Lisa Su (蘇姿丰), visiting CEO of IC design giant Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD), praised Taiwan as the center of the global semiconductor ecosystem when receiving an honorary doctorate from National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University in Hsinchu yesterday, citing the progress in semiconductors in Taiwan has been incredibly fast and extremely efficient.
Su, who was born in Tainan in 1969 and moved to the United States at the age of three. She was appointed AMD’s CEO in October 2014, which has achieved two milestones: the first female CEO of the American company and the first ethnic Chinese woman to hold a CEO position in the U.S. semiconductor industry.
She also has been called “the queen of semiconductors.”
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
Being in Taiwan reminds her that this is truly the center of the global semiconductor ecosystem and that the Taiwan spirit is what makes the local semiconductor ecosystem so amazing, said the U.S.-based AMD chairperson when delivering her address at Yang Ming Chiao Tung University.
When asked about her thoughts on the future of the semiconductor industry in Taiwan, Su replied that throughout Taiwan, “you have so much talent and so many resources” and a wonderful culture for innovation.
Su noted that the future of semiconductors is the most essential field impacting every aspect of our lives, adding that the progress in semiconductors in Taiwan has been incredibly fast and extremely efficient.
“This is what makes the Taiwan ecosystem so important,” she said.
Addressing the issue of AI development, Su highlighted the transformative power of generative AI and noted that AI will be the “defining megatrend” for the next 10 years and more.
“Generative AI has really reshaped how we think about this, where we see that every product, every service, every business in the world will be impacted by AI. And the technology is actually evolving faster than anything that I’ve ever seen before,” she said.
Su emphasized that AI also requires all disciplines to come together, including hardware, software, systems, applications and even business models.
“It’s an incredibly exciting time for all of us in the technology industry and it’s also an opportunity for all of us to come together to drive the industry faster,’’ she stated.
Su arrived in Taiwan on Monday for a four day trip to visit the company’s local suppliers, including TSMC; hardware and component suppliers Pegatron Corp (和碩) and Quanta Computer Inc (廣達); and motherboard makers Micro-Star International Co (MSI, 微星) and Gigabyte Technology Co (技嘉), a source familiar with her itinerary said.
The planned meetings have sparked optimism over the potential for increased collaborations between AMD, a leading global semiconductor development company, and Taiwan’s semiconductor industry, as well as companies in the AI server supply chain, analysts said.
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