Google yesterday opened a new office in New Taipei City’s Banciao District (板橋), the company’s first hardware engineering facility outside the US.
“As a Taiwanese and an engineer, it’s extremely heartwarming to see how Taiwan has grown to be a critical hub for global innovation and hardware manufacturing,” Google vice president of hardware Elmer Peng (彭昱鈞) said.
The 16-floor office in the Taipei Far Eastern Telecom Park is to be used to develop Google’s hardware products, including Nest smart devices, Pixel phones and Chromecast streaming media players.
 
                    Photo: CNA
Google has increased the number of its employees in Taiwan 10-fold over the past five years, and with the opening of a new office, it is to start recruiting people for work on artificial intelligence (AI), cloud-based applications and Pixel phones, Peng said.
“We will provide more opportunities for students interested in a career in tech by offering new internship roles in manufacturing, engineering, Google Cloud and Technical Program Management,” Peng said.
“This is in addition to our current offerings in software and hardware engineering, data centers, sales, business operations and marketing,” he said.
The company is also planning to introduce free online development courses related to hardware, software and cloud for people.
“Potential candidates and interested individuals can gain practical skills and prepare themselves when interviewing for technical roles,” Peng said.
Yesterday was the 15th anniversary of Google’s arrival in Taiwan, and the third anniversary of its acquisition of the Pixel team from HTC Corp (宏達電) in a US$1.1 billion purchase.
“Google’s Taiwan team has participated and even led in the development of many Google products, such as the Pixel phones,” Peng said, adding that the company plans to open another building in the same compound in 2023.

US sports leagues rushed to get in on the multi-billion US dollar bonanza of legalized betting, but the arrest of an National Basketball Association (NBA) coach and player in two sprawling US federal investigations show the potential cost of partnering with the gambling industry. Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, a former Detroit Pistons star and an NBA Hall of Famer, was arrested for his alleged role in rigged illegal poker games that prosecutors say were tied to Mafia crime families. Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier was charged with manipulating his play for the benefit of bettors and former NBA player and

The DBS Foundation yesterday announced the launch of two flagship programs, “Silver Motion” and “Happier Caregiver, Healthier Seniors,” in partnership with CCILU Ltd, Hondao Senior Citizens’ Welfare Foundation and the Garden of Hope Foundation to help Taiwan face the challenges of a rapidly aging population. The foundation said it would invest S$4.91 million (US$3.8 million) over three years to foster inclusion and resilience in an aging society. “Aging may bring challenges, but it also brings opportunities. With many Asian markets rapidly becoming super-aged, the DBS Foundation is working with a regional ecosystem of like-minded partners across the private, public and people sectors

BREAKTHROUGH TECH: Powertech expects its fan-out PLP system to become mainstream, saying it can offer three-times greater production throughput Chip packaging service provider Powertech Technology Inc (力成科技) plans to more than double its capital expenditures next year to more than NT$40 billion (US$1.31 billion) as demand for its new panel-level packaging (PLP) technology, primarily used in chips for artificial intelligence (AI) applications, has greatly exceeded what it can supply. A significant portion of the budget, about US$1 billion, would be earmarked for fan-out PLP technology, Powertech told investors yesterday. Its heavy investment in fan-out PLP technology over the past 10 years is expected to bear fruit in 2027 after the technology enters volume production, it said, adding that the tech would

YEAR-END BOOST: The holiday shopping season in the US and Europe, combined with rising demand for AI applications, is expected to drive exports to a new high, the NDC said Taiwan’s business climate monitor improved last month, transitioning from steady growth for the first time in five months, as robust global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) products and new iPhone shipments boosted exports and corporate sales, the National Development Council (NDC) said yesterday. The council uses a five-color system to measure the nation’s economic state, with “green” indicating steady growth, “red” suggesting a boom and “blue” reflecting a recession. “Yellow-red” and “yellow-blue” suggest a transition to a stronger or weaker condition. The total score of the monitor’s composite index rose to 35 points from a revised 31 in August, ending a four-month