Taiwan yesterday launched its first national cloud computing center, demonstrating the government’s determination to join the global race to build sovereign artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities and marking its first step to push for “10 Major AI Infrastructure Projects” to enhance economic resilience.
The 10 AI projects, introduced by the Cabinet last month, aim to bolster the country’s technological independence and industrial competitiveness over the next three decades.
The launch of the AI high-performance computing center showed that Taiwan is making a crucial step in transforming from a hardware manufacturing powerhouse to becoming an “AI island,” President William Lai (賴清德) said during the center’s launch ceremony in Tainan.
Photo: CNA
The national cloud computing center is one of the government’s four major AI projects, Lai said, adding that the other three were to create an AI data center, foster AI talent and deploy resilient electricity networks.
The cloud computing center also has a highly strategic value for Taiwan, as it could help boost the country’s digital resilience, safeguard its cybersecurity and serve as a remote communications backup, as the center is connected to undersea cable landing stations and high-speed optical fiber links, Lai said.
AI sovereignty means a nation has the ability to develop, host, deploy and govern AI systems made domestically for its citizens, instead of being dependent on foreign systems or cloud jurisdictions.
The center would have a computational power of 15 megawatts (MW) by 2028, allowing engineers to develop AI models for the country, the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) said.
The center is equipped with an AI supercomputer powered by Nvidia Corp’s AI chips.
By 2029, Taiwan would have a combined computational power of 23MW, along with a new 9.6MW AI data center in Tainan’s Shalun (沙崙) area, which would be the biggest data center in the nation.
The two AI-powered centers would support the development of cutting-edge technology such as generative AI training models, climate simulation, and semiconductor research and development, the NSTC said.
The centers would be open for the private sector to build their own computing systems.
The NSTC also said it would be working with Japan’s NTT Inc to adopt its all-optical transmission technology, called the Innovative Optical and Wireless Network, through Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信) and national cloud computing center.
The optical transmission technology would be helpful for Taiwan’s development of packaging technology, copackaged optics and silicon photonics, the NSTC said.
Edgecore Networks Corp (鈺登科技), a networking device supplier, would also be part of this cooperation, it added.
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