Google unveils new AI Engineering Hub in Taiwan

Google inaugurated a new AI infrastructure engineering center in Taipei, Taiwan on Nov. 20.

The move deepens the tech company's nearly two-decade presence in Taiwan, since its first office was established in 2006. 

Located in Taipei's Shilin District, the new engineering facility has been described by Google as the company's largest overseas engineering site dedicated to AI hardware engineering and data-center infrastructure.

The facility, which Google called a multidisciplinary hub, will support Google's expansive network of global data centers to accelerate AI innovation.

Google Cloud's vice president for platforms infrastructure engineering Aamer Mahmood noted that the technologies engineered in Taiwan are ultimately deployed across Google's worldwide operations, forming part of the backbone behind devices and services relied on by billions across the globe, Yahoo Finance reported.

Former head of AI Research Center at National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (NTUST), Chang Shun-chiao (張順教), told TCN that the new Google AI center would offer higher salary opportunities and broaden career opportunities for local university students, especially those attending top-tier universities.

He pointed out that Taiwan has successful experience in hardware development, which attracts foreign businesses and can also drive the development of software, firmware, and system integration.

He said that Google's investment in and commitment to Taiwan make other enterprises in Taiwan and the government pay more attention to IT and Cloud services in general. He stated that such changes would deepen Taiwan's R&D capacity and talent cultivation and that the development of AI can increase the productivity of other industries, as a spillover effect.

Remarks from Taiwan's President Lai 

Speaking at the Nov. 20 opening ceremony for Google's new hub, Taiwan's president Lai Ching-te (賴清德) remarked that the launch of the facility underscores not only Taiwan's important role in the global technology supply chain, but also its emergence as a pivotal hub for developing secure and trustworthy AI, Reuters reported.

In a Facebook post later that day, Lai said that in recent years, Google has steadily expanded its hardware R&D footprint in Taiwan, from the opening of two engineering complexes in Banqiao to the launch of its new AI Infrastructure Research and Development Center, demonstrating Google's sustained confidence in, and commitment to, long-term investment in Taiwan.


Lai said that Taiwan's ability to serve as a critical partner to Google stems from its open and democratic governance, and its strategic position in the Indo-Pacific, which is bolstered by a world-class semiconductor ecosystem, highly skilled research talent, and a robust intellectual-property framework. Together, he stated, these attributes make Taiwan an ideal base for advancing integrated AI hardware and software innovation.

Amid the global surge in AI development, Lai wrote that Taiwan's government hopes to create 500,000 AI-related jobs and establish three world-class AI laboratories by 2040, positioning Taiwan as a key node in global AI innovation through the "Ten Major AI Infrastructure Projects" initiative.

Lai said that Taiwan expects deeper industrial collaboration with the US and renewed momentum for its own economic growth concerning the opening of Google's latest facility. The country will also continue working with Google and like-minded partners worldwide to ensure that AI technologies serve the public good, he added.

Director Raymond Greene of the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), the de facto US embassy to Taiwan added that Google's new engineering center stands as a testament to the enduring depth of US-Taiwan partnership and cooperation, noting that, building on the foundation of innovation, the two sides are entering what he described as a new golden era in their economic relationship, Reuters reported.

In a LinkedIn post, Greene called the opening of Google's new Taipei facility another significant milestone in the escalating competition to shape the most consequential technology of the 21st century.

He said that the US and Taiwan are effectively competing as a coordinated team. He stressed that Google has long been an indispensable partner to Taiwan, whether in AI, cybersecurity, or undersea cable systems, and that the company's work continues to make both the US and Taiwan safer, more resilient, and more prosperous.


The new facility's tasks

Google Taiwan's operational structure is organized around a "chip-to-system" integration model, bringing together chips, motherboards, network equipment, and servers, per Global Views.

Explaining the distribution of Google sites in Taiwan, Global Views said that the Taipei 101 building serves as the hub for commercial operations and sales, while Google's Banqiao campus in New Taipei City focuses on consumer hardware development, including Pixel phones and Nest devices. Google's Changhua coastal site remains one of Asia's largest data centers, handling actual computing workloads and testing new technologies.

Meanwhile, the newly unveiled Shilin facility is closely aligned with Google Cloud's core operations, concentrating on the development of hardware technologies within data centers, with a particular emphasis on cloud infrastructure.

What's Google saying?

On Google's official blog, Google Platforms Director Greg Moore said that the new Taipei hub features a range of multifunctional workspaces, from open collaboration areas designed to spark dialogue to quiet, purpose-built zones for concentrated research.

There are more than a dozen specialized laboratories at the venue, enabling Google's engineering and supply-chain teams to conduct rigorous testing, inspection, and optimization before any product being developed is deployed to the company's global data centers or AI infrastructure, he added.

Sustainability was embedded into the design from the outset, the blog stated. Google built upon the building's green foundations to operate the facility in an even more resource-efficient manner, it added.

Moore said that the launch of the center further underscores Google's long-term investment in Taiwan's digital infrastructure, a commitment that began with the opening of its first Asia-Pacific data center in Changhua in 2013 and continued through sustained participation in multiple international undersea cable systems landing in Taiwan.