Leveraging Taiwan’s Supply Chain for GPU Cloud Computing

• How has Taiwan positioned itself as the global leader in GPU manufacturing?
• As GPU cloud computing transforms industries, how does leveraging Taiwan’s supply chain ecosystem amplify GMI Cloud’s impact?

When you engage with a GPU cloud provider like GMI Cloud, the goal is to streamline access to premier computing resources essential for AI and ML applications, ensuring a seamless and user-friendly experience. However, beneath the surface of the cloud, a complex network of processes and a multitude of companies operate to make that access to GPU compute possible. Many of these critical contributors, instrumental in powering our services, are located in one paramount location — Taiwan.

A Supply Chain Ecosystem for GPUs

As a small island in the Western Pacific Ocean (roughly the size of Belgium/Maryland), Taiwan has meticulously cultivated an ecosystem of highly specialized suppliers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), foundational to the GPU supply chain powering the AI revolution.

Taiwanese semiconductor foundries such as TSMC are pivotal pieces of the GPU supply chain, famously pushing the limits of Moore’s Law and chip manufacturing to nanometer precision. These firms account for over 60% of the world’s semiconductor production and enable the production of advanced semiconductors critical for GPU functionality. In parallel, fabless companies like NVIDIA excel in designing innovative GPUs such as the NVIDIA H100 (80GB memory, 67 tera FLOPs at FP32), optimized for accelerating complex AI and ML models. NVIDIA alone has an estimated 92% market share for data center GPUs.

The key advantage that Taiwan has, however, is not simply the large number of highly specialized individual companies located there. Rather, it’s the collaboration between these design and manufacturing specialists and the entire supply chain behind them that is continuing to drive the technological advancements and efficiency of modern GPUs. The close proximity of these interconnected pieces enhances production efficiency and innovation for all. It’s a supply chain ecosystem that is unmatched globally and one that would take decades for any other entity to develop.

Taiwan’s Industrial Clusters

An industrial cluster is another term for this type of close-knit geographical supply chain ecosystem as seen in Taiwan with the GPU industry. An industrial cluster is an incredibly efficient way to streamline industrial processes and can include:

• Raw material sourcing and production
• Supplier networks
• Research and development
• Design
• Manufacturing
• Testing
• Assembly and packaging
• Distribution and logistics
• Commercial and retail sales

In Taiwan’s case, the proliferation of industrial clusters is intentional and well designed. This achievement stems from forward-thinking industrial policies in the late 20th century, promotion of education in STEM fields, and decades of heavy investment into the country’s manufacturing sector.

Over the past several decades, Taiwan has focused on the planned development of key locations as part of its goal to establish industrial clusters and maximize efficiency within specific industries. A prime example of this strategic approach is the Hsinchu Science Park which was developed starting in 1980 and is often referred to as the island’s Silicon Valley. Established to bolster the nation’s foothold in the technology sector, Hsinchu Science Park is home to leading companies like TSMC and MediaTek, along with 177 other IC manufacturers and a host of innovative companies that contribute to various stages of the GPU production process.

Key benefits of Industrial Clusters:

1. Economies of Scale and Scope: Industrial clusters concentrate related industries, leading to cost efficiencies through a network of shared resources and streamlined operations.
2. Innovation and Knowledge Spillover: Clusters foster collaboration and exchange of ideas, accelerating innovation and facilitating the transfer of knowledge between companies and research institutions.
3. Enhanced Competitiveness and Global Market Access: By clustering together, firms benefit from shared strengths and partner networks, attracting investment and talent, thus enhancing their competitiveness and expanding their access to global markets.

Leveraging Taiwan’s GPU Supply Chain

At GMI Cloud, we see our cloud computing services as a natural addition to Taiwan’s GPU supply chain. GMI Cloud is the largest GPU cloud service provider in Taiwan with top-tier NVIDIA GPUs at Tier-3/Tier-4 data centers (SOC2 compliant with 99.9985% up time) located on the island. Our strategy is to leverage our position and the streamlined nature of the GPU industrial cluster in Taiwan to provide our clients with superior accessibility to top-tier GPU compute.

Starting with fabrication and design processes at TSMC and NVIDIA, followed by assembly, testing, and advanced packaging, GPUs like the NVIDIA H100 can then be shipped directly to our data centers for deployment. This speed of deployment is a key advantage over other US firms such as CoreWeave and Lambda Labs. The process of sourcing GPUs from Taiwan to the US might typically span several months, along with increased costs attributed to shipping and duties. In comparison, it is a far simpler and more efficient process when the delivery destination is only an hour down the road.

GMI Cloud leverages supply chain advantages in Taiwan to provide the following benefits to our clients:

1. Rapid deployment, faster time to market: With our data centers being located in Taiwan, GMI Cloud has faster speed of access to GPU supply. This means clients can quickly scale and execute their models, reduce development cycles, and bring their products and solutions to market faster than ever.
2. Cost-Efficiency: Leveraging economies of scale and taking advantage of avoiding large costs due to shipping and duties, we are able to provide clients with competitively priced access to premium GPU resources. ($2.00/hr for NVIDIA H100 bare-metal)
3. Unmatched reliability: As an offshoot of Realtek Semiconductors and GMI Technology, GMI Cloud has deep strategic partnerships and roots in Taiwan. With strong alliances forged with industry leaders in Taiwan, such as NVIDIA, we are able to ensure a reliable and scalable supply of GPU resources.

Discover how GMI Cloud’s services, powered by NVIDIA’s latest technologies, can accelerate your AI projects. Contact us to explore how we can support your computational needs and help you harness the full potential of AI.

Links:

• https://www.economist.com/special-report/2023/03/06/taiwans-dominance-of-the-chip-industry-makes-it-more-important
• https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/nvidia-could-be-about-to-counter-a-big-artificial-intelligence-ai-threat-with-this-move
• https://contacttaiwan.tw/main/docdetail.aspx?uid=729&pid=728&docid=344
• https://gmicloud.ai/product