The two firms announced that the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer, Foxconn (2317. TW) of Taiwan, will construct a new type of data center employing Nvidia (NVDA.O) chips and software for various applications, including self-driving vehicles.
Foxconn Chairman Liu Young-way and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said their businesses will construct these “AI factories” jointly on stage at Foxconn’s yearly innovation expo in Taipei.
“The creation of intelligence has become a brand-new sort of manufacturing. And the data centers that generate it are factories for AI,” Huang added, noting that Foxconn had the know-how and resources to establish them worldwide.
While donning his trademark black leather jacket, Huang demonstrated how “AI factories” might continually collect and process data from autonomous electric vehicles to make them smarter.
Of course, this automobile would experience life and gather additional information. The AI factory would get the data. According to Huang, a Taiwanese citizen, the AI factory will update the whole AI fleet’s firmware. “In the future, every company and industry will have AI factories.”
The most valuable chip firm in the world, Nvidia, announced in a statement that the AI factories will employ its hardware and software, including the state-of-the-art GH200 super chip that it is not allowed to sell in China. The news follows Nvidia’s Tuesday statement that two lower-end, high-end AI chips it developed for the Chinese market and one of its top-tier gaming processors would likewise be prohibited from being sold under new U.S. export regulations. Excitement about the crucial role of the business’s processors in AI applications has quadrupled the value of Nvidia’s shares, valuing the company at more than $1 trillion in 2023.
As it moves into producing electric cars for other businesses, Foxconn, the top supplier of Apple’s (AAPL.O) iPhones, hopes to match its degree of success in manufacturing smartphones and personal computers.
In cooperation to build autonomous vehicle platforms, Foxconn and Nvidia announced in January that they will produce electronic control units (ECUs) for automobiles based on Nvidia’s DRIVE Orin processor for the worldwide market.
Huang’s neighbor Liu claimed that Foxconn was “trying to convert itself from a manufacturing service company to a platform solution company,” citing smart manufacturing and smart cities as additional uses for AI plants.
On Wednesday, Foxconn introduced the Model N, a brand-new electric cargo van. This is the sixth prototype in Foxconn’s ambitious EV push, which has only received a small number of orders thus far.
Foxconn’s head of EV operations, Jun Seki, revealed that the firm was in talks with 14 potential clients but declined to name them. Seki also believes that Japan and India will likely lead the world in EV development. Foxconn’s aggressive long-term goal is to produce almost half of the world’s EVs, with an initial aim of 5% of the global EV market and the equivalent of $33 billion in sales from manufacturing EVs and components by 2025.
On Terry Gou’s birthday, the company’s billionaire founder who left as CEO in 2019, Foxconn celebrates its annual Tech Day.
Unlike the previous year, he did not attend the ceremony when he drove on stage in a prototype electric vehicle. He is currently campaigning as an independent for Taiwan’s president in the January elections.
The share price of Foxconn decreased 0.9% on Wednesday, while the broader market (.TWII) fell 1.2%.
