Hon Hai plots move beyond iPhone assembly to AI, big data
Chairman Terry Gou seeks to transform contract manufacturer, best known for assembling Apple Inc.’s iPhones.
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Chairman Terry Gou, whose company is best known for assembling Apple Inc.’s iPhones, plans to increase its focus on artificial intelligence and big data over the next few years as he seeks to transform the contract manufacturer into a more influential force in the global technology industry.
Gou, at an annual gathering in Taipei for employees and family members Sunday, said the company has a great deal of work to do through 2020 to adapt to the sector’s new realities. He will expand investments in AI, automation and the Internet of Things to position his companies even more centrally in the tech supply chain.
The comments came a day after a Hon Hai unit, Foxconn Industrial Internet Co., said it expects to spend 27.3 billion yuan (US$4.3 billion) on next generation projects and hold an initial public offering in China. Those efforts will include cloud computing, IoT solutions, AI manufacturing and fifth-generation wireless technologies, the firm said in an application prospectus on the China Securities Regulatory Commission website. Hon Hai is moving into sectors beyond pure electronics assembly as growth in the global smartphone industry sputters.
“There will be a big amount of work to do in the next three years because as the world runs faster thanks to the internet economy, the old successful rules can be overturned,” Gou said before an audience of more than 10,000 at a Taiwan exhibition centre often used for concerts and other entertainment. “If we don’t keep moving forward, we will be eliminated.”
Gou and his Taiwanese company must strike a delicate balance between China and the US. Most of Hon Hai’s facilities are in mainland China where the company depends on solid relationships with government officials. Foxconn Industrial internet is the first Hon Hai unit to list on a domestic exchange.
At the same time, Gou has met with US President Donald Trump and agreed to build a US$10 billion display factory in Wisconsin. In July, the state’s governor and Gou signed a memorandum of understanding that calls for up to US$3 billion in government help and the sale of at least 1,000 acres of land.