In an interview with CNBC, Foxconn’s chairman Young Liu pointed out that as advanced language models keep evolving, the investment in AI boom will continue as well. Liu suggested that the AI boom “still has some time to go,” as advanced language models like OpenAI continue to grow increasingly intelligent with each update.

He stated that the current trend in the technology industry is the development of AI that is as intelligent as humans, or even smarter. This type of AI is referred to as “AGI,” or “artificial general intelligence.”

Citing Liu’s remarks, the report noted that among the discussions about AGI and various levels of intelligence, the intelligence can be categorized into four levels. According to Liu, we are currently at level two, with levels three and four yet to be reached. Liu also noted that the advancement of AI towards greater intelligence will undoubtedly benefit the AI server industry and has been a significant driver of Foxconn’s growth this year.

Regarding the demand for NVIDIA’s new generation Blackwell GPU, Liu remarked that the chip demand was “far beyond our expectations.” He also mentioned that Foxconn is constructing a new factory in Mexico to meet this substantial demand. His comments align with those of NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, who has previously characterized the demand for Blackwell as “insane,” according to CNBC.

Despite concerns about potential yield issues with NVIDIA’s GB200, the company remains on schedule to deliver the chips by the fourth quarter of 2024, according to Liu. Foxconn, a key contract manufacturer for the GB200, expects substantial growth fueled by strong demand for AI servers.

Furthermore, Liu suggested that generative AI-related devices will be the next growth area, noting that the company is currently witnessing this trend in the cloud, where demand for generative AI cloud devices is exceptionally strong. In the next phase, the market will see further development of generative AI devices, according to Liu.

(Photo credit: Foxconn)

Supermicro, currently facing serious accounting fraud allegations, announced a comprehensive liquid cooling solution in its press release on October 7th. The company revealed that it is delivering over 100,000 GPUs equipped with this liquid cooling technology to some of the largest AI factories.

As per a report from CNBC, if the average price of the aforementioned GPU is similar to NVIDIA’s $30,000 chips, this order could potentially amount to several billion dollars.

According to Supermicro, this complete liquid solution includes “powerful Coolant Distribution Units (CDUs), cold plates, Coolant Distribution Manifolds (CDMs), cooling towers and end to end management software.” It is designed to reduce power costs and Day 0 hardware acquisition and data center cooling infrastructure costs.

However, CNBC also noted that while the announcement was well-received on Wall Street, Supermicro is approximately nine weeks late in submitting its annual report, which was originally due in August. Later that month, Supermicro stated that it required more time “to complete its assessment of the design and operating effectiveness of its internal controls over financial reporting as of June 30, 2024.”

On August 27, AI server giant Supermicro was accused of accounting violations, inadequate disclosure of related party transactions, and evading sanctions by selling products to Russia by Hindenburg Research.

The following day, Supermicro also announced a delay in submitting its 2024 fiscal year annual report. According to a report from Wccftech, Supermicro’s latest announcement might be an attempt to alleviate concerns resulted from its delayed annual report.

Read more

• [News] Taiwanese Supply Chain to Benefit from Supermicro’s Order Withdrawal, with Dell and HP as Potential Beneficiaries
• [News] Supermicro Faces Order Withdrawal Crisis, Potentially Benefiting Dell

(Photo credit: Supermicro)

NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang’s current personal worth has exceeded the entirety of Intel. According to reports from TechNews, Tom’s Hardware, Huang’s current net worth has reached USD 109.2 billion, more than Intel’s total market cap of around USD 96 billion.

In early August, Intel has faced its most serious financial troubles in 50 years, with its stock prices plummeting 22%. In order to attract foundry customers, the company will transform its foundry business into a wholly-owned subsidiary with its own board of directors.

According to Tom’s Hardware, social media users have been sharing posts encouraging Jensen Huang to buy Intel. Currently, Huang holds more than 75 million NVIDIA share, with 786 million more through various trusts and a partnership. Even though he has cashed in more than USD 700 million by selling 6 million shares this year, it is merely a tiny fraction compared with the total value of his NVIDIA holdings of over USD 100 billion.

According to Forbes’ real-time billionaires list, Huang’s net worth currently ranks 11th in the world, just USD 20 billion away from breaking into the top ten. With growth driven by the AI boom, NVIDIA has become one of the largest tech companies by market capital in the world, alongside Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, and Google.

