NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang hosted a banquet yesterday (January 31) in Taipei for supply chain partners. Dubbed the "Trillion-Banquet" due to the combined market capitalization of the attending companies exceeding one trillion New Taiwan Dollars, this marked the fourth such gathering since mid-2024. Before the banquet officially commenced, attendees gathered for a large group photo. Seated to Huang's right was TSMC Chairman C.C. Wei, while Quanta Chairman Barry Lam was seated to his left. At first glance, key decision-makers from the AI supply chain in the Taiwan region of China were all present, yet a subtle shift was noticeable compared to the group photo from May of last year.
Some have fallen behind, while others have stepped up. Both banquets were held at the same hotel in Taipei. In yesterday's photo, Huang sat in the center of the front row. Flanking him on the right were C.C. Wei, MediaTek CEO Rick Tsai, and ASUSTeK Chairman Jonney Shih. To his left sat Barry Lam, Quanta Vice Chairman C.C. Leung, and Wistron Chairman Simon Lin. Pegatron Chairman T.H. Tung, who was seated in the front row last May, was positioned in the second row this time, with Wistron President Vincent Lin standing to his left.
The local industry refers to a group of six major companies as the "Big Six Electronics Brothers," which faced an "AI watershed" in 2025. The top three—Hon Hai, Wistron, and Quanta—became the "New AI Big Three," directly benefiting from the NVIDIA AI boom. The "dark horse" Wistron saw its revenue surpass Quanta for the first time to claim the number two spot, fueled by a staggering year-on-year growth of over 108%. Meanwhile, perennial runner-up Pegatron dropped to fourth place. Compal, in fifth, suffered a severe 17% revenue decline. Inventec, ranked sixth, although an early entrant into the AI server supply chain, posted only modest revenue growth of about 7%, as its focus remained on motherboards rather than higher-value cabinet assembly.
At this "Trillion-Banquet," Advantech was represented by its General Manager, Miller Chang. Public information indicates that Advantech and NVIDIA have collaborated for over 20 years, recently forming a deep strategic alliance in edge AI, generative AI industrial applications, and medical robotics. The embedded computing business group led by Chang is central to the integration of technologies from both sides. Chang stated in an interview that Advantech plans to integrate NVIDIA's leading AI computing power into vertical sectors such as factory automation, smart healthcare, and robotics.
Furthermore, another new face appeared at the banquet. Chillichip Technology Chairman Shen Qingxing was invited for the first time; the company is primarily a provider of total thermal solution packages.
NVIDIA is making significant moves in "Physical AI." The International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) officially opened on January 6 this year. Serving as a crucial platform for NVIDIA's New Year strategy and product launches, Jensen Huang delivered his first major speech of 2026. During his address, Huang focused on the next-generation computing platform and NVIDIA's advancements in Physical AI—encompassing autonomous vehicles and robotics, along with related open-source models and tools—and officially unveiled the Vera Rubin computing platform.
It is widely believed within the industry that "Physical AI" will reshape every facet of manufacturing, logistics, and transportation, from autonomously collaborative robots in factories to logistics fleets that can self-plan routes and self-driving cars on highways. In the coming years, Physical AI is expected to achieve scaled application, becoming a core arena in the next wave of global technological competition.
Upon arriving at the banquet venue, Huang remarked that this year would be a great one, noting that NVIDIA has four products utilizing the Grace Blackwell superchip and that demand for the newly launched Vera Rubin platform is exceptionally strong.
Huang joked during an interview, "TSMC will have to work very hard this year because I need a lot of wafers." He anticipates that TSMC could more than double its production capacity over the next decade, potentially increasing it by far more than two-fold.
Huang acknowledged that the operational model this year will differ from the past. The GB200 represents NVIDIA's second-generation product and is progressing very smoothly into mass production. For Vera Rubin, the third-generation product, the goal is to make mass production straightforward. Regarding changes in the AI industry, he stated that 2026 will be an "extremely tight year" for the sector, with explosive growth in demand for high-performance computing and the memory chips required for AI. He contrasted this with 2024, noting that AI tokens were less intelligent then, making profitability difficult. Now, as AI has become more useful and smarter, viable profit models are emerging.
Observers noted that Chen Tao, Chairman of PCB supplier Shenzhen Suntak Circuit Technology, was the only representative from a mainland enterprise to appear again at Huang's "Trillion-Banquet." Last May, Huang invited 41 partners from the AI supply chain, describing them as "the world's best CEOs." Taiwanese media initially spotted an unfamiliar face, who was later identified over subsequent months as Chen Tao, Chairman and General Manager of Suntak. Further investigation revealed that Suntak supplies 70% of the PCBs used by NVIDIA.
PCBs, often called the "mother of electronic products," serve as the bridge connecting chips to all other components and are traditionally viewed as part of the conventional electronics industry. In the 1990s, Taiwan's PCB companies were concentrated in areas like Luzhu, Taoyuan, and Sanchong, New Taipei, before the entire industry shifted to the mainland. The rapid development of AI servers last year sparked a new wave of growth for PCBs, now seen as the "foundation of the AI era."
Unlike PCBs from the traditional electronics era, the AI era requires clustering numerous compute cards within极小 areas. Single or few-layer boards are no longer sufficient, necessitating the use of 20-layer or even more complex HDI boards for interconnection. Mastering this technology is akin to walking a tightrope, a skill not possessed by all. For the industry in Taiwan, which had largely relocated to the mainland, catching up with mainland firms in terms of both the quality and quantity of AI-specification PCBs poses a significant short-term challenge. As a key supplier to NVIDIA, Suntak's market value soared last year. Its head, Chen Tao, attended the "Trillion-Banquet" for the first time last year and was invited again this year. The latest Forbes China Rich List ranks Chen Tao 50th with an estimated net worth of $10 billion. The discovery that the industrial foundation for capitalizing on the NVIDIA AI boom largely originates from the mainland has unsettled pro-green camp media in Taiwan, who have called for breaking away from what they term the "red supply chain." An expert in Taiwan succinctly pointed out, "Jensen Huang specifically invited him to Taiwan. He has considerable recognition for this company's PCB quality, technology, and even price competitiveness; otherwise, he wouldn't have a seat at this table. Whether it's a 'red supply chain' or not, Jensen Huang doesn't care one bit."
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