Nvidia Corp yesterday is to collaborate with the Ministry of Science and Technology in launching artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning programs in Taiwan to help build AI infrastructure and invest in local start-ups, including building a super computer.
The US-based company said it would introduce an “Inception Program” to fund local start-ups, while its “Deep Learning Institute” would help train Taiwanese professionals.
The company said it has signed up 2,000 member firms over the past 18 months for the “Inception Program,” which helps accelerate start-ups pushing the frontier of AI and data science, it added.
Photo: CNA
“I believe Taiwan is a little bit slow in adopting AI, but it’s not too late. The game just started,” Nvidia chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) told a media briefing in Taipei. “I want to inspire Taiwan to jump on the AI trend.”
“You have to find your niche. You don’t have to do everything. We don’t have to boil the ocean,” Huang said.
Taiwan has good technological capabilities that can compete with nations such as Canada and the UK, where some of the greatest works in AI have been put in place, Huang said.
South Korea and Japan are also jumping on the AI bandwagon, while Singapore and Germany are making AI national initiatives because the technology is essential in improving productivity of society, he said.
Nvidia has helped train 1,000 AI developers in Taiwan over the past 18 months through different initiatives, the ministry said.
When AI technology enters the third phase in its development, or enter the “edge devices,” it will provide good business opportunities, Huang said.
An edge device is a device which provides an entry point into enterprise network, or service provider’s network such as cellphones, meaning a device that can connect to the Internet.
When AI goes into edge devices, there will be a wide variety of chips on demand such as tiny chips that go into small microphones, or temperature sensors, or all kinds of vibration sensors, Huang said.
“There are so many types of chips that cannot create industry standards to dominate the market. I think that is the market opportunity for Taiwan,” Huang said.
AI technology is applied to data centers in the first phase, and then enters different industries such as transportation or manufacturing in the second phase, he said.
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Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day
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