Foxconn, the Taiwanese electronics maker formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry, wants to own half of the global AI server market within a couple of years. Chairman Young Liu shared the goal in an interview with CNBC’s Christine Tan.
The company currently holds about 40% of the market. Liu said that share could rise to around 45% next year.
“I think we can grow up to 50 percent,” Liu said.
Foxconn Shifts Focus to AI Infrastructure
Foxconn is best known as a major assembler of Apple’s iPhones. In recent years, it has turned to AI infrastructure as a key source of growth.
Liu expects AI infrastructure to make up 60% to 65% of Foxconn’s revenue in the next three to five years. That figure does not include edge AI devices, which run AI programs directly on local hardware.
Demand is already strong. Liu said Foxconn’s production capacity is fully booked for at least the next year and a half.
So far, most orders have come from AI model developers and cloud service providers. Liu said governments and businesses have not yet fully adopted the technology.
He described AI demand as “quite strong.”
Plans to Grow U.S. Manufacturing
Foxconn also plans to expand its manufacturing in the United States. Liu said the company will move further up the supply chain to better serve American customers.
“What we are going to do is we’re going to move up the supply chain,” he said. A larger U.S. presence would let Foxconn respond faster to rising demand.
Costs are higher in the U.S., however. Because of this, Foxconn will first focus on products with stronger profit margins, such as AI server racks and data center equipment.
Liu said building at a larger scale in the U.S. could help bring manufacturing costs down over time.
The company wants to strengthen its role across the full AI supply chain. This covers everything from servers and racks to complete data centers and computing services.
Liu stressed that spending must be handled with care, even as demand grows.
“Overinvestment will kill the company,” he said. He added that Foxconn will keep tight control over costs as it expands its AI business.
Foxconn currently plans to spend $3 billion to $5 billion a year on AI. Liu said that amount could go higher, depending on how far the company expands its vertical integration.
When asked about major customers cutting back on AI spending, Liu said weaker demand from one customer could be offset by growth from others.
He added that a slowdown across the whole industry would be a much bigger challenge for Foxconn and the wider AI supply chain.
Shares of Hon Hai fell 2.50 Taiwan dollars, or 1.01%, in Taiwan trading on Friday.
