Following NVIDIA’s launch of the new computing platform GB200, as per a report from Commerical Times, Taiwanese supply chain players including Quanta, Pegatron, Wiwynn, Wistron, Gigabyte, and Foxconn’s subsidiary Ingrasys have showcased their solutions and related cooling technologies based on the GB200 at the latest GTC conference, aiming to capture opportunities in the next-generation AI server market.

Quanta Cloud Technology (QCT), a subsidiary of Quanta Computer, demonstrated its systems and AI applications based on the NVIDIA MGX architecture, announcing support for the upcoming NVIDIA GB200 superchip and NVIDIA GB200 NVL72.

QCT showcased their NVIDIA MGX architecture systems, featuring the NVIDIA GH200 chip, employing a modular reference design. System manufacturers can utilize the NVIDIA MGX architecture to tailor models suitable for applications like generative AI, high-performance computing (HPC), and edge deployments.

Pegatron, on the other hand, has become one of NVIDIA’s global partners in advanced GPU computing technology, particularly with the latest NVIDIA GB200 chip. Reportedly, Pegatron is actively developing the GB200 NVL36, designed as a multi-node, liquid-cooled, rack-level platform dedicated to processing compute-intensive workloads. Equipped with the NVIDIA BlueField-3 data processing unit, it enables network acceleration in ultra-scale AI cloud environments and fulfills various GPU computing functionalities.

GIGABYTE, a key supplier of high-end AI GPU servers for NVIDIA last year, showcased their latest offerings at this year’s GTC exhibition. Their subsidiary, GIGABYTE Technology, unveiled the GIGABYTE XH23-VG0, a 2U server featuring the NVIDIA H100 GPU and GH200 architecture, capable of transferring data at speeds of up to 900GB per second. Additionally, they announced the readiness of their product line for the next-generation Blackwell platform, including HGX boards, superchips, and PCIe expansion cards, which will be released gradually over the coming months.

Meanwhile, Wiwynn, included in the first wave of suppliers for the NVIDIA GB200 NVL72 system, showcased its latest AI server cabinet solution based on the NVIDIA GB200 NVL72 at the GTC exhibition. They also presented their newest comprehensive liquid-cooled management system, the UMS100.

Ingrasys also showcased a range of innovations at the exhibition, including NVIDIA MGX architecture servers and the GB200 NVL72 solution. They also demonstrated advanced liquid cooling technologies such as the liquid-to-gas Sidecar technology and liquid-to-liquid Cooling Distribution Unit (CDU).

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• [News] TSMC’s 4nm Process Powers NVIDIA’s Blackwell Architecture GPU, AI Performance Surpasses Previous Generations by Multiples

(Photo credit: NVIDIA)

As per a report from TechNews, Apple’s pivot into AI, abandoning its “Project Titan” for electric cars, signals a shift towards Generative AI. The report further cites sources indicate that Foxconn may provide AI servers to Apple and is currently in testing phase.

Regarding this matter, Foxconn responded with no comment on individual clients or products.

According to reports from Economic Daily News, Apple has conducted extensive AI feature testing and, given Foxconn’s global leadership in server manufacturing, it has emerged as Apple’s preferred partner for the AI project.

In addition to Apple, during a recent financial conference, Dell’s COO, Jeff Clarke, disclosed that NVIDIA is set to launch a new generation server GPU, “B200,” based on the Blackwell architecture in 2025. Notably, this revelation wasn’t part of NVIDIA’s product roadmap released in October 2023, and the company has not officially mentioned this product. 

Currently, the H100 utilizes TSMC’s 4-nanometer process technology, with Foxconn securing approximately 90% of the assembly orders last year. While the fabrication process for the B100 and B200 chips remains unconfirmed, industry expectations cited by the report have pointed to the 3-nanometer process.

Previously, media speculation cited by the report from Commercial Times stated that although the B100 chip boasts computational power at least twice that of the H200 and four times that of the H100, still, B100’s tenure in the market is anticipated to be short-lived, with the B200 emerging as the mainstream product. It is rumored that Foxconn Industrial Internet will handle the manufacturing for the B200.

Foxconn’s Chairman Young Liu previously indicated a strong demand for AI servers, with Foxconn securing new projects continuously.

Foxconn spokesperson James Wu noted that Foxconn Group commands over 40% market share in the server industry, particularly in the mid-to-high-end products related to AI servers. Foxconn closely collaborates with customers and aims to maintain its dominance, anticipating substantial contributions once the entire supply chain stabilizes.

