Nvidia, a prominent player in artificial intelligence, is poised to establish its inaugural AI research and development hub in Asia, specifically in Taiwan. This move follows Google’s recent unveiling of a new hardware R&D office in Taipei.

According to Director General Chiou Chyou-huey of the Department of Industrial Technology (DOIT), efforts over the past year have been focused on surmounting numerous challenges. Following Minister Wang Mei-hua’s delegation visit to Nvidia’s U.S. headquarters, the company ultimately opted to establish its first Asian AI R&D center in Taiwan.

Chiou highlighted Taiwan’s outstanding hardware capabilities, ICT manufacturing prowess, abundant talent pool, and top-tier semiconductor ecosystem as pivotal factors that drew Nvidia’s interest. He emphasized that this investment would not only bolster Taiwan’s national security through a collaborative partnership with a global tech leader but also attract other major foreign corporations such as Applied Materials, ASML, and Lam Research to expand their footprint in Taiwan.

The total investment amounts to approximately NT$24.3 billion (US$746.2 million), with NT$6.7 billion (US$205.7 million) subsidized by the Ministry of Economics and NT$17.6 billion (US$540.2 million) provided by Nvidia. This 5-year initiative is expected to generate 1,000 new job opportunities and will involve collaboration with domestic universities to foster talent development.