Hon Hai, Nvidia to build advanced computing center

Taipei, June 4 (CNA) Taiwan-based manufacturing giant Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. announced on Tuesday that it will team up with American artificial intelligence chip designer Nvidia Corp. to set up an advanced computing center in Kaohsiung, with the American tech giant's Blackwell platform at its core.

In a statement, Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn globally, said construction of the upcoming computing center, which will be anchored by superchip GB200 servers and consists of 64 racks and 4,608 GPUs, is scheduled for completion by 2026.

Hon Hai said Nvidia's powerful AI technology will drive the growth of Hon Hai's three smart platforms: smart manufacturing, smart electric vehicles and smart cities

The advanced computing center is the latest step in the partnership between Hon Hai and Nvidia to further deepen their commitment to drive intelligent ecosystems, the Taiwanese manufacturer said.

"Both companies will continue to deepen cooperation in AI, electric vehicles, smart factories, robots, smart cities and other fields, and demonstrate the strong competitiveness brought by AI through Foxconn's huge manufacturing scale," Hon Hai Chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) said in the statement.

Hon Hai, the largest contract electronics maker in the world, has intensified its efforts to integrate its strength in hardware and software in a bid to transform itself from a pure contract manufacturer.

Under the cooperation, Hon Hai said, the two partners will utilize Nvidia Omniverse and create digital twins to introduce platforms for smart manufacturing, smart EVs and smart city development.

In terms of smart manufacturing, Hon Hai said, image recognition technology, along with the company's autonomous mobile robots (AMR), will lead to changes for optimal capacity utilization.

Hon Hai said production line planning will cover existing manufacturing of AI servers and EV assembly plants.

According to Hon Hai, a Foxtron Vehicle Technologies Co. (a Hon Hai EV subsidiary) automotive manufacturing facility in Qiaotou, Kaohsiung, will be one of the benchmark AI factories in the plan.

Hon Hai said the company and Nvidia have made initial achievements in developing an EV Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) platform which will be applied to future EV models designed by Foxtron.

In addition, Hon Hai said, it has been in talks with traditional car makers in the U.S. and Europe to use the ADAS platform it develops with Nvidia.

By taking advantage of Nvidia's new generation of chips, Hon Hai said, it and Nvidia have jointly planned a "cabin-driving-in-one" smart travel solution, creating a third living space.