The Taipei City Government has officially finalized an agreement with NVIDIA to establish the company's overseas headquarters at the Beishike T17 and T18 plots. The milestone cements Taiwan's position as the indispensable powerhouse of the global AI revolution, elevating the island's role from manufacturer to strategic partner shaping the industry's future.
In a recent interview onStorm Media's current-affairs program"Fly to the World",veteran technology journalist Lin Hong-wen explained that NVIDIA's decision was driven by an overwhelming industrial reality. Taiwan holds a near-monopoly on the two most critical pillars of the AI era: TSMC accounts for roughly 90% of the world's advanced-process chip manufacturing, while Taiwanese firms produce approximately 90% of the world's AI servers.
With NVIDIA's entire supply chain essentially rooted in Taiwan, Lin argued the company had little reason to look elsewhere. Regional alternatives such as Japan or South Korea were considered, but neither could match the depth and integration of Taiwan's service ecosystem.
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The decision also carries a personal dimension. CEO Jensen Huang was born in Tainan, and his emotional and cultural ties to the island make Taiwan a natural home for NVIDIA's corporate identity.
Lin pushed back sharply against the persistent notion that Taiwan is "merely" a contract manufacturing hub. In his view, the technical mastery underpinning Taiwan's AI dominance is virtually impossible to replicate elsewhere. "This isn't the kind of manufacturing you do for umbrellas or Christmas lights," he noted. "It's high-end technology that others simply cannot pull off."
In more than 30 years of covering the industry, Lin said he has never seen Taiwan hold such a commanding position at the core of a transformative technology wave. On the question of profit margins, he was equally direct: with NVIDIA sustaining gross margins above 70% and TSMC maintaining nearly 60%, the relationship reflects shared prosperity rather than a zero-sum squeeze on suppliers.
What truly defines the partnership, however, is the relentless pace NVIDIA sets for its supply chain. The company's aggressive product cycles have compelled Taiwanese suppliers to achieve breakthroughs far ahead of schedule.
Lin highlighted the cooling industry as a striking example. Firms that once estimated water-cooling technology would take a decade to master found themselves delivering results in just three years under NVIDIA's demands. That capacity for accelerated innovation has allowed Taiwan to do far more than manufacture chips — it has helped NVIDIA bring "Sovereign AI" capabilities to markets around the world.
The result, Lin concluded, is a genuinely symbiotic relationship: Taiwan provided not only the hardware but the execution that turned NVIDIA's most ambitious visions into reality, securing the island's place at the beating heart of the global AI era.
You've read it. Now let's talk. Follow us on X. Editor: Penny Wang
