Dekra, the world's largest independent testing, inspection, and certification organization, officially opened its new Taiwan headquarters in Linkou, New Taipei City, on October 23, along with expanded laboratory facilities. This strategic expansion aims to strengthen Taiwan's position in key sectors including ICT, vehicle connectivity, IoT, and intelligent automotive systems.
Optical epitaxy specialist LandMark Optoelectronics reported a gross margin increase to 27.58% in the third quarter of 2024, driven by silicon photonics (SiPh) shipments to high-speed data centers. The company achieved positive operating profit and net profit after tax for the quarter. The company's main US-based SiPh customers have been deploying 800G SiPh products in general data centers, with an expected life cycle of two years. Additionally, with 1.6T products entering mass production from the fourth quarter of 2024 to the first quarter of 2025, the company expects strong performance from its data center-related business in the near future.
Taiwanese manufacturers returning from China to invest domestically amid the US-China tech and trade rivalry are encountering mounting pressure to relocate overseas. Industry observers point to electricity and labor shortages, alongside soaring land prices, as major obstacles.
As geopolitical tensions persist, Synnex Chairperson Evans Tu has brushed off concerns about potential industry disruptions, asserting that any market shifts will have minimal impact. Tu remains confident in Synnex's growth, with plans to launch a new logistics hub in Melbourne by early 2025. The company also has high hopes for expanding into Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Turkey.
At a public event in China, Jianguo Tang, the chief economist at the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology, inadvertently declared that Xiaomi's self-developed 3nm SoC has successfully undergone tape out, which has garnered significant international attention.
As Nvidia shares its finalized GB200 infrastructure design specifications with the industry, suppliers are gearing up for increased competition focused on quality, compatibility, and cost efficiency.
The 2024 Hong Kong Electronics Fair (Autumn Edition) and electronicAsia, key indicators for China's consumer electronics supply chain, showcased promising growth in wearable electronics and robotics over the next two years. Emerging markets such as India and the Middle East demonstrated the most potential.
The government-operated Southern Taiwan Science Park (STSP) has capitalized on the global AI surge and the thriving semiconductor sector, generating a record revenue of NT$1.31 trillion (approx. US$40.63 billion) from January to August 2024, marking a more than 40% increase compared to the same period in 2023.
The UK government has announced that four US cloud technology and data center operators—ServiceNow, CoreWeave, CyrusOne, and CloudHQ—will invest a total of up to GBP6.3 billion (approx. US$8.2 billion) in the development of related infrastructure in the UK.
Lite-On Technology has successfully transitioned into a solution provider, capitalizing on the growing demand for AI servers. The company's global strategy and focus on high-value products are expected to drive significant growth in the coming years.
Pegatron is making significant strides in the server business, recently showcasing its latest AI solutions at the 2024 Open Compute Project (OCP) Global Summit. This includes six models of servers designed for AI applications and large language model (LLM) training.
Taiwan's machinery sector, particularly its machine tool makers, is navigating an uneven market recovery and multiple challenges. While the US market shows signs of improvement, China's remains stagnant. Furthermore, the looming threat of China terminating the early harvest lists of the Cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), combined with Taiwan's domestic carbon tax and rising electricity prices, is putting additional pressure on the industry.
As power management and heat dissipation become increasingly important with the high-performance computing required for generative AI, a trend is emerging in the field of power supplies: high wattage, high power consumption, high density, and high conversion efficiency. In addition, high-voltage DC power will gradually supplant AC power, as data centers increasingly adopt greener energy sources.
As Nvidia's GB200 chip enters mass production, Taiwanese AI server supply chain firms are preparing for an anticipated surge in demand from major cloud service providers. Mike Yang, senior vice president of Quanta and president of Quanta Cloud Technology (QCT), and Kuang-chih Cheng, president and CEO of Pegatron, express optimism about AI server prospects in 2025, with GB200 shipments expected to ramp up from the fourth quarter of 2024 into 2025.
Chip demand for AI is substantial and intense, according to TSMC chairman and CEO C. C. Wei. TSMC's revenue from AI server chips is forecast to increase by over threefold in 2024 compared to 2023, representing 14-16% of the foundry's total revenue.
Lenovo introduced its latest Neptune water cooling technology for data center applications, featuring an open-loop design, at its annual Tech World event in Seattle, Washington.
Academics in Taiwan have unveiled the world's smallest quantum computer, capable of performing integer factorization using only a single photon. These significant strides in quantum technology were led by National Tsing Hua University's Department of Physics and Professor Chuu Chih-Sung from the Center for Quantum Technology Research. This breakthrough follows the completion of Taiwan's first quantum encryption network in 2023, which attracted interest from Chunghwa Telecom.
At the Open Compute Project (OCP) Global Summit 2024, held from October 15-17 in San Jose, California, Ingrasys Technology, a wholly owned subsidiary of Foxconn Technology Group and a key Nvidia partner, introduced a series of advanced solutions, like liquid-cooled GB200 NVL72, aimed at addressing the evolving needs of AI computing centers and powering future AI computing infrastructures.
The rise of AI applications has spurred demand for AI servers. However, the increasing computational power has also led to a growth in cooling requirements, presenting a challenge for all industry players. Traditional air cooling methods are no longer sufficient to meet the thermal management needs of AI servers. Consequently, liquid cooling solutions, including immersion cooling, have gradually emerged as a new business opportunity in the market, particularly under Nvidia's advocacy.
As Nvidia Blackwell GB200 chips near the mass production and shipment stage, supply chain players are already making initial preparations for the next-generation Rubin AI platform. Lite-On Technology projects that sample delivery of next-generation devices for verification will begin by the end of 2024, with results anticipated within six to nine months.
After a delayed start in the AI server race compared to its Taiwanese competitors, MSI has in the past six months sprung into action at full throttle, leveraging its expertise in graphics cards and gaming notebooks, as well as its world-leading position along with Asus. Originally targeting a mid-2025 entry into the AI space, MSI has instead moved its schedule far ahead, securing a partnership with Nvidia, rapidly expanding its dedicated teams, and obtaining certification for a variety of machines.
According to industry speculation, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang will return to Taiwan on or around January 17, 2025, if no unexpected events occur. Aside from attending Nvidia's annual banquet for local employees in Taiwan, the itinerary includes a greeting to TSMC founder Morris Chang.