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• [News] Dell Leak Reveals NVIDIA’s Potential B200 Launch Next Year
• [News] SK Hynix Announces Complete Sales of HBM for the Year, Memory Market Poised for Recovery

(Photo credit: Foxconn)

The battle for Apple’s iPhone manufacturing orders has entered a new phase this year. According to a report from Economic Daily News, while Foxconn still appears poised to dominate, with expectations to assemble over half of the iPhone 16 series, maintaining its lead; Luxshare, a key supplier in the supply chain, has swiftly risen to challenge, surpassing Pegatron to become the second-largest iPhone manufacturer.

With Luxshare’s share continuing to rise this year and the emergence of India’s Tata Group as a new contender, it is expected that the competition for iPhone manufacturing orders this year will be characterized by one leader, two strong contenders, and one new challenger.

In 2023, Apple launched the iPhone 15 series, with over 60% of the assembly orders handled by Foxconn, while Luxshare’s order share continued to rise, surpassing Pegatron last year to become the second-largest iPhone assembler. With Pegatron transferring the lead of its Kunshan factory in China to Luxshare at the end of last year, Luxshare’s order share is expected to continue increasing.

To retain its crucial Chinese market and further reduce costs, per a report from Economic Daily News, Apple has allowed Luxshare to continuously increase its share of Apple orders in recent years. Luxshare’s assembly products is anticipated to cover iPhone, Apple Watch, and the recently launched Vision Pro—a headset exclusively manufactured by Luxshare. Luxshare has then become a prominent supplier within the Apple supply chain in China.

The report further indicated that this year’s iPhone 16 series orders are expected to be predominantly secured by Foxconn Group, accounting for over 50% of the share. Luxshare ranks second, while Pegatron’s share is expected to decrease to third place. The proportion of Tata Group’s new device orders remains to be seen.

As Luxshare continues to expand its presence in the iPhone assembly domain, Tata Group, after taking over Wistron’s iPhone assembly plant in India, continues to improve overall production efficiency. By leveraging the advantages of being a local manufacturer in India, Luxshare’s presence in the iPhone assembly supply chain is expected to continue to rise in the future.

The report also mentioned that Tata Group is in negotiations with Pegatron to jointly establish an iPhone assembly plant in Hosur city, Tamil Nadu, in southern India. This would be marked as Tata Group’s first venture into this business through a joint venture.

Reportedly, it is suggested that Tata will hold the majority stake in the joint venture, while Pegatron will provide technical and engineering support for the Hosur city plant to help accelerate the construction process. Pegatron declined to comment on this matter.

In the past, Wistron Group’s factory in Karnataka, India, primarily produced older models of the iPhone. This factory has been sold to Tata Group. Market observers note that if the joint venture between Pegatron and Tata Group in Hosur city materializes, it will help Tata Group to expedite its entry into the production of new iPhone models.

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• [News] Tata Group Plans to Build New iPhone Assembly Plant in India, Aligning with Apple’s Localization Strategy for the Supply Chain
• [News] Luxshare Acquires Leadership of Pegatron’s Kunshan Plant, Challenging Foxconn’s Dominance on iPhone Assembly?

(Photo credit: Apple)

Apple’s upcoming iPad Pro, featuring an OLED screen for the first time, is scheduled to be released in March or April. However, recent market reports suggest a potential 30% reduction in the estimated order volume, indicating Apple’s cautious outlook on the new product. It’s anticipated that suppliers in the supply chain such as LG Display (LGD), TSMC, Foxconn, and Novatek will also be affected.

Aju Korea Daily, citing industry sources, reported that Apple has reduced the OLED screen orders for its new iPad Pro. The initial order of 10 million units has been adjusted to a range of 7 million to 8 million units. LGD is expected to be the most impacted, with the supply scale decreasing from 6 million units to a minimum of 3 million units, while Samsung maintains a supply of 4 million units.

Industry speculation suggests that the reduction in the initial order may be due to a cautious outlook on the demand in the early stages of the product launch. The pricing of the new iPad Pro has not been determined, but it is likely to be higher than the current iPad with an LCD screen.

Historically, all iPad models from Apple have utilized LCD panels. However, this year’s release of the 11-inch and 12.9-inch iPad Pro models marks the first time Apple is incorporating OLED panels.

