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EDITOR Annie Chien｜TRANSLATOR Aurora Lin｜PHOTOGRAPHER Leon Hung

科技人通常給人一種印象：理性、精準、務實。蔡政憲博士（Chris Tsai, Ph.D.）確實是這樣的人，但骨子裡他又是個歷史迷，著迷於從歷史裡找規律。他說過一句話：「歷史會篩選基因。」台灣先民橫渡黑水溝，能落地生根的，本就是膽識過人之人，那種創業 DNA 與冒險的魂，早就存在這座島上每一代人的血液，而他自己，就是帶著這種基因去看科技、看產業、看世界的人。光是這份對歷史的體感，就看見了他骨子裡的浪漫。

訊聯生技集團（BIONET Group）創辦人暨董事長這個頭銜，或許包不住他對時代的壯闊想像，也收不了他談起科技時，那顆以終為始的赤誠之心。蔡博士說，「科技魂」是他的生活態度——用科技去創造不同的生命品質，是他最核心的驅動力。說話之前他習慣短暫停頓，像在腦袋裡先找好位置，才把話說出口——沉著，卻又藏著一種篤定的熱忱。

蔡博士跟隨父親腳步念台大化工系，後赴美攻讀明尼蘇達大學化工與材料學博士，在國外將近十年，住過三個國家。旅居海外那些年，心裡有個念頭一直燒著：「別人談起台灣，只知道 TSMC 和 Acer，我希望自己回去，能再創造一個代表台灣的新時代產業，像李國鼎、孫運璿那個年代所做的事。」1999 年，33 歲的蔡政憲回到台灣，創立訊聯生技（BIONET Corp.），成為全台第一家私人臍帶血銀行。公司取名「BIONET」，把「BIO」生物科技與「NET」網路時代串在一起——當時他預見這兩股力量必將交會，而這份預見，等了 27 年才被看清。

Technologists are often perceived as rational, precise, and pragmatic. Chris Tsai, Ph.D. certainly possesses those qualities, yet beneath them is someone deeply fascinated by history — someone who is constantly searching for patterns hidden within it. He once said, “History filters genes.” When Taiwan’s early settlers crossed the perilous Black Ditch Strait, those who managed to survive and build new lives were people of extraordinary courage. To him, that entrepreneurial instinct and spirit of adventure have long existed within the bloodline of every generation on this island. And it is through that perspective that he views technology, industry, and the world itself. Even that understanding of history reveals something quietly romantic about him.

The title Founder and Chairman of BIONET Group may not fully contain the scale of his imagination, nor the sincerity with which he speaks about technology. To Chris Tsai, his “technology soul” is not simply a profession, but a way of living — using technology to create a different quality of life has always been his greatest motivation. Before answering a question, he often pauses briefly, as though carefully arranging his thoughts before speaking. Calm and composed, yet beneath that restraint lies unmistakable conviction.

Following in his father’s footsteps, Chris Tsai studied Chemical Engineering at National Taiwan University before earning his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering and Materials Science from the University of Minnesota. He spent nearly ten years abroad, living across three different countries. During those years overseas, one thought remained with him constantly. “When people talked about Taiwan, all they knew were TSMC and Acer,” he recalls. “I hoped that when I returned, I could help create another industry that represents Taiwan in a new era — something like what Lee Kuo-ting and Sun Yun-suan achieved in their generation.” In 1999, at the age of thirty-three, he returned to Taiwan and founded BIONET Corp., becoming the country’s first private cord blood bank.
Even the company’s name reflected his early vision. “BIO” stood for biotechnology, while “NET” represented the internet age. At the time, he already believed those two forces would eventually converge — a vision that took twenty-seven years to finally be understood.

創立訊聯那年，臍帶血在台灣幾乎是全新概念。蔡博士說，那時候是傻傻地做，沒想那麼多，「但一做之後我嚇到了，阻力之大、保守勢力聲音之大。」即便如此，他說起這些是一種回憶壯遊的口吻，因為創業本來就不容易。

2005 年，訊聯找來小S代言，廣告詞「我懷孕，就是不單存，臍帶、胎盤、臍帶血三個寶都存」至今深植觀眾腦海，也讓臍帶血保存從陌生的醫療概念，變成有溫度的家庭決定。然而很少人知道，那支廣告背後藏著一個走在時代前面的想法：三個寶中的胎盤，正是提取外泌體的材料。「21 年前講外泌體，誰聽得懂？」他說。所以他選擇用胎盤當代稱，慢慢引導，等時機成熟。

