Four city governments are vying for Nvidia’s favor a day after the tech giant’s CEO, Jensen Huang (黃仁勳), unveiled plans to build its second supercomputer center in Taiwan.
Taipei, New Taipei City, Tainan and Kaohsiung are the locations being considered, he told a news conference.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC) chipmaking capabilities outweighed any concerns over geopolitical stability, Huang said.
Photo: CNA
“TSMC is not merely good, it is incredible,” he said, adding that the two corporations have been collaborating for 25 years and achieved the synergy necessary to develop the most sophisticated technologies.
Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said on the sidelines of a meeting with borough wardens yesterday that Nvidia should give serious thought to basing the center in Taipei’s Beitou Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區).
The city is the leading technology hub in Taiwan and features 13,859 tech company headquarters, including 16 of Nvidia’s largest suppliers, the nation’s first artificial intelligence research center in Neihu District (內湖), air and sea logistics nodes and top academic institutions, he said.
A multi-departmental task force headed by Taipei City Government Deputy Secretary-General Yu Shih-ming (游適銘) founded on Tuesday would coordinate activities to facilitate the city’s selection by Nvidia, Chiang said.
New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) told city councilors during a meeting that the city’s Economic Development Department has begun discussions with the tech giant about building its center there.
New Taipei City is home to 15 of the 43 companies in Nvidia’s supply chain and the Daganyuan (大柑園) urban development project zone is a promising opportunity for the proposed computer center, he said.
Citing Nvidia officials, Hou said that Kaohisung is the top pick at the moment due to backing from the central government, but added that New Taipei City still has a fair chance of being selected for projects related to the center.
Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) told reporters on the sideline of a city council meeting that he is not ready to confirm or deny being approached by Nvidia, but said that the city government would welcome investments by the company.
Kaohsiung’s academic institutions, including National Tsing Hua University, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University and National Sun Yat-sen University, are experienced in academic-corporate collaboration, he said.
The city is home to a growing number of high-profile tech companies and chipmakers, including TSMC, and many enterprises involved in research and development in the Internet of Things are being hosted at the Yawan Startup Terrace, Chen said.
Kaohsiung’s key advantage is its readiness to move things forward rapidly, as time is a highly valuable commodity to a company involved in artificial intelligence development such as Nvidia, he said.
Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲) said that Tainan or Kaohsiung would be logical choices for Nvidia as the two cities represent the Taiwanese tech industry’s southern heartland.
Tainan’s Shalun (沙崙) area would provide a high-tech facility with a central location in the Southern Taiwan Science Park (南部科學園區), enabling access to Tainan’s and Kahoshing’s resources, he said, adding that Tainan would be glad to work with Nvidia or AMD, should either make an offer.
The Tainan City Government’s position is that Nvidia would make the best choice for its operations and Taiwan would benefit regardless of which location is selected, he said.
Taoyuan Mayor Simon Chang (張善政) said that although his city was not named in Huang’s announcement, he would nevertheless lobby the global powerhouse to set up its second supercomputer center in his city.
Taoyuan is the world’s largest manufacturer of artificial intelligence servers and the headquarters of the Hon Hai Group’s Ingrasys Technology, Quanta Group, Supermicro and Micro-Star International are all based there, he said.
As the gateway to the nation, Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport would offer corporations a significant advantage in transportation and logistics, he added.
Additional reporting by Cheng Shu-ting and Hung Jui-chin
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