Taipei, Oct. 14 (CNA) The Taiwan branch of Cloud Network Technology Singapore Pte Ltd., a subsidiary of Taiwan-based manufacturing giant Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., will build a hub for artificial intelligence development in New Taipei, northern Taiwan, according to an industrial source.
Cloud Network’s Taiwan branch has signed a letter of intent with BES Engineering Corp. to acquire a piece of property in the BES Cloud Universal Park, which is currently under construction in New Taipei’s Tucheng District for about NT$7.5 billion (US$233 million), Hon Hai said on Thursday in an announcement posted on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, where the parent company’s shares are traded.
While the iPhone assembler Hon Hai, also known as Foxconn on the global market, declined to disclose details about the investments, citing a non-disclosure provision in the agreement, the source close to the deal said the company will allocate some of its employees working on AI development to the industrial park.
The property purchased has a floor area of 12,747 pings or 3,863 square meters as well as 300 parking spaces, according to the agreement.
According to BES Engineering, construction of the BES Cloud Universal Park is scheduled to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2025 and will have four office buildings with a total floor area of about 100,000 pings.
The industrial park, an urban renewal plan initiated by the New Taipei city government, is close to Hon Hai’s headquarters.
Cloud Network Technology Singapore specializes in developing networking devices such as network converters, routers, wireless communication equipment, network servers, smart family applications, small base stations, optical communication gadgets and digital set-top boxes.
The subsidiary has close ties with Hon Hai’s G business group, Communication & Network Solution Business Group (CNSBG), which provides networking gadgets.
In order to transform itself from simply being a contract electronics manufacturer into a company that is fully able to combine its hardware and software capabilities, Hon Hai has outlined a so-called “3 plus 3” initiative.
The name refers to three emerging industries — electric vehicles, robots and digital health care — that the company is developing through the application of AI, semiconductor and communication technologies.
At Hon Hai’s 2023 Tech Day, scheduled for Oct. 18, the company is expected to unveil new EV models. Local news media reported recently that Jensen Huang (黃仁勳), CEO of U.S.-based AI chip designer Nvidia Corp., will address the event, but Hon Hai declined to comment on the reports.
In addition, Foxconn Industrial Internet Co. (FII), Hon Hai’s Shanghai listed subsidiary, told investors on Tuesday that growing AI applications are expected to boost production of its high-speed network switchers, which could start to contribute meaningful sales to the unit next year.
FII said its major clients accounted for more than 75 percent of the networking and communications market in the world.
FII’s major global heavyweight clients include Amazon, Apple Inc., Dell Inc. and Chinese smartphone brand Huawei Technologies Co., PC vendor Lenovo Group Ltd., e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and technology and entertainment conglomerate Tencent Holdings Ltd.
FII has developed long-term cooperation with Nvidia in high-performance data center and edge computing development.
