Taiwanese technology giant Foxconn and leading US hardware company Nvidia revealed their partnership to establish "AI factories," advanced data processing centres geared toward driving the production of next-generation items like electric cars.

Foxconn, officially known as Hon Hai Technology Group, is the world's largest contract electronics manufacturer, responsible for assembling devices for major global brands, including Apple's iPhone. Expanding its horizons beyond electronics assembly, Foxconn has ventured into the competitive electric vehicle sector, unveiling concept cars at its annual "Hon Hai Tech Day" events.

This year, Foxconn's chairman, Young Liu, joined forces with Nvidia's CEO, Jensen Huang, to introduce a "new class of data centres powering a wide range of applications." Nvidia, based in Silicon Valley, gained prominence for developing graphics processing units (GPUs), initially vital for modern video games but now essential for the rapid advancement of generative AI technology.

Liu declared on stage alongside Huang, "Together, we will accelerate the entire industry's transition into the new AI era." These "factories" will involve the "digitalisation of manufacturing and inspection workflows, the development of AI-driven electric vehicle and robotics platforms, and an increasing array of language-based generative AI services," according to Nvidia.

Huang praised Foxconn's expertise and global scale, stating that Foxconn "has the proficiency and capacity to establish AI factories worldwide." If successful, these systems could enable Foxconn's clients to provide generative AI services and utilise simulations to train autonomous machines, such as industrial robots and self-driving cars.

This announcement followed the United States' decision to tighten restrictions on exporting cutting-edge chips to China, a move aimed at thwarting Beijing's advancements in state-of-the-art technology, viewed as a national security threat by Washington. Nvidia, whose chips were impacted by the ban, experienced a sharp decline in its stock price on Wall Street the previous day.

Source: ET Energy World