Overseas enterprises setting up artificial intelligence (AI) research-and-development centers in Taiwan should bring the world’s engineers to Taiwan so that it has enough AI talent, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said in San Francisco yesterday.
Speaking at a forum held by Taiwanese start-ups, Kuo said he hoped to meet with tech companies that have announced plans to invest more in Taiwan and discuss greater collaboration, especially on their long-term plans for recruiting more global talent to work in the nation.
The issue is that the number of engineers in Taiwan is limited and would continue to be in the future, given Taiwan’s low birthrate, he said.
Photo: CNA
Yet many tech companies have expressed an interest in setting up research-and-development centers in Taiwan, Kuo said.
He also said they should recruit at least 500 engineers from other parts of the world if they need a total of 1,000 in Taiwan.
The minister was in Silicon Valley yesterday after attending the SelectUSA Investment Summit in Washington earlier this week. He is on his first overseas trip since assuming his position on May 20.
His call for overseas talent came following confirmation that Nvidia Corp and Advanced Micro Devices Inc are to set up their research-and-development centers in Taiwan.
Kuo said one of his missions in Silicon Valley was to meet with CEOs and ensure that Taiwan would have enough AI talent in the future.
That is essential, because while Taiwan has successfully built up its strength in chip manufacturing, it would need to grow further in the AI application field for it to become an “AI island” and keep its competitive edge, Kuo said.
He also said he hoped to encourage young Americans to study in Taiwan and combine the nation’s strengths in manufacturing and the US’ research-and-development capabilities to quickly apply their ideas in the market.
Beyond the AI field, Kuo said he expects Taiwan to face a general shortage of workers in the future, estimating Taiwan would need 400,000 to 500,000 foreign employees in the high-tech manufacturing sector and service sector by 2040.
Semiconductor shares in China surged yesterday after Reuters reported the US had ordered chipmaking giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to halt shipments of advanced chips to Chinese customers, which investors believe could accelerate Beijing’s self-reliance efforts. TSMC yesterday started to suspend shipments of certain sophisticated chips to some Chinese clients after receiving a letter from the US Department of Commerce imposing export restrictions on those products, Reuters reported on Sunday, citing an unnamed source. The US imposed export restrictions on TSMC’s 7-nanometer or more advanced designs, Reuters reported. Investors figured that would encourage authorities to support China’s industry and bought shares
TECH WAR CONTINUES: The suspension of TSMC AI chips and GPUs would be a heavy blow to China’s chip designers and would affect its competitive edge Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, is reportedly to halt supply of artificial intelligence (AI) chips and graphics processing units (GPUs) made on 7-nanometer or more advanced process technologies from next week in order to comply with US Department of Commerce rules. TSMC has sent e-mails to its Chinese AI customers, informing them about the suspension starting on Monday, Chinese online news outlet Ijiwei.com (愛集微) reported yesterday. The US Department of Commerce has not formally unveiled further semiconductor measures against China yet. “TSMC does not comment on market rumors. TSMC is a law-abiding company and we are
FLEXIBLE: Taiwan can develop its own ground station equipment, and has highly competitive manufacturers and suppliers with diversified production, the MOEA said The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) yesterday disputed reports that suppliers to US-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) had been asked to move production out of Taiwan. Reuters had reported on Tuesday last week that Elon Musk-owned SpaceX had asked their manufacturers to produce outside of Taiwan given geopolitical risks and that at least one Taiwanese supplier had been pushed to relocate production to Vietnam. SpaceX’s requests place a renewed focus on the contentious relationship Musk has had with Taiwan, especially after he said last year that Taiwan is an “integral part” of China, sparking sharp criticism from Taiwanese authorities. The ministry said
US President Joe Biden’s administration is racing to complete CHIPS and Science Act agreements with companies such as Intel Corp and Samsung Electronics Co, aiming to shore up one of its signature initiatives before US president-elect Donald Trump enters the White House. The US Department of Commerce has allocated more than 90 percent of the US$39 billion in grants under the act, a landmark law enacted in 2022 designed to rebuild the domestic chip industry. However, the agency has only announced one binding agreement so far. The next two months would prove critical for more than 20 companies still in the process
RSS