Computex Taipei aims to draw about 50,000 buyers this year, with 1,500 technology companies from across the globe participating in the trade show, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA, 外貿協會) said yesterday.
The annual expo’s supplemental show for tech start-ups, InnoVEX, has recruited nearly 400 firms from 30 countries this year to explore green computing technologies, setting a new record, TAITRA chairman James Huang (黃志芳) told a news conference.
“With leading companies showcasing their innovations, this year’s Computex highlights their cutting-edge computing solutions that are shaping the future of AI” (artificial intelligence), Huang said.
Photo: I-Hwa Cheng, AFP
Under the main theme of “Connecting AI,” he said the technology is not only the focus of this year’s expo, but would also be the focus of the next decade, if not the next two decades.
Taiwan plays an important role in the world’s AI ecosystem, having attracted companies such as Advanced Micro Devices Inc, Nvidia Corp, Google, Amazon.com Inc and Microsoft Corp as partners and clients, he said.
Echoing Huang’s remarks, Paul Peng (彭双浪) — chairman of the Taiwan Computer Association (台北市電腦公會), which co-organized Computex — told attendees that “Connecting AI” is not only reflected in the main show, but also in more than 50 forums Computex and InnoVex would host to explore AI as a technology and its applications.
Peng also promoted Taiwan as a prospective partner for international companies when it comes to storing data needed to develop AI tech.
“As we know, building GenAI [generative AI] and LLM [large language model] solutions needs more than just sufficient computing power, but also abundant data storage in the cloud or edge AI devices,” he said. “This means it is vital to find reliable and efficient partners, which Taiwan can provide. Taiwan’s ICT [information and communications technology] industry has a proven track record of more than 40 years of R&D [research and development] experience and a professional reputation.”
Computex, which started yesterday, runs through Friday in Halls 1 and 2 of the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center.
Shares of contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) came under pressure yesterday after a report that Apple Inc is looking to shift some orders from the Taiwanese company to Intel Corp. TSMC shares fell NT$55, or 2.4 percent, to close at NT$2,235 on the local main board, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed. Despite the losses, TSMC is expected to continue to benefit from sound fundamentals, as it maintains a lead over its peers in high-end process development, analysts said. “The selling was a knee-jerk reaction to an Intel-Apple report over the weekend,” Mega International Investment Services Corp (兆豐國際投顧) analyst Alex Huang
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to remain Apple Inc’s primary chip manufacturing partner despite reports that Apple could shift some orders to Intel Corp, industry experts said yesterday. The comments came after The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Apple and Intel had reached a preliminary agreement following more than a year of negotiations for Intel to manufacture some chips for Apple devices. Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (台灣經濟研究院) economist Arisa Liu (劉佩真) said TSMC’s advanced packaging technologies, including integrated fan-out and chip-on-wafer-on-substrate, remain critical to the performance of Apple’s A-series and M-series chips. She said Intel and Samsung
TRANSITION: With the closure, the company would reorganize its Taiwanese unit to a sales and service-focused model, Bridgestone said Bridgestone Corp yesterday announced it would cease manufacturing operations at its tire plant in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口), affecting more than 500 workers. Bridgestone Taiwan Co (台灣普利司通) said in a statement that the decision was based on the Tokyo-based tire maker’s adjustments to its global operational strategy and long-term market development considerations. The Taiwanese unit would be reorganized as part of the closure, effective yesterday, and all related production activities would be concluded, the statement said. Under the plan, Bridgestone would continue to deepen its presence in the Taiwanese market, while transitioning to a sales and service-focused business model, it added. The Hsinchu
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has approved a capital budget of US$31.28 billion for production expansion to meet long-term development needs during the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. The company’s board meeting yesterday approved the capital appropriation plan for purposes such as the installation of advanced technology capacity and fab construction, the world’s largest contract chipmaker said in a statement. At an earnings conference last month, TSMC forecast that its capital expenditure for this year would be at the higher end of the US$52 billion to US$56 billion range it forecast in January in response to robust demand for 5G, AI and