這份走在時代前面的直覺，幾乎貫穿了他每一個決定。隔年，他開始向主管機關溝通人體來源衍生物外泌體是否能作為保養品原料使用，碰了壁。一等就是 19 年，隨著政策鬆綁，總算在 2025 年拿到那張申請了 18 個月的許可證。「等了 19 年，是值得的。」這句話說得輕描淡寫，卻藏著一種把握——他從來不認為自己走錯了方向，只是時代還沒跟上。訊聯邁入第 27 年，從國內第一家私人臍帶血銀行，成長為旗下擁有三間公司的生技集團。但蔡博士說，他做的從來不是存細胞這件事，他做的是用科技創造不同的生命品質——那顆科技魂，始終陪著他往前探索。

When BIONET Corp. was founded, cord blood banking was still an unfamiliar concept in Taiwan. “At the beginning, we simply did it instinctively,” he says. “But once we started, I was shocked by how much resistance there was, and how strong the conservative voices were.” Even now, he recalls those years with the tone of someone remembering a long expedition, because entrepreneurship was never meant to be easy.

In 2005, BIONET Corp. launched a now-iconic campaign featuring Taiwanese celebrity Dee Hsu. The slogan encouraged families to preserve cord blood, the umbilical cord, and the placenta together, transforming cord blood preservation from a distant medical concept into something deeply personal for families. What few people realized at the time, however, was that the placenta mentioned in the campaign would later become a source material for exosome extraction. “Twenty-one years ago, nobody would have understood the word ‘exosome,’” he says. So instead, he chose to introduce the concept gradually and wait for the right moment.

That instinct for seeing ahead of the curve has shaped nearly every important decision throughout his career. The following year, he began discussing with regulators whether human-derived exosomes could eventually be approved for use in skincare products. The proposal was rejected. Then came the wait. Nineteen years later, as regulations finally loosened, BIONET ultimately received its permit in 2025 after an additional eighteen months of application review.
“Waiting nineteen years was worth it,” he says lightly. Now entering its twenty-seventh year, BIONET has evolved from Taiwan’s first private cord blood bank into a biotechnology group comprising three companies. Yet Chris Tsai insists he was never simply in the business of storing cells. “What we’ve always done,” he says, “is use technology to create a different quality of life.” That “technology soul” has continued guiding him forward ever since.

「外泌體跟一般保養品，已經是完全不同的概念了。」他說，過去的醫美，是填充物、是光電，那是一種「修補」的邏輯；而外泌體從細胞層次介入，是真正的「再生」。外泌體從間質幹細胞中釋放，帶有訊息傳遞與指揮的功能，相關研究已受到諾貝爾獎層級的學術關注，「這顛覆了妝品業。」背後站著幾十年的科學積累。

訊聯的外泌體研究，近年已在國際醫學場合引發關注。蔡博士提到，在美國雷射醫學與外科學會（ASLMS）上，業界看到再生醫學能處理深層肝斑，甚至在術後發揮預防反黑的效果；在日本知名醫療單位的學術交流場合，光電術後結合外泌體加速退紅的臨床表現讓對方印象深刻，「大家不敢相信，」他說，「而那是我們從19年臨床實驗紮實走過來的。」

蔡博士的胸懷不只是做出好產品，而是要成就一個產業。他提出「Foundry（研發代工）模式」，要打造外泌體界的台積電：不搶醫師的舞台，而是成為讓醫師發揮得更好的後援體系。台灣有精良的醫師、嚴謹的法規環境、以及深厚的細胞治療研發基底，他說，「就缺一個 Foundry，現在我們就是。」毛利率雖然讓了出去，「但我心甘情願，因為我成就了一個輝煌時代。」在他眼中，台灣過去是口紅王國、面膜王國，出口量曾遙遙領先日韓；而今他許了一個更大的願。今年七月的亞洲生技大會（BIO Asia-Taiwan），蔡博士計劃集結台灣妝品原料廠、代工廠、自有品牌商、通路商、學界與醫界，做一次完整的成果展現——讓世界看見，台灣能用自己的高科技，在外泌體領域開發出更具競爭力的成分，征戰全球市場。

“Exosomes are already an entirely different concept from traditional skincare,” he says. In the past, aesthetic medicine largely revolved around fillers and energy-based devices — approaches rooted in repair. Exosomes, however, operate at the cellular level and represent a fundamentally regenerative approach. Released from mesenchymal stem cells, exosomes function as biological messengers capable of transmitting signals and instructions between cells. The field itself has already attracted Nobel Prize-level scientific attention.
“This changes the beauty industry completely,” he says. Behind it lies decades of scientific research and accumulation.

