Apple supplier Foxconn plans to start manufacturing AI servers — high-performance computing engines for training and running artificial intelligence models — at its Indian facilities, the Economic Times has said.
The move signifies a major expansion for the Taiwanese contract manufacturer, known primarily for assembling iPhones in India.
“Foxconn can manufacture a wide range of products since they are contract manufacturers, including phones, servers, or EV components. They are very adaptable, and currently, they are bullish on servers,” the report quoted a source as saying.
Foxconn was yet to respond to queries, the report said. Moneycontrol could not independently verify the report.
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Industry experts said making AI servers in India would be a natural next step for Foxconn. The company expects its global market share for AI servers to rise to 40 percent this year from 30 percent in the previous year, ET said.
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Addressing the annual shareholders’ meeting in Taipei in May, chairman Young Liu said AI servers would “soon become Foxconn's next-trillion revenue product”.
Analysts said manufacturing electric vehicle components and servers could be the next growth area for Foxconn in India due to higher margins compared to mobile phone assembly.
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“This strategy aligns with their need to diversify beyond phones, especially as they are overly dependent on Apple,” another source told ET.
Foxconn also benefits from India’s production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for IT hardware. It is ramping up its investments in India, with recent reports indicating that Google is in advanced talks with the company to manufacture Pixel smartphones locally in Tamil Nadu.
The Taiwanese company has been in the news after a Reuters report said it rejected married women at its main plant in Sriperumbudur near Chennai on the grounds that they have more family responsibilities than their unmarried counterparts. The Centre has asked Tamil Nadu government for a detailed report.
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