Foxconn, Nvidia Join Hands To Build 'AI Factories': All You Need To Know
Nvidia confirmed that their chips and cutting-edge GH200 superchip would power these AI factories.
Foxconn, the leading global contract electronics manufacturer based in Taiwan, has revealed plans for a novel data centre infrastructure in collaboration with Nvidia, a major player in the chip industry. This data centre will integrate Nvidia chips and software, serving a diverse range of applications, notably in the realm of autonomous vehicles, as announced by both companies on Wednesday.
During Foxconn's annual tech exhibition held in Taipei, Foxconn Chairman Liu Young-way and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang jointly declared their intent to construct these "AI factories."
Huang emphasised the emergence of a new manufacturing paradigm - the production of intelligence - and designated the data centres as AI factories. He highlighted Foxconn's substantial expertise and global reach as key assets for deploying these facilities on a worldwide scale.
Presenting a conceptual sketch, Huang illustrated how these "AI factories" would continuously receive and process data from self-driving electric vehicles, enhancing their capabilities over time. Huang emphasised that the data collected from these vehicles would be processed within the AI factory, leading to software improvements and updates across the entire AI fleet. He envisaged a future where AI factories become ubiquitous across various industries.
Nvidia, renowned as the world's most valuable chip company, released a statement affirming that their chips and cutting-edge GH200 superchip would power these AI factories, excluding their sale in China due to recent US export restrictions.
This announcement followed Nvidia's statement about new export restrictions impacting the sale of certain high-end AI chips in China, contributing to the remarkable threefold increase in Nvidia's shares throughout 2023, propelling the company's market value beyond $1 trillion, driven by the pivotal role of its chips in AI applications.
Foxconn, a major supplier for Apple, aims to replicate its success in assembling personal computers and smartphones as it diversifies into electric vehicle production for other entities.
In January, Foxconn and Nvidia unveiled a collaborative effort to develop autonomous vehicle platforms, where Foxconn would manufacture electronic control units (ECUs) based on Nvidia's DRIVE Orin chip for global distribution.
Liu, standing alongside Huang, articulated Foxconn's transformation strategy from a manufacturing service entity to a platform solutions provider. He cited smart cities and smart manufacturing as additional domains where AI factories could play a crucial role.
On the same occasion, Foxconn unveiled its latest electric cargo van, Model N, marking the sixth prototype in its electric vehicle endeavour. The company aims to penetrate 5 per cent of the global EV market, targeting $33 billion in revenue from EV and component manufacturing by 2025. Their ambitious long-term vision involves manufacturing nearly half of the world's EVs.
The announcement was made during Foxconn's Tech Day, coinciding with the birthday of Terry Gou, the company's billionaire founder. Gou, who stepped down as the company's chief in 2019, is presently an independent candidate in Taiwan's upcoming presidential elections in January and was not in attendance at the event.
Foxconn's stock closed down 0.9 per cent on Wednesday, a marginal dip compared to the broader market's 1.2 per cent fall.
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