Citing waning sales and intensifying competition over the past few years, Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) chief executive officer Jerry Shen (沈振來) yesterday tendered his resignation to make way for a new leadership structure consisting of two CEOs, S.Y. Hsu (許先越) and Samsun Hu (胡書賓), who formerly served as vice presidents at the company.
The company’s board of directors has approved the leadership shake-up, which is to take effect on Jan. 1.
Shen is to lead iFast (創捷前瞻), a new artificial intelligence and Internet of Things start-up focusing on finding new applications for products ranging from smartphones to smart home appliances.
Photo: CNA
Asustek chairman Jonney Shih (施崇棠) is to remain in his position.
The arrangement is aimed at overhauling the culture at Asustek, Shen said, adding that he would have much more room to innovate at the helm of a small start-up.
Asustek said it plans to take a 30 percent stake in iFast, investing up to NT$10 billion (US$324.15 million), and hopes to become a notable player in the field in three year’s time.
The company also announced a major overhaul of its smartphone business to focus on gamers and power users, following a decline from its heyday when it found success in products such as Eee PC laptops, the Nexus 7 tablet and Zenbook laptops.
However, the restructuring would result in a one-time loss of NT$6.2 billion to account for loss of inventory, royalties, production costs and organizational adjustment expenses, it said.
While the expense would push this quarter’s results into the red, the company would remain profitable this year and be able to meet its cash dividend, Asustek chief financial officer Nick Wu (吳長榮) told a news conference.
“We are going back to our roots as a premium brand and are moving to a higher price tier,” Shih said.
Shih said that the company’s focus is on creating compelling products with excellent quality, and that one of its first steps is to build on the warm reception of its ROG gaming smartphone, and leverage its Republic of Gamers brand and gaming solutions.
“We are aiming to match the Apple iPhone and Google Pixel in terms of user experience,” Shih said, adding that the high prices of those models have not helped their sales, as the global smartphone market is becoming increasingly saturated.
Consumers should begin to see the company’s revamped product lineup around the middle of next year, Shih said.
RECYCLE: Taiwan would aid manufacturers in refining rare earths from discarded appliances, which would fit the nation’s circular economy goals, minister Kung said Taiwan would work with the US and Japan on a proposed cooperation initiative in response to Beijing’s newly announced rare earth export curbs, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said yesterday. China last week announced new restrictions requiring companies to obtain export licenses if their products contain more than 0.1 percent of Chinese-origin rare earths by value. US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent on Wednesday responded by saying that Beijing was “unreliable” in its rare earths exports, adding that the US would “neither be commanded, nor controlled” by China, several media outlets reported. Japanese Minister of Finance Katsunobu Kato yesterday also
Jensen Huang (黃仁勳), founder and CEO of US-based artificial intelligence chip designer Nvidia Corp and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) on Friday celebrated the first Nvidia Blackwell wafer produced on US soil. Huang visited TSMC’s advanced wafer fab in the US state of Arizona and joined the Taiwanese chipmaker’s executives to witness the efforts to “build the infrastructure that powers the world’s AI factories, right here in America,” Nvidia said in a statement. At the event, Huang joined Y.L. Wang (王英郎), vice president of operations at TSMC, in signing their names on the Blackwell wafer to
‘DRAMATIC AND POSITIVE’: AI growth would be better than it previously forecast and would stay robust even if the Chinese market became inaccessible for customers, it said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday raised its full-year revenue growth outlook after posting record profit for last quarter, despite growing market concern about an artificial intelligence (AI) bubble. The company said it expects revenue to expand about 35 percent year-on-year, driven mainly by faster-than-expected demand for leading-edge chips for AI applications. The world’s biggest contract chipmaker in July projected that revenue this year would expand about 30 percent in US dollar terms. The company also slightly hiked its capital expenditure for this year to US$40 billion to US$42 billion, compared with US$38 billion to US$42 billion it set previously. “AI demand actually
AI BOOST: Although Taiwan’s reliance on Chinese rare earth elements is limited, it could face indirect impacts from supply issues and price volatility, an economist said DBS Bank Ltd (星展銀行) has sharply raised its forecast for Taiwan’s economic growth this year to 5.6 percent, citing stronger-than-expected exports and investment linked to artificial intelligence (AI), as it said that the current momentum could peak soon. The acceleration of the global AI race has fueled a surge in Taiwan’s AI-related capital spending and exports of information and communications technology (ICT) products, which have been key drivers of growth this year. “We have revised our GDP forecast for Taiwan upward to 5.6 percent from 4 percent, an upgrade that mainly reflects stronger-than-expected AI-related exports and investment in the third
RSS