《TAIPEI TIMES》Microsoft to double data centers in Taiwan

Microsoft's move to double its Taiwan data centers reflects a broader capacity crunch. The shortage extends beyond GPUs and CPUs to power supply and server rack space. This expansion addresses predictable workloads with ASICs. Microsoft prioritizes internal use for its ASIC capacity in the near term.

Taiwan's supply chain remains a critical beneficiary of this expansion. The nation is central to global computing infrastructure, including AI servers, storage, and networking. This reinforces Taiwan's role despite geopolitical tensions. Corporate customers, especially those in highly regulated sectors like government and finance, gain immediate access to Microsoft's global network.

The real test for Microsoft is balancing internal ASIC use with broader customer demand. The company needs to show it can meet its own massive inference capacity needs for services like Copilot. Watch whether Microsoft can scale its ASIC deployment without further constraining external computing capacity for its Taiwanese clients.