TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Nvidia Corporation plans to open its first AI research and development center for Asia in Taiwan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said Friday (April 26).
The designer of graphics processor units is headquartered in Santa Clara, California, but its co-founder, president and CEO, Jensen Huang (黃仁勳), was born in Taiwan. Over recent years, he has visited Taiwan several times, meeting with government and business leaders, but also strolling around night markets.
Nvidia decided to base its AI R&D center after more than a year of talks to remove obstacles and difficulties, MOEA’s Department of Industrial Technology (DOIT) Director General Chiou Chyou-huey (邱求慧) revealed in an interview with the Liberty Times Friday. Discussions started when Economics Minister Wang Mei-hua (王美花) visited the company headquarters in the U.S., he said.
Nvidia’s decision will also likely attract other major names in technology to pick Taiwan as a site for additional investment. Chiu mentioned Applied Materials, Inc. of the United States, Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASML, and wafer producer Lam Research Corporation, per Radio Taiwan International (RTI).
Factors playing a role in Nvidia’s choice included Huang’s links to Taiwan, but also the country’s rare combination of high-level talent, hardware, and basic infrastructure, Chiu said. He added the investments would also benefit Taiwan’s security as global technology firms and the country were forming a community of common interest.
Turning to the details of the AI project, Chiu said the total cost would be NT$24.3 billion (US$745.83 million), with NT$6.7 billion in MOEA subsidies and NT$17.6 billion provided by Nvidia itself. The R&D center will employ a staff of 1,000, and cooperate with local universities to train talent on a five-year program.