On another note, in addition to applying OLED screens to the iPad Pro this year, Apple reportedly plans to use them in future laptop products such as the MacBook. Therefore, the performance of the OLED iPad in terms of sales will serve as a significant market indicator for Apple’s future ventures into OLED technology.

Additionally, the adoption of OLED screens will result in an increase in the price of the iPad Pro. The loyalty of iPad consumers has traditionally been lower than that of iPhone users, posing a challenge for Apple in achieving strong performance this year.

The estimated order volume reduction is expected to have an impact on the iPad Pro supply chain, affecting key manufacturers such as TSMC, Foxconn, and Novatek.

According to sources cited by the Economic Daily News, TSMC is the exclusive supplier of Apple’s chips, while Foxconn is the main assembly plant for the iPad Pro. Novatek is a supplier of OLED screen driver ICs for the Korean market. However, the mentioned companies have refrained from commenting on specific clients and products.

TSMC has been the primary manufacturer of main chips for various Apple devices. Last year, there were reports in the market that Apple secured TSMC’s 3-nanometer production capacity for at least a year.

Despite current market uncertainties, TSMC estimates that the semiconductor market will see a growth of over 10% this year, with the foundry industry expected to grow by 20%. TSMC’s financial performance is projected to outpace industry standards, demonstrating quarterly growth.

Novatek previously indicated that there might be competition in the OLED driver IC sector this year. Nevertheless, the company plans to continue its strategic focus on advanced products such as applications for foldable devices, OLED touch, and integrated touch and display driver ICs (TDDI).

As for Foxconn, the company is gradually entering the traditional off-season. Seasonal performance is expected to be similar to the past three years. In the first quarter of 2023, higher shipment volume resulting from the resumption of normal production in Chinese factories post-pandemic is anticipated to lead to a year-on-year decline in performance for the first quarter of this year.

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• [News] Leak Reveals LGD as the Largest Supplier of Apple’s OLED iPad Pro Screen
• [News] TSMC Reportedly Attracts Influx of 3nm Customers, Predicts Production Capacity Utilization to Surge to 80% by Year-End

(Photo credit: Apple)

Chinese iPhone assembly contractor Luxshare Precision is set to officially acquire the controlling stake of Pegaglobe (Kunshan), the iPhone assembly plant under Pegatron. This series of acquisitions will provide Luxshare with a stronger competitive advantage against Foxconn. Concurrently, Luxshare is reinforcing its component layout to enhance its capability to expand iPhone orders.

Following the acquisition of Wistron’s Jiangsu and Kunshan plant, Luxshare has now secured the controlling stake of Pegaglobe (Kunshan), a subsidiary of Pegatron. This marks another acquisition of China’s plants involved in manufacturing iPhone for Taiwanese companies.

According to UDN citing from industry insiders,  Luxshare’s acquisition of Pegaglobe (Kunshan) is likely to have received Apple’s approval. Luxshare has consecutively broken the pattern of iPhones being solely manufactured by Taiwanese companies, suggesting that Luxshare has the opportunity to reshape the landscape of iPhone manufacturing in the future.

Having acquired iPhone manufacturing plants in China from Wistron and Pegatron, Luxshare not only gains more market share in manufacturing but also expands its presence in the upstream iPhone component supply chain. This ongoing integration of upstream components enhances Luxshare’s capability to secure more iPhone orders.

In the past three years, Luxshare has been consistently acquiring iPhone-related supply chain entities. In July 2020, Luxshare’s subsidiary, Lizhen Precision (Jiangsu), acquired Wistron Investment (Jiangsu) and Wistron InfoComm Manufacturing (Kunshan) for RMB 3.3 billion (approximately USD 467 million), marking the beginning of Luxshare’s acquisition of plants involved in iPhones assembly for Taiwanese companies.

Recently, Luxshare finalized an agreement with the global provider of connectivity and power solutions – Qorvo. Luxshare will acquire Qorvo’s testing and packaging facilities in Beijing and Dezhou, with the transaction expected to be completed in the first half of next year. This move is seen as Luxshare’s effort to build a more comprehensive iPhone component supply chain.

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• [News] Apple Supplier Qorvo Sells Chinese Test and Packaging Plant to Luxshare
• [News] Tata Group Plans to Build New iPhone Assembly Plant in India, Aligning with Apple’s Localization Strategy for the Supply Chain

(Photo credit: Luxshare)