Microsoft Corp yesterday announced that it would build an Azure data center in Taiwan, and create a new team focused on the research and development of artificial intelligence (AI) hardware.
The US company also pledged to help Taiwan train more than 200,000 “digital talents” to serve its ventures, Microsoft Taiwan Corp general manager Ken Sun (孫基康) told a news conference at Taipei 101.
Describing it as the tech behemoth’s “biggest investment in Taiwan yet,” Sun said that Microsoft is “doubling down” on Taiwan due to the strength of local partners, a supportive government and conditions that align with its sustainability goals.
Photo: CNA
“We have been increasing our investment in Taiwan every year for the last five years,” Sun said. “And now we are making the biggest investment in Microsoft’s 30-plus-year history in Taiwan.”
Speaking at the event, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said that Microsoft’s investment comes at a critical time.
“As the world’s supply chains are rapidly reforming in the wake of COVID-19, this is the most powerful moment for us to take our trade relations with the US to a new level,” Tsai said.
Viewing the collaboration as “an alliance of two strong partners,” Tsai said Taiwan and the US are on the way to creating “a global sales network, and building a new supply chain that will unlock enormous business potential.”
“Microsoft will build the first regional-grade data center in Taiwan, expand its cloud technology team, and let the world see Taiwan’s capabilities when it comes to research and development,” Tsai said, adding that the development of 5G, Internet of Things and AI would benefit as a result.
“For those who still do not know what I am talking about, here is the bottom line,” Tsai said. “Over the next few years, Microsoft is going to train more than 200,000 digital talents, create more than 30,000 jobs and create more than NT$300 billion [US$10.4 billion] in production value.”
Sun said the company chose Taiwan because of the completeness of the hardware supply chain and the “great supply of talents” in the nation.
Microsoft would be working with Taiwanese partners not just in the semiconductor and tech industries, but in finance, medical and other fields, he said.
“For AI and the cloud to maximize their potential we need to work across many industries,” Sun said.
He declined to specify where the new data center would be built, citing security concerns.
“Also, the cloud is everywhere,” he said.
An additional factor in Microsoft’s investment in Taiwan is the company’s commitment to the environment, Sun said.
“We made a pledge at the start of the year that Microsoft will have negative carbon emissions by the end of the year. By 2050, we want to remove our entire carbon footprint since we were founded in 1975,” Sun said.
“When we pick our location for investment, we made sure it is in line with our goals and we have structured the procurement of renewable energy into our plans,” he added.
Although Microsoft declined to put a dollar amount on the investment, a report by International Data Corp estimated that it would generate total revenue of US$10.4 billion from next year to 2024.
The report also expects 30,720 new jobs to be created, including 6,400 skilled information technology jobs, over the period.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
UKRAINE, NVIDIA: The US leader said the subject of Russia’s war had come up ‘very strongly,’ while Jenson Huang was hoping that the conversation was good Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and US President Donald Trump had differing takes following their meeting in Busan, South Korea, yesterday. Xi said that the two sides should complete follow-up work as soon as possible to deliver tangible results that would provide “peace of mind” to China, the US and the rest of the world, while Trump hailed the “great success” of the talks. The two discussed trade, including a deal to reduce tariffs slapped on China for its role in the fentanyl trade, as well as cooperation in ending the war in Ukraine, among other issues, but they did not mention
HOTEL HIRING: An official said that hoteliers could begin hiring migrant workers next year, but must adhere to a rule requiring a NT$2,000 salary hike for Taiwanese The government is to allow the hospitality industry to recruit mid-level migrant workers for housekeeping and three other lines of work after the Executive Yuan yesterday approved a proposal by the Ministry of Labor. A shortage of workers at hotels and accommodation facilities was discussed at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee. A 2023 survey conducted by the Tourism Administration found that Taiwan’s lodging industry was short of about 6,600 housekeeping and cleaning workers, the agency said in a report to the committee. The shortage of workers in the industry is being studied, the report said. Hotel and Lodging Division Deputy Director Cheng
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
RSS