According to TrendForce, NVIDIA continues to remain the dominant supplier in the global AI server market in 2024. Specifically, in the GPU AI server market, NVIDIA commands an overwhelming lead with a nearly 90% market share, while AMD follows at a distant 8%.

(Photo credit: NVIDIA)

According to The Register, Fujitsu and Supermicro are teaming up to develop a new platform featuring Fujitsu’s upcoming high-performance, Arm-based MONAKA processor and advanced liquid cooling systems.

On October 3, Fujitsu and Supermicro announced a long-term partnership to develop and market a platform using the FUJITSU-MONAKA processor, which is designed for high performance and energy efficiency and set to launch in 2027. The companies will also collaborate on liquid-cooled systems for high-performance computing (HPC), generative AI, and eco-friendly data centers.

The Register highlights two key aspects of the alliance: Arm chips generally run cooler than competitors, requiring less thermal management innovation, and Fujitsu had largely exited this server market two years ago.

The Register reported that in February 2022, Fujitsu announced it would stop manufacturing and selling mainframe systems by 2030 and phase out Unix servers by the end of 2029. However, a year later, Fujitsu unveiled MONAKA, the successor to its A64FX chip, as a more energy-efficient, high-performance solution for HPC, AI, and data analytics workloads.

According to the companies, FUJITSU-MONAKA is based on the Arm architecture and employs cutting-edge 2-nanometer technology, with a 2027 release planned.

The partnership will combine Supermicro’s “Building Block” modular design, which allows customers to choose components optimized for their specific workloads, including cooling options like air-conditioned, free air cooled, or liquid cooling.

Fujitsu’s subsidiary, Fsas Technologies, will provide global generative AI solutions that integrate Supermicro’s GPU servers and support services for data centers and enterprises. Fsas was spun off last December to handle Fujitsu’s PC, server, and storage business, excluding mainframe and Unix systems.

The Register also mentioned that while liquid cooling for Arm systems is not common, it’s not unprecedented. For example, Fujitsu’s Fugaku supercomputer uses liquid cooling for its A64FX processors. This focus on liquid-cooled systems targets the growing demand for machines handling higher AI and HPC workloads.

(Photo credit: Supermicro)

Amid market rumors that the Beijing authority has been advising local companies not to use NVIDIA’s H20, which is tailored for the Chinese market, tech conglomerate Huawei is said to initiate sampling of its latest AI accelerator, Ascend 910C, to Chinese customers, according to reports by the South China Morning Post and Tom’s Hardware.

According to the South China Morning Post, large Chinese server companies and internet firms have received the samples of the Ascend 910C, which is regarded as an upgraded version of the Ascend 910B.

Sources cited by a previous report of the Wall Street Journal noted that TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, search giant Baidu, and state-owned telecom operator China Mobile are in preliminary talks with Huawei to secure the Ascend 910C chip.

Citing remarks from Eric Xu, Huawei’s Rotating Chairman, the South China Morning Post indicates that as the AI chips embargo launched by the U.S. is unlikely to be lifted soon, the scenario gives Huawei an opportunity to step in.

Huawei’s Ascend 910B, which the company claims to rival NVIDIA’s A100, has been popular among multiple industries across the country for AI model training. According to the report by the South China Morning Post, the tech giant’s Ascend solutions were used to train roughly half of more than 70 of China’s top large language models as of last year.

According to the report, NVIDIA is projected to ship over 1 million H20 GPUs to China this year, generating around USD 12 billion in revenue. Initially, demand for the H20 was sluggish, but sales have steadily gained momentum in recent months.

In terms of the upcoming Ascend 910C, Tom’s Hardware notes that it may reportedly sell for roughly USD 2 billion together this year, as the launch time would probably fall in the fourth quarter.

However, it is worth noting that Huawei also stands to gain by locking Chinese companies into its Ascend 910C hardware-software ecosystem, the South China Morning Post suggests. Citing a server company employee, the report states that if a firm buys Huawei’s AI chips, it may also need to purchase other offerings, like network and storage solutions, which might cause some hesitation.

Read more

• [News] Huawei Rumored to Launch New High-End AI Chip, Potentially Rivaling NVIDIA’s H100
• [News] U.S. Reportedly Enhancing Chip Export Restrictions to China, while NVIDIA’s H20 Might Get Banned

(Photo credit: Huawei)