Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn announced a US $241.2 million investment in Chihuahua to increase its capacity to manufacture artificial intelligence (AI) servers.
According to Taiwanese newspaper United Daily News, the money will go to increasing production capacity at the Foxconn Industrial Internet (FII) plant in Mexico, located in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua.
FII, a China-based subsidiary of Foxconn, is already manufacturing AI servers at the Chihuahua plant.
“AI servers are specialized computing systems designed to handle the unique demands of artificial intelligence workloads,” the tech company Luniq says on its website.
FII’s Ciudad Juárez plant — called Planta Óscar Flores — was established in 2005. It is unclear whether the company plans to expand the approximately 63,000-square-meter facility.
Foxconn, officially called Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Ltd., and its subsidiaries have other plants in Mexico, including one in Tijuana. The company is the world’s largest electronics manufacturer, and makes products for companies such as Apple, Sony and Nintendo.
In February, the company purchased a 421,600-square-meter site in Jalisco where it plans to produce AI servers. Via a Mexican subsidiary, Foxconn bought the property for 453 million pesos (US $23.3 million).
Late last year, the company and the government of Chihuahua announced they had formed a strategic partnership “aimed at advancing talent training, fostering innovation technology, and promoting sustainable energy development in Mexico’s largest state [by area].”
“… By combining expertise and resources, the effort is anticipated to drive positive change, shape the future of manufacturing, and contribute to the prosperity of Chihuahua and its residents,” they said in a joint press release.
Foxconn was one of 20 Taiwanese companies that sent representatives to Mexico last year to learn about investment opportunities in locations including the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, where the federal government intends to develop a chain of industrial parks.
With reports from EFE
