Computex 2025: Five takeaways from Asia's biggest AI tech show

The Star

22-05-2025

Visitors review new computer products at the Computex Taipei exhibition, one of the world's largest computer and technology expos, in Taipei, Taiwan, on May 20, 2025. — AP
With much of the world's attention on the AI race between the US and China, this week's Computex conference served as a stark reminder of the central role that Taiwan continues to play in the global technology industry.
The 2025 edition of Asia's signature tech gathering didn't break as much new ground as last year, when Nvidia Corp.'s Jensen Huang unveiled a multi-year roadmap for AI chip design. But it still drew the attention of an industry parsing the fallout from Washington's campaign to curb Beijing's tech ambitions in the aftermath of DeepSeek.
Here are the major takeaways from Computex 2025:
Consumer AI needs more time
There was scant mention of consumers this year. In 2024, Qualcomm Inc. devoted its presentation to how AI would make everything better and we'd never again need our laptop chargers on the move. This time around, it flipped to a script focused on enterprise applications for AI.
Foxconn, also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, used its first keynote address at the show to go big on heavy-duty AI, from making cities smarter to bringing robots to manufacturing and making EV design more efficient. The company that assembles the bulk of the world's iPhones had nothing to excite consumers.
Asustek Computer Inc offered a sobering outlook on the prospects of so-called AI PCs.
Samson Hu, co-chief executive officer of the Taiwanese computer gear maker, said AI PCs will take a year or two before they go mainstream. That's because the software is still immature, plus new tariffs from the US are likely to flatten near-term growth. Asus may have to hike prices in the US by as much as 10% to deal with those levies, Hu said.
DeepSeek changed AI
The debut of DeepSeek in January changed the nature of AI, highlighting China's advances in the field while dismantling basic assumptions about computing needs.
Huang was among the few executives who addressed that first openly, saying that China is "incredible' at software development and has the resources to make up for any technological gap.
DeepSeek also popularized reasoning models, which require more raw computing power. "And so now the reasoning model is not one shot, but it's hundreds of shots,' Huang told reporters this week. "DeepSeek increased the amount of computing need by maybe 100 to 1,000 times.'
China looms large
The most-clicked headlines centered around Nvidia's delicate position as the US pursues chip restrictions intended to curtail China's tech ascent. That came to a head Wednesday, when Huang branded that effort a "failure' and called for Washington to back away.
If the US doesn't allow Nvidia to sell within China, local companies like Huawei Technologies Co. will fill the void, he warned. "The local companies are very, very talented and very determined,' Huang said. "And the export controls gave them the spirit, the energy and the government support to accelerate their development.'
While key officials in Washington buy that argument as it applies to the rest of the world, US President Donald Trump's administration has doubled down on measures targeting Beijing.
Executives in Taiwan no doubt took note of two related developments. Huawei hosted its AI developer gathering the same week, touting the Ascend chips that Beijing wants to see supplant Nvidia's silicon. And Xiaomi Corp. happened to announce it's developed its own advanced 3-nanometer mobile chip to compete with Qualcomm.
Taiwan charm offensive
Intel Corp's new boss worked hard to mend ties with the Taiwanese partners, after his predecessor Pat Gelsinger raised concerns about the island's (read: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s) dominance in semiconductors.
Lip-Bu Tan praised local supply chain partners during a company event in Taipei celebrating its 40th anniversary on Monday.
Even Nvidia dedicated much time and floor space at the conference to lauding its Taiwanese partners. SoftBank Group Corp founder Masayoshi Son was also in town for the week, though like Tan he was keeping a low public profile.
No bubble?
There was little public discussion about one of the most pressing questions for tech investors: have we overestimated the need for datacenters? Tech stocks from Nvidia to Meta Platforms Inc and Microsoft Corp have gyrated wildly in 2025 in part because of that overarching uncertainty.
To be sure, most of the attendees benefit directly from spending on the servers and components needed to power datacenters and AI development. Nvidia's CEO echoed the sentiment.
"We're several hundred billion dollars into tens of trillions of dollars of AI infrastructure buildout,' Huang said. – Bloomberg