In recent years, BIONET’s exosome research has begun attracting international medical attention. Chris Tsai points to presentations at the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery (ASLMS), where regenerative medicine demonstrated the ability to address deep melasma while also helping reduce post-treatment hyperpigmentation. During academic exchanges with leading Japanese medical institutions, clinical results combining exosomes with post-laser recovery treatments — particularly their effectiveness in reducing redness — left many physicians deeply impressed. “People couldn’t believe it,” he says. “But those results came from nineteen years of real clinical experience.”

His ambition, however, extends beyond developing successful products.
Chris Tsai has proposed a “Foundry model” for exosomes — a system inspired by Taiwan’s semiconductor industry. Rather than competing with physicians, he hopes BIONET can become the support system that allows doctors to perform at an even higher level. “Taiwan already has outstanding doctors, rigorous regulations, and strong foundations in cell therapy research,” he says. “What we lacked was a Foundry. Now we are becoming that.” Although the model sacrifices higher profit margins, he speaks about it without hesitation. “I’m completely willing to do it,” he says. “Because I believe we are helping create a remarkable era.” Taiwan was once known globally for its lipstick and sheet mask industries, with export volumes surpassing neighboring markets across Asia. Today, Chris Tsai hopes Taiwan can achieve something even greater. At BIO Asia–Taiwan this July, he plans to bring together Taiwan’s cosmetic ingredient manufacturers, OEM factories, independent brands, distribution channels, academic institutions, and medical professionals for a large-scale showcase of Taiwan’s exosome capabilities. He hopes the world will see that Taiwan can leverage its own technological strengths to develop more competitive exosome ingredients for the global market.

蔡博士大四那年，「AI 教父」Geoffrey Hinton 教授發表了反向傳播演算法，他的指導教授告訴他：「這是大未來。」這顆種子種下去，幾十年後長成了訊聯內部一支培養逾 15 年的 AI 研發團隊。從取名 BIONET 的那一刻起，他就已經預見數位力量必須整合進生物科技；而現在，這件事終於真實地發生了。

外泌體的成分極其複雜，研究門檻極高，很多人望之卻步。但蔡博士的反應是：「這個時代有 AI 了。」訊聯的 AI 團隊在三千多種成分中，找出能影響黑色素調控的關鍵成分，預測結果後來在人體實驗中獲得驗證。過去動輒五年、十年才能完成的研究週期，在 AI 介入下壓縮到數月。他把這稱為「AI 縮時」，研發速度的加速，也讓科技與普通人之間的距離大幅縮短。以往頂尖醫學研究成果，要花幾年才能轉化為消費者能買到的產品；現在，消費者幾個月內就能享用到剛在國際醫學殿堂發表的成果：「科技與人類的距離就這麼近。」他說。

訪談時蔡博士正因阿基里斯腱斷裂休養中，他說，親身感受到健康失去之後生活品質如何驟降，反而讓他對再生醫學的意義有了更深的體感。面對台灣幾近失速走向超高齡社會，他的答案不是遙遠的承諾，而是一句很扎實的話：「透過再生醫學、透過精準醫療，讓人過得更健康、更美。」這，就是他口中科技人的浪漫——不是為了炫技，是為了讓每個人擁有更美好的生命品質。

During his senior year at university, Geoffrey Hinton — later known as the “Godfather of AI” — introduced the backpropagation algorithm. Chris Tsai still remembers his professor telling him, “This is the future.” That idea stayed with him for decades. Eventually, it became the foundation for BIONET’s internal AI research team, which has now been cultivated for more than fifteen years.
From the moment he named the company BIONET, he already believed biotechnology and digital systems would one day become inseparable.
Now, that convergence is becoming reality.

Exosomes are extraordinarily complex, and the research barriers remain intimidating to many scientists. But his response is simple: “This era has AI.”
Using AI-assisted analysis, BIONET’s research team identified key compounds capable of influencing melanin regulation from among more than three thousand molecular components. Those predictions were later validated through human clinical studies. Research timelines that once required five or even ten years can now be compressed into mere months through AI integration. Chris Tsai describes this phenomenon as “AI compression.”
As development cycles accelerate, the distance between advanced science and everyday life becomes significantly smaller. In the past, groundbreaking medical discoveries often required years before becoming accessible consumer products. Today, consumers may experience technologies within months of their debut at international medical conferences. “The distance between technology and humanity has become incredibly close,” he says.

At the time of our interview, Chris Tsai was recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon. Experiencing the sudden loss of physical mobility firsthand gave him an even deeper understanding of how profoundly health shapes quality of life.
As Taiwan rapidly moves toward a super-aged society, his answer is not framed as a distant promise, but something practical and immediate: “Through regenerative medicine and precision healthcare, we can help people live healthier and more beautifully.” To him, that is the romance of a technologist — not technology for the sake of spectacle, but technology that allows people to live better lives.