Hon Hai to invest NT$42 billion in AI computing equipment

Taipei, Oct. 28 (CNA) Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., the largest contract electronics maker in the world, said Monday that its board has approved a NT$42 billion (US$1.371 billion) investment plan to purchase artificial intelligence equipment for a supercomputing center.

The Taiwan-based company said that the self-financed investment will be made over a year, starting in December, with the goal of expanding its cloud computing services and accelerating the development of its three platforms -- smart manufacturing, smart electric vehicles, and smart cities.

Earlier this month, Hon Hai Chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) said that the company was making plans for the next five years.

"AI applications are just beginning" and will reach into all kinds of industries, Young said.

Also known globally as Foxconn, Hon Hai has been investing in AI infrastructure in recent years.

In March, it announced the launch of its first traditional Chinese version of an advanced AI large language model (LLM) to improve the analysis efficiency of its smart platforms.

In May, Hon Hai said it was partnering with American AI chip designer Nvidia Corp. to build an AI factory supercomputing center in Taiwan.

On Oct. 14, Hon Hai said it planned to introduce Nvidia's 800 VDC data center power architecture in its K-1 AI data center in Kaohsiung, making it a model site for its server, data center, and renewable energy integration.