Taiwan’s Foxconn expands AI hardware push with OpenAI deal

Taiwan’s Foxconn Technology Group and OpenAI on Friday announced an agreement to design and build artificial intelligence data centre hardware, the latest in a string of infrastructure deals for the US creator of ChatGPT.

Foxconn, the world’s largest electronics contract manufacturer, has seen profits soar after shifting its focus from low-margin iPhone assembly to AI servers that are now in huge demand, as firms plough hundreds of billions of dollars into the technology.

“Demand for critical components in AI infrastructure is already far outpacing supply, and we expect that will only continue,” OpenAI head Sam Altman said on Friday by video link at a Foxconn event in Taipei.

The companies will collaborate on hardware to be manufactured at Foxconn’s facilities in the United States.

“While this initial agreement does not include purchase commitments or financial obligations, OpenAI will have early access to evaluate these systems and an option to purchase them,” a statement from the San Francisco-based start-up said.