Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) yesterday launched its first high-speed artificial intelligence (AI) platform to help 5G application developers accelerate program development and product readiness by adopting Intel Corp’s development tools.
Leveraging the infrastructure and a laboratory built by Asusek for the platform, software vendors would be able to develop and validate their applications easily and reduce the time needed to enter the market, Asustek said.
The platform is to operate on a private 5G network built by Taiwan Mobile Co (台灣大哥大), after the National Communications Commission last month established rules regulating the nation’s 5G private network deployment.
Photo: CNA
The rules would also pave the way for the release of new bandwidth totaling 100 megahertz for 5G private network deployment.
“The platform aims to solve pain points for start-ups, including a lack of strong computing power and high-speed 5G networks,” Asustek chief operating officer Joe Hsieh (謝明傑) told a media briefing in New Taipei City’s Tamsui District (淡水).
With supercomputers installed in the “5G AI Ready Platform,” application developers can save a large amount of time, Heish said.
It takes only four hours to come up with a data analysis model, compared with four months previously, Hsieh said.
About 100 customers are using the platform’s AI feature to develop new applications for different industries, including smart manufacturing, smart cities, smart retail and hospitals, Hsieh said.
Besides, Asustek will not rule out the possibility of investing in the startups using the platform, he said.
He expects the demand for this platform to gain traction next year, or in 2024.
Intel believes its technological capabilities lie not only in hardware, as software-oriented Intel FlexRAN and Intel oneAPI, as well as the OpenVINO toolkit would enable developers to have a common software platform where they can build their solutions, Intel general manager of Asia-Pacific and Japan region Steven Long said.
“This platform is to bring tremendous benefits to users and soft vendors so that they can easily develop, validate and deploy in greater efficiency and readiness,” Long said.
“I believe it will play a crucial role in taking Taiwan’s digital transformation forward,” he said.
Commenting on Intel’s partnerships with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) and MediaTek Inc (聯發科), Long said the chipmaker has formed multiple-facet partnerships with the companies, which it would expand.
He declined to comment on whether he would visit MediaTek.
MediaTek has announced a foundry partnership with Intel on mature note technology for TV and Wi-Fi chips.
Long said Taiwan is the heart of the electronics industry, as 85 percent of PCs, 90 percent of servers and more than one-third of Internet of Things devices are made in Taiwan.
“My job is to harvest that and grow it across the world at Intel’s scales,” Long said. “If COVID restrictions continue to ease, I’ll be here at least once a month. That’s how important Taiwan is to the region.”
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) is expected to miss the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump on Monday, bucking a trend among high-profile US technology leaders. Huang is visiting East Asia this week, as he typically does around the time of the Lunar New Year, a person familiar with the situation said. He has never previously attended a US presidential inauguration, said the person, who asked not to be identified, because the plans have not been announced. That makes Nvidia an exception among the most valuable technology companies, most of which are sending cofounders or CEOs to the event. That includes
TARIFF TRADE-OFF: Machinery exports to China dropped after Beijing ended its tariff reductions in June, while potential new tariffs fueled ‘front-loaded’ orders to the US The nation’s machinery exports to the US amounted to US$7.19 billion last year, surpassing the US$6.86 billion to China to become the largest export destination for the local machinery industry, the Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry (TAMI, 台灣機械公會) said in a report on Jan. 10. It came as some manufacturers brought forward or “front-loaded” US-bound shipments as required by customers ahead of potential tariffs imposed by the new US administration, the association said. During his campaign, US president-elect Donald Trump threatened tariffs of as high as 60 percent on Chinese goods and 10 percent to 20 percent on imports from other countries.
Taiwanese manufacturers have a chance to play a key role in the humanoid robot supply chain, Tongtai Machine and Tool Co (東台精機) chairman Yen Jui-hsiung (嚴瑞雄) said yesterday. That is because Taiwanese companies are capable of making key parts needed for humanoid robots to move, such as harmonic drives and planetary gearboxes, Yen said. This ability to produce these key elements could help Taiwanese manufacturers “become part of the US supply chain,” he added. Yen made the remarks a day after Nvidia Corp cofounder and chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said his company and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) are jointly
MARKET SHIFTS: Exports to the US soared more than 120 percent to almost one quarter, while ASEAN has steadily increased to 18.5 percent on rising tech sales The proportion of Taiwan’s exports directed to China, including Hong Kong, declined by more than 12 percentage points last year compared with its peak in 2020, the Ministry of Finance said on Thursday last week. The decrease reflects the ongoing restructuring of global supply chains, driven by escalating trade tensions between Beijing and Washington. Data compiled by the ministry showed China and Hong Kong accounted for 31.7 percent of Taiwan’s total outbound sales last year, a drop of 12.2 percentage points from a high of 43.9 percent in 2020. In addition to increasing trade conflicts between China and the US, the ministry said