helping companies understand where the opportunities are, who matters, and what it takes to move from interest to real traction.

Advancing smart manufacturing through intelligent automation

IsCoolLab is one of the startups putting this support to work. The company has been carving out a name for itself in industrial automation by answering a simple question: how can factories modernize quickly without overhauling everything they already have? Their answer is Robotiive, a computer-vision-driven RPA platform that allows machines to observe screens, signals, and workflows with the same situational awareness as a trained operator.

By removing the need to modify hardware or production lines, the team gives manufacturers a realistic way to upgrade. Deployments happen in days, not months. Factories that once viewed Industry 4.0 as a costly, complex transition now have a practical path forward. This is what positions IsCoolLab as one of Taiwan’s most compelling industrial innovators.

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Understanding the opportunity in Thailand and Vietnam

When IsCoolLab looked across the region, Thailand and Vietnam stood out. Both markets are scaling their industrial sectors at impressive speed, yet many facilities still run on manual processes and legacy systems. The mismatch between ambition and infrastructure creates an urgent need for automation that adapts to existing realities.

Robotiive fits naturally into this gap. Instead of expecting factories to change their systems to accommodate automation, it adapts to the systems they already have. This alignment between market need and product capability is what made Thailand and Vietnam strategic entry points for the company’s Southeast Asia expansion.

Using Global Pass to accelerate market entry

Even with a strong product-market fit, entering a new country requires the right local relationships. This is where Global Pass shifted the trajectory for IsCoolLab. By placing the team in front of accelerators, investors, and ecosystem leaders, the programme turned potential cold starts into warm conversations that mattered.

Each pitch session and meeting was more than a presentation. It was a chance to test messaging, understand market expectations, and hear first-hand how regional stakeholders viewed industrial automation. These insights shaped the company’s approach and helped them speak the language of the local ecosystem with growing confidence.

Achieving traction and partnerships through Global Pass

As the conversations deepened, meaningful traction followed. Visibility through the programme helped IsCoolLab connect with investors who were actively exploring industrial AI opportunities. These discussions sharpened the company’s regional positioning and expanded its network far more quickly than independent outreach could have.

Equally important were the commercial introductions tailored to the team’s goals. The meetings facilitated by Global Pass connected IsCoolLab with partners who immediately saw value in their solution. These early interactions laid the groundwork for pilot discussions and future deployments, proving that the market was not only interested but genuinely ready.

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Extending momentum across Southeast Asia

This growing momentum soon translated into concrete milestones. In Thailand, IsCoolLab formalized a partnership with Digital Focus, a respected system integrator with deep experience in the local landscape. This agreement marks the company’s official market entry and opens a pathway for scaled adoption.

In Vietnam, the team is already engaged in proof-of-concept work with partners in the petroleum sector and related industries. These projects signal that Robotiive is resonating with industries that are seeking efficiency, reliability, and faster pathways to modernization.

Setting the direction for regional expansion

With progress underway in two pivotal markets, IsCoolLab is now shaping a wider Southeast Asia roadmap. The company sees rising demand in regions where factories are expanding capacity yet still operate on older equipment and manual processes. These environments are ideal for a flexible automation layer like Robotiive.

The Global Pass experience continues to guide IsCoolLab’s next steps by sharpening their understanding of regional dynamics and partnership models. As the company scales, its goal is to help Southeast Asia’s manufacturing sector transform sustainably, efficiently, and at the pace that today’s global landscape demands.

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The e27 team produced this article sponsored by the Taipei City Government

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Featured Image Credit: IsCoolLab

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