TAIPEI, Taiwan — OpenAI and Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn have agreed to a partnership to design and manufacture key equipment for U.S. artificial intelligence data centers as part of an ambitious plan to strengthen the U.S. AI infrastructure.
Foxconn, which makes AI servers for Nvidia and assembles Apple products such as the iPhone, will co-design and develop AI data center racks with OpenAI under the deal, the companies said in separate statements Thursday and Friday.
Products that Foxconn will manufacture at the U.S. facility will include wiring, networking and power systems for AI data centers, the companies said. OpenAI will evaluate them and, in some cases, provide “early access” to purchase them.
Foxconn has factories in the United States, including Wisconsin, Ohio, and Texas. The initial agreement does not include any financial obligations or purchase commitments, the statement said.
The Taiwanese contract manufacturing company, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industries, is diversifying its business, developing electric vehicles and acquiring other electronics companies to expand its product offering.
The sophisticated Model A EV, manufactured by the group’s car manufacturing affiliate Foxtron, was on display at Friday’s event.
Jun Seki, chief strategy officer for Foxconn’s EV business, said, “This year is Model A. “A” at an affordable price.”
Nvidia Vice President Alexis Bjorlin said the partnership with OpenAI will also help Taiwan, an autonomous island claimed by China, build its own computing resources.
“This allows us to keep Taiwanese expertise and key technical data local and ensure data security,” she said.
“This partnership is a step toward ensuring the core technologies of the AI era are built here,” Sam Altman, CEO of San Francisco-based OpenAI, said in a statement. “We believe this effort will strengthen U.S. leadership and help ensure the benefits of AI are widely shared.”
OpenAI has committed US$1.4 trillion to building AI infrastructure. The company recently entered into multibillion-dollar partnerships with Nvidia and AMD to expand the extensive computing power needed to support its AI models and services. The company is also partnering with US chipmaker Broadcom to design and manufacture its own AI chips.
But its huge spending plans have worried investors, raising questions about its ability to recoup investments and maintain profits. Altman said this month that OpenAI, founded in 2015 and the maker of ChatGPT, is expected to reach more than $20 billion in annual revenue this year and grow to “hundreds of billions of dollars by 2030.”
Foxconn’s Taiwan-listed stock has risen 25% so far this year, along with the rise in shares of many tech companies benefiting from the AI boom.
The Taiwanese company’s net profit for the July-September period rose 17% year-on-year to more than NT$57.6 billion ($1.8 billion), with revenue from cloud and networking businesses, including AI servers, contributing the most to results.
“We think the importance of the AI industry has increased significantly,” Liu said on Foxconn’s earnings call this month.
“I am very optimistic about the development of AI in the coming year and look forward to even closer cooperation with our key clients and partners,” said Liu.
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Chan reported from Hong Kong.
Zhang Hohim and Wu Taijin, Associated Press
