Investment worth 210 billion KRW, subsidies up to 50%
NVIDIA also investing 1 trillion KRW to build R&D center
Laichingde "Will create Taiwan AI Island"
U.S. semiconductor company AMD is set to establish an artificial intelligence (AI) research and development (R&D) center in Taiwan with an investment of $155 million (approximately 210 billion KRW), local media including Liberty Times reported on the 22nd, citing sources.
According to the reports, AMD plans to set up its first AI R&D center in Asia in Taiwan and submitted the relevant application documents to Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs on the 20th. It is also reported that AMD will collaborate with Taiwanese integrated circuit (IC) design companies to locally produce AI chip servers.
In this regard, Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs has requested AMD to hire 20% foreign personnel in the R&D sector. Given Taiwan's recent shortage of R&D talent, this is interpreted as an intention to avoid hiring competition between AMD and Taiwanese companies and to attract outstanding overseas talent to Taiwan.
Additionally, a Ministry of Economic Affairs official revealed that AMD has also applied for the 'A+ Industrial Innovation R&D Program.' This program, initiated by the Taiwanese government in 2020, aims to attract domestic and international tech companies to invest in Taiwan in three fields: AI, next-generation power semiconductors, and 5G, with the goal of developing Taiwan into a global R&D hub.
Currently, the Ministry of Economic Affairs has communicated the program application requirements to AMD. Qualified companies can receive subsidies of up to 50% of their investment amount. Previously, AI chip leader Nvidia also participated in this program in 2021 and received a subsidy of 6.7 billion New Taiwan dollars (approximately 290 billion KRW) from Taiwanese authorities. Nvidia is currently investing 24.3 billion New Taiwan dollars (about 1 trillion KRW) to build an 'AI Innovation R&D Center.'
Another source predicted that AMD CEO Lisa Su will present a 'gift package' to newly inaugurated President Lai Ching-te. It is expected that CEO Su will visit Taipei early next month to attend Computex, Asia's largest IT exhibition, and discuss AMD's latest projects with President Lai. CEO Su is known to be from Tainan in southern Taiwan, along with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.
Meanwhile, in his inauguration speech on the 20th, President Lai Ching-te emphasized, "Taiwan now stands at the center of the AI revolution by mastering advanced semiconductor manufacturing technology," adding, "We will drive Taiwan to rise as an 'AI Island' on the foundation of the semiconductor chip silicon island." He further pledged, "We will accelerate AI industrialization and innovation to enhance national strength, human resources, and economic power."
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