To embrace the era of AI and advance the vision of a smart nation, the Executive Yuan has been committed to promoting the “New Ten Major AI Infrastructure Projects.” Under the leadership of the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), the “Cloud Computing Center” of the National Center for High-performance Computing (NCHC), located in the Southern Taiwan Science Park in Tainan, was officially inaugurated today on December 12. President William Lai presided over the ceremony in person, joined by Chun-Hsien Yeh, Minister of the National Development Council (NDC), Mayor of Tainan Wei-che Huang, and representatives from government agencies, industry sectors, and academia. Featuring the functions of a large-scale AI/HPC base and an international telecommunications node, the Cloud Computing Center serves as a key technological pillar for Taiwan’s two strategic initiatives, the “New Ten Major AI Infrastructure Projects” and the “Greater Southern New Silicon Valley.” Its inauguration symbolizes Taiwan’s strengthened technological autonomy and computing resilience in the face of global digital competition, marking a brand-new chapter in the activation of sovereign AI.
President Lai specifically emphasized that Taiwan cannot continue to rely indefinitely on system specifications defined by foreign manufacturers. Instead, we must encourage our domestic companies to self-develop computing system architectures from application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) chips and internal supercomputer network design, to the use of computing and storage equipment and network switches developed by domestic manufacturers. These efforts should be in tandem with Taiwan’s advances in silicon photonics, enabling the future use of all-optical networks to interconnect data centers across Taiwan. During the inauguration ceremony, President Lai announced that NCHC of the National Institutes of Applied Research (NIAR) will collaborate with Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT) and Chunghwa Telecom (CHT) to introduce next-generation all-optical networking technologies. When copper-based networks are fully replaced with optical communications, energy consumption is expected to be significantly reduced, and data transmission speeds will increase. During a bilateral meeting at APEC, the Japanese government also expressed its appreciation to Taiwan not only for assisting NTT in the development of all-optical networking technologies but for supporting the introduction of these technologies into Taiwan.
NSTC Minister Cheng-Wen Wu noted that the launch of the Cloud Computing Center not only supports scientific research and industrial applications but also holds strategic potential for the future deployment of quantum computers. In line with overall planning, by 2029 the computing capacity of NCHC will be expanded to 23 megawatts. This capacity will encompass the Cloud Computing Center in the Southern Taiwan Science Park and the Shalun Intelligent Innovation HUB in Tainan, which is scheduled to be operational in 2029. They both will serve as a dual computing-power hub within the technology corridor in southern Taiwan. In addition, the official launch of the “Super Computing Alliance Taiwan” today demonstrates Taiwan’s continued expansion of computing capacity. Through close collaboration between the government and the industry, a comprehensive computing-power industrial ecosystem will be established. By leveraging bilateral partnerships, Taiwan seeks to build a truly local “factory” capable of producing AI, deploying AI, and accelerating AI, injecting strong momentum into its technological autonomy and industrial innovation.
NCHC Director General Chau-Lyan Chang, stated that the Cloud Computing Center has an installed power capacity of 15 megawatts. Looking ahead, the Shalun Intelligent Innovation HUB, planned to commence operations in 2029, is expected to reach a power capacity of 120 megawatts. These two national-level facilities will not only support advanced research applications such as generative AI training, climate modeling, life sciences, and the R&D of semiconductors, but will also provide sufficient power and space resources to allow domestic and international enterprises to establish their own computing systems on-site. Collaboration between the government and the industry will foster southern Taiwan’s transformation from a manufacturing base into a major hub for intelligent technologies. In the foreseeable future, the centers will continue to integrate high-speed fiber optic backbone networks, establishing a national computing-power infrastructure that boasts resilient technological autonomy and global competitiveness.
In recent years, NSTC has been advancing the development of sovereign AI, including the deployment of national computing capacity, the training of self-developed AI models, the encouragement of the use of locally owned corpora, and the local preservation of data. The construction of NCHC’s Cloud Computing Center, together with the establishment of the “Super Computing Alliance Taiwan” in collaboration with private-sector partners, represents a significant milestone under the “New Ten Major AI Infrastructure Projects” in building sovereign AI. In addition, the “TAIWAN AI RAP”, an NCHC-developed generative AI service platform, provides comprehensive support for all walks of life in developing a wide range of AI applications. All these efforts are steadily advancing the new generation of AI infrastructure and bringing Taiwan closer to the goal of a smart living ecosystem for all citizens.
The inauguration of the Cloud Computing Center not only lays the pivotal groundwork for the technology corridor in southern Taiwan, but also makes the government’s vision of building “Taiwan as an AI Island” a reality. Established under the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program, the center is designed in line with high international standards for a commercial telecommunications center, featuring an installed power capacity of 15 megawatts, along with high earthquake resistance, energy-efficient systems, and complete backup mechanisms. Through high-speed fiber optic networks, the center is interconnected with the Southern Taiwan Science Park, major universities, and cable landing stations, significantly strengthening the resilience of Taiwan’s national data network. It serves as a critical stronghold for safeguarding national digital resilience, cybersecurity, and communications backup. In addition, its robust earthquake-resistant design, backup power supply, and advanced cooling systems ensure uninterrupted services during disasters or emergency situations, thereby continuously supporting national scientific research and industrial innovation.
In addition, the center houses the cutting-edge supercomputer“晶創26 (Nano4),” which was jointly built by domestic manufacturers under the “Taiwan Chip-based Industrial Innovation Program”. Its deployment highlights Taiwan’s world-class capabilities in system integration and high-performance computing. In his remarks, President Lai emphasized that “computing power is national power.” In the face of keen global competition in this AI era, Taiwan cannot be a mere supplier of hardware manufacturing but should become an AI-driven technology nation characterized by autonomy, credibility, and resilience. To this end, the government has launched the “New Ten Major AI Infrastructure Projects,” focusing on three strategic pillars: smart applications, key technologies, and digital cornerstones. The goal is to position Taiwan as a global hub for AI innovation by 2040. The inauguration of the Cloud Computing Center is the most critical phase of this overarching blueprint, marking Taiwan’s determined advance from a “Silicon Island” to an “AI Island.”
Initiated by NSTC, the “Super Computing Alliance Taiwan” was formally established today, and organized by NCHC, the alliance has successfully brought together cross-ministerial agencies and industry partners, including the Central Weather Administration of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, AMD, Ubilink.AI, WiAdvance, NVIDIA, and Visionbay.ai of the Foxconn Technology Group, forming a strategic partnership between the government and the private sector to jointly build Taiwan’s computing-power ecosystem. The alliance will focus on four top priorities: coordination and marriage of computing resources, collaboration among data centers and foundation facilities, talent cultivation, and the promotion of open-source software. Through these joint efforts, the alliance aims to accelerate the implementation of key sovereign AI applications, strengthen the resilience of Taiwan’s computing-power supply chain, and drive the rapid growth of both the supply chain and the ecosystem with a view to collectively advancing Taiwan to a new phase of computing power development.
Source:NIAR