Taiwan announced a national plan with high economic impact: transforming the country into a global artificial intelligence hub with investment exceeding US$3 billion. The project aims to place the island among the five largest computing centers in the world and boost sectors such as silicon photonics, quantum computing and advanced robotics.
The goal comes at a time of strong international competition for AI infrastructure, but progress may come up against an unexpected opponent: the country’s energy capacity.
The government sees the program as a technological reinterpretation of the “10 Big Construction Projects” of the 1970s, which modernized the Taiwanese economy.
Now, AI is treated as the next strategic industrial foundation. The objective is to generate NT$7 trillion in additional value by 2028 and more than double this figure by 2040.
The initial 2026 budget foresees more than NT$30 billion in preliminary stages. Part of this resource will be allocated to the new national AI center in Tainan, planned to support high computational consumption operations.
At the same time, several private implementations are advancing in cities like Kaohsiung, driven by companies like Foxconn and NVIDIA.
What the country intends to build
The infrastructure map includes:
- A national Data Center in Tainan focused on AI payloads.
- Expansion of private facilities focused on training and inference.
- Projects in Kaohsiung that use the platform NVIDIA Blackwellincluding the Foxconn–Nvidia center that is expected to reach 100 MegaWatts.
- Operations such as GMI Cloud, which is already preparing the installation of 7.000 GPUs Blackwell on a cluster optimized for dense inference loads.
For the government, this convergence between the public and private sectors would allow it to accelerate the development of advanced models, strategic semiconductors and applied AI applications.
Additional plan details: economic goals, prioritized technologies and structural risks
Taiwan’s transformation program into an “AI Island” gained new contours with additional information released by the international media.
The government confirmed that the package exceeds NT$100 billion (about US$3.2 billion) and is part of a set of 10 big AI projectsinspired by the infrastructure plans of the 1970s that drove the country’s modernization.
The strategy divides technological advancement into three areas considered essential to sustain the next generation of computing:
- Silicon Photonicsaimed at very high-speed interconnections
- Quantum computingas a medium and long-term research axis
- AI-Supported Roboticsaimed at industrial automation and services
For each area, the government plans to create research and development centers capable of attracting companies, universities and strategic suppliers.
The initiatives have clear economic goals. According to projections released by Taiwanese authorities and cited by Reuters, the plan seeks to generate NT$7 trillion in additional value by 2028 and achieve NT$15 trillion in 2040creating a new industrial bloc comparable to the already consolidated semiconductor sector led by TSMC.
The ambition also involves physical infrastructure. In addition to the large national data center planned for Tainan, companies such as Nvidia e Foxconn are moving forward with a complex in Kaohsiung that should reach 100 megawatts when fully operational, equipped with the platform Blackwell for intensive AI loads.
Even with billion-dollar investments, the goals face a sensitive point: energy. Taiwan’s last nuclear plant was shut down in May, and renewable generation has not grown at the rate planned.
| Category | Details confirmed | Sources and context |
|---|---|---|
| Total investment | NT$100 billion (approx. US$3.2 billion) allocated to the 10 major AI projects | Planning released by Nikkei Asia and Reuters |
| Initial budget (2026) | More than NT$30 billion reserved only for the first phase of the program | Projection announced by Premier Cho Jung-tai |
| Economic target 2028 | NT$7 trillion in additional value generated by the new AI sector | Taiwanese government estimates |
| 2040 economic target | NT$15 trillion in additional value in the long term | Draft documents cited by Nikkei Asia |
| Global positioning | enter no top 5 worldwide in computing capacity | Strategic priority repeated by authorities |
| Priority technologies | Silicon photonics, quantum computing, AI robotics | Technical bases defined in the “10 AI projects” plan |
| Public infrastructure | Construction of a National Data Center in Tainan | State support and focus on large-scale computing |
| Private infrastructure | Data center Foxconn + NVIDIA em Kaohsiung, com meta de 100 MW using the Blackwell platform | Business initiative parallel to the national plan |
| Additional projects | GMI Cloud will install 7.000 GPUs Blackwell in 16 MW cluster | Private expansion for dense inference loads |
| Energy risk | Energy shortage after shutdown of the last nuclear plant and renewables below target | Problem highlighted by energy reports |
| Transmission limits | Southern regions have insufficient network to support new Data Centers | Concern cited by infrastructure analysts |
| Potential solutions | Migration to systems DC 800Vadvanced refrigeration and grid modernization | Technologies promoted by NVIDIA and partners |
Rising obstacle: insufficient energy
The pace of investment puts pressure on an urgent issue. Taiwan shut down its last nuclear plant in May, and renewable energy targets are lower than expected. Southern regions, where most of the new Data Centers are concentrated, still lack robust transmission networks.
The scenario increases the risk of bottlenecks: recent reports indicate that offshore wind capacity is growing more slowly than necessary, and that the current electrical grid was not designed to support GigaWatt-scale computing centers.
Taiwanese authorities and industry analysts warn that the challenge is not just technical, but structural: ensuring continuous generation and stable cooling for facilities that consume as much as small urban districts.
Pressure for efficiency and new energy technologies
To overcome possible limitations, companies are considering migrating to more efficient infrastructure systems.
NVIDIA, for example, promotes the use of 800 volt DC bus in large Data Centers, which reduces losses and improves thermal control. The Foxconn–NVIDIA center could serve as a local showcase for standards of this kind.
Additionally, industry leaders advocate that Taiwan accelerate incentives for clean energy, transmission modernization and adoption of next-generation cooling technologies.
Consumption per rack in Blackwell-based clusters tends to increase, requiring combined efficiency and stability solutions.
Also read:
The balance between ambition and capacity
The plan to make Taiwan an “AI Island” puts the country in a central position in the global competition for computing. But success depends on a rare convergence: massive investment, sufficient energy and infrastructure prepared for loads that grow month after month.
Achieving leadership requires capacity expansion and long-term vision. Taiwan needs to grow in technology and energy at the same time
Premier Jug
The step is bold: the island already has global relevance due to TSMC and the production of advanced chips, but competing for leadership in computing puts the country on another strategic level.
If it manages to balance energy consumption, expansion of Data Centers and geopolitical conditions, Taiwan could emerge as one of the central hubs of global AI infrastructure.
Otherwise, the accelerated growth in demand for energy could become the biggest limit of a project designed precisely to overcome technological limits.
Source: Nikkei Asia
Source: https://www.adrenaline.com.br/ia/taiwan-investimento-ia-ilha-da-ia-risco-energia-compute-power/
