The Daily Brief From iPhones to AI servers
Nov 28, 2025
Dive into Foxconn's surprising shift from iPhones to AI servers, driven by booming cloud revenues. Discover the complexities of assembling AI servers, from motherboards to cooling challenges. Explore India's smartphone manufacturing boom since 2017, facing critiques about export credibility and job creation. Akshara reveals how domestic value-added has surged and assesses fiscal impacts of job growth. Wrap up with intriguing tidbits and insights on the global market landscape.
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Phone Makers Became AI Server Powerhouses
- Foxconn and other Taiwanese OEMs have transitioned from phone assembly to dominating AI server assembly at massive scale.
- This shift leverages existing EMS skills, tight local supply chains, and partnerships with GPU makers like NVIDIA.
AI Servers Are Deep Engineering Projects
- AI servers require complex multi-level assembly beyond simple chip installation, including specialized motherboards and cooling systems.
- Minute design differences and massive power and heat needs make server assembly an advanced engineering challenge.
Quanta's Open Compute Breakthrough
- Quanta pivoted early from laptops to cloud servers and partnered with Facebook through the Open Compute Project to scale server assembly.
- By 2015-16 it became the largest player in server assembly, showing how strategic partnerships reshape industry leaders.