Wistron shares rise after Texas AI server plant opens for Nvidia

Wistron shares rose 9.7% in Taipei on Wednesday after the Taiwan-based technology services group announced the opening of a U.S. plant that will build AI servers for Nvidia. The company said the $700mn facility in Fort Worