TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Computer manufacturer Asus aims to export its AI computing and large language models to emerging markets, Nikkei Asia reported Wednesday.
Asus Senior Vice President Hsu Yu-chia (許祐嘉) said the company is in talks with clients across Europe, the Middle East, Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia, and India to develop AI data centers. The discussions involve leasing GPU equipment and operating AI supercomputers.
Hsu said experience in building AI supercomputers for the Taiwan government laid a solid foundation for Asus to improve its ability to manage hardware, electricity, and operational costs.
“These three elements are the critical difference between Asus and other server suppliers,” Hsu explained. “A competitive data center is not only about hardware. You also need experience designing the whole infrastructure system and even building software to optimize the performance.”
Energy efficiency is a key selling point for Asus in emerging markets, with its power usage effectiveness at 1.17, well below the 1.5 target of many Southeast Asian clients, Hsu added.
This is important because as data centers grow in size, electricity costs grow. This efficiency, coupled with Asus domain expertise, makes its AI solutions attractive to cost-conscious governments and businesses.
Additionally, Asus’ AI server production and assembly sites in the US and Taiwan have begun small-volume production and the company is open to evaluating manufacturing possibilities in Southeast Asia and Europe.
“We have manufacturing capacity in the US but not every client wants to have production in the US, where the cost could be higher,” Hsu said.
The computer maker ramped up its AI server business after the emergence of OpenAI’s ChatGPT by becoming an Nvidia-certified supplier and achieving its goal of a fivefold increase in server revenue from 2022 to 2024, the report said.
Meanwhile, Asus showcased its AI Pod solution powered by the new GB300 NVL 72 server at Nvidia GTC in San Jose, California this week. The company said it has already gained substantial orders for the platform.
According to International Data Corporation, Asus is the fifth largest computer maker in the world with annual shipments of around 18 million.
