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The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC)'s CEO Dr. C.C. Wei stressed that Apple Inc.'s largest contract manufacturing partner Hon Hai Technologies should not forget TSMC as it expands its operational footprint. His comments were made at a ceremony in Taiwan where Foxconn's chairman Young Liu was awarded an honorary doctorate by Taiwan's National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University in Hsinchu. The TSMC chief executive officer appreciated the entrepreneurial spirit of Liu, stressing that while most people take the 'easy' way of moving to the U.S. and working in jobs, Liu took the riskier approach and founded his own company.

Foxconn's Strategic Shift Should Lead To Strong Cooperation With TSMC Says C.C. Wei

The rise of Foxconn has been slow but steady. Like TSMC, which has profited massively through its partnership with Apple by being able to rapidly roll out new manufacturing processes and secure needed capital investment, Foxconn has also relied on the iPhone's massive popularity to make billions of iPhones and become one of the world's largest contract manufacturers.

However, the Taiwanese computing equipment manufacturing firm has embarked on an ambitious strategy through which it aims to expand its manufacturing base to include electric cars, robots and healthcare products. Foxconn's strategy is part of its '3+3' plan, which includes Internet of Things (IoT) devices and 5G equipment.

Foxconn's founder, Mr. Terry Gou, set up the firm in 1974 and, after leading it for decades, retired in 2019 and handed over the reins to Young Liu in 2019. At the time, Mr. Liu was heading Foxconn's semiconductor division. Both were present with TSMC's chief Dr. C.C. Wei at a Taiwanese University yesterday, where Liu was awarded an honorary doctorate.

Employees work on the assembly line at Hon Hai Group's Foxconn plant in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China, on Wednesday, May 26, 2010. Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg

Dr. Wei gave a speech at the event in which he stressed that Foxconn's pivot to new technologies includes products that require high performance computing products. He added that since TSMC is the world's largest contract chip manufacturer, it should 'not be forgotten' by the iPhone manufacturer.Dr. Wei also stated that most people who go to the U.S. to get an advanced degree end up working in regular jobs, which in his opinion, signals low ambition and are not brave enough.

On the other hand, Liu showed courage when he decided to start his own company, which is quite rare for people who go to the country for study purposes, according to the TSMC CEO. He added that the new Foxconn chief's appointment by Gou signals confidence in his abilities and that Liu continues to enjoy the rewards of his risk taking abilities.

Mr. Guo also revealed that he has traveled to the U.S. and met Open AI's Sam Altman. Following this, he arranged for Mr. Altman to travel to Taiwan for a potential keynote at a forum in June to discuss artificial intelligence and Chat GPT.

Dr. Wei joked that one important reason he attended the ceremony was that Foxconn does not steal any university graduates from TSMC since they were already in short supply.