OpenAI, Foxconn Team Up to Build UScAI Data-Center Hardware
Foxconn will help OpenAI develop and manufacture server racks and core data-center components in the US.
Topics
News
- TCS, TPG Bet Big on India’s AI Compute Future
- OpenAI, Foxconn Team Up to Build UScAI Data-Center Hardware
- Musk Says Jobs May Become Optional and Money May Lose Relevance
- Google Unveils Nano Banana Pro With Sharper Text, Smarter Visuals
- Palo Alto Networks Buys Chronosphere in $3.35 Billion AI Bet
- Huang Shrugs Off Bubble Fears, Says AI Has Shifted Into Full-Scale Deployment
[Image source: Chetan Jha/MITSMR India]
OpenAI has formed a partnership with Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., or Foxconn, to co-design and prepare US manufacturing for hardware used in advanced artificial intelligence systems.
The move adds to OpenAI’s effort to expand the computing infrastructure required to train and deploy increasingly complex AI models.
Under the arrangement, Foxconn will work with OpenAI on data-center server-rack designs and ensure the systems can be produced at several US facilities.
The company also plans to build cabling, power equipment and other core components used in data centers.
The agreement does not include purchase requirements, though OpenAI will be able to evaluate the hardware early and may choose to procure it later.
The collaboration comes as OpenAI works to strengthen its position within the AI-hardware supply chain. The company has recently signed major agreements with cloud providers and chipmakers, including Nvidia Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc., to scale up its computing capacity. It has also sought more control over upstream components through sourcing deals such as an October agreement with Broadcom Inc.
OpenAI has spent the past year working with Oracle Corp. and SoftBank Group Corp. on a plan to invest about $500 billion in US data-center and AI infrastructure over the next several years.
Foxconn is one of the partners in that initiative, known as the Stargate project, and has been expanding AI-server production in the US. The effort aligns with the administration’s push for more domestic manufacturing of critical technologies and helps Foxconn reduce exposure to tariff risks.
For Foxconn, the partnership underscores a broader attempt to build a larger presence in the AI-hardware ecosystem as it looks to diversify beyond assembling iPhones for Apple Inc. A direct tie-up with OpenAI suggests the company aims to help clients integrate customized designs into large-scale computing facilities.
“This partnership is a step toward ensuring the core technologies of the AI era are built here. This work will strengthen US leadership and help ensure the benefits of AI are widely shared,” OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman said.
Foxconn separately announced a venture with Intrinsic on Friday to explore new AI data-center development. It remains unclear how much commercial value the OpenAI partnership will generate for the Taiwanese manufacturer.
Altman has previously said OpenAI expects to spend about $1.4 trillion on AI infrastructure in the long term, a projection that has contributed to concerns about overheating in the sector and the sustainability of such investment levels.
