In this wave of ChatGPT-fueled generative AI, Foxconn has leveraged its long-established position in the server industry to continue to be involved in the AI ecosystem. Whether it's the manufacturing of AI servers or the implementation of AI in practical applications, Foxconn is slowly laying out a comprehensive plan that covers the upstream and downstream of the AI hardware industry and the service application market.
Lenovo released its financial report for the first quarter of the 2023/24 fiscal year (1QFY23/24) ending on June 30th. It saw revenue of US$12.9 billion, marking a decrease of 24% YoY, and the operating profit was US$390 million, reflecting a decline of 50% YoY.
As 2023 becomes the year for large language models (LLMs), Lei Jun, Chairman and CEO of Xiaomi, emphasized recently that fully embracing LLMs is Xiaomi's upcoming strategy. Enabling LLMs to run on mobile terminals is a key focus for Xiaomi's invitation-only internal testing phase. Xiaomi's top executives also indicated that achieving AI capabilities through large models on mobile devices will be realized soon.
Taiwan is making strides towards achieving its 2050 net-zero objective, with geothermal power generation emerging as a pivotal player in the field of renewable energy. TCC Green Energy's geothermal power plant is gearing up for grid testing by the end of 2024, thereby paving the path for its official entry into commercial operation. Presently, Taiwan is witnessing a dynamic developmental landscape, with eight geothermal power plants underway across over 20 locations.
Both Mercedes-Benz with its level 3 automated driving and Tesla have actively approached China with their full self-driving solutions (FSD). Despite not yet receiving formal approval for entry, Chinese media highlights Tesla's ongoing deployment of an on-site FSD team within China.
A recent official statement from Tesla discloses the establishment of a data center in China, intended to house all data generated by its vehicles in the country. This strategic move is believed to play a pivotal role in Tesla's establishment of its FSD team in China. This also indirectly signals the activation of Tesla's supercomputer within China.
Quanta Computer expects its future operation and profitability to be majorly driven by the AI business and in addition to servers and automotive AI chips, the company has also been keen on developing medical solutions and formed technology transfer collaborations with hospitals in Taiwan to develop an AI electrocardiography (ECG) platform.
Chinese automakers intend to alter the local market ecology in order to increase the turnover rate of auto sales, which will put a strain on the manufacturing flexibility and inventory management capacities of related industry supply chains, according to Robert Liu, president of automotive cooling fan specialist Yen Sun Technology.
Industrial PC (IPC) maker Getac said its customers are being cautious about their second-half prospects and that it is seeing poor order visibility in the second half of 2023.
Contract electronics vendor Foxconn has a sizable share in the upstream AI GPU module and substrate markets of the AI server supply chain, according to company chairman Young Liu.
Compared to the impressive performance of its gaming notebooks and boards, Asus's server business tends to not receive much attention from the market with a revenue share in the low single digits. However, with AI servers trending, Asus has no intention of missing out. Furthermore, with its foundation in the PC sector, Asus is not concerned about chip supply.
To meet robust customer demand for AI servers, Quanta Computer's board of directors recently greenlighted capacity expansions at its production bases in the US and Germany, which will drive up its capex for 2023 by 20-30% to NT$12-13 billion (US$376-407 million), according to company sources
With the end of customer inventory adjustment and the gradual warming up of the tooling and network security equipment industries, embedded motherboard and industrial PC (IPC) vendor DFI Inc. believes that the overall business outlook in the second half of 2023 is not pessimistic.
ODMs including Quanta Cloud Technology (QCT), Wiwynn, and Giga Computing have experienced delays in fulfilling AI server orders due to the ongoing GPU shortage at Nvidia, according to industry sources..
Cooling module maker Asia Vital Components (AVC) plans to expand its production site in Vietnam to meet growing demand from its US customers, according to the Taiwan-based company.
Samsung Electronics has announced the expansion of its collaboration with Intel via a new product innovation agreement, enabling the companies to continue advancing virtualized radio access network (vRAN) for improved performance and capacity.
The Biden Administration announced an executive order to require investors to receive approval before investing in China's sensitive tech sectors, such as AI, semiconductors, and quantum technology. The executive order, expected to be in force in 2024, is narrower than previously thought, signaling a cautious approach towards further restrictions against China by the US.
Industry observers have expressed an interest in the role of Hon Hai Precision Industry (Foxconn), which has a more than 40% market share in the global server market, in this era of artificial intelligence (AI). Enter Foxconn subsidiary - Foxconn Industrial Internet (FII).
Due to strong educational demand and successful strategies of inventory clearing, notebook PCs (not including models which can separate the display and the keyboards) enjoyed a better-than-expected shipment performance of 20.9% quarter-on-quarter in 2Q23, according to DIGITIMES Research.
Semiconductor materials distributor Wah Lee Industrial has enjoyed robust orders catering to customers' advanced packaging needs, such as TSMC's CoWoS, as a result of the AI server surge, according to industry sources.
Wiwynn has stepped up efforts to diversify its main customer base, with its third largest customer poised to contribute over 10% to its total revenue by the end of this year, according to the Taiwan-based server ODM.
Despite the raging US-China technology conflict, neither Nvidia nor TSMC can afford to give up the enormous business opportunities presented by the Chinese market. However, the top executives of the two companies apparently are well aware of the sensitiveness of their association with the Chinese market.
Chairman of Qisda Technology, Peter Chen, announced that despite a less-than-expected economic outlook in this year, the company's operations have grown quarter by quarter. In Q2 this year, revenue grew slightly, though at a slower pace. It was primarily because the IT industry has shown gradual recovery but not a significant rebound in the past year. Chen also projected a gradual improvement in Q3 compared to Q2, expecting the latter half of this year to be better than the first half, albeit at a slow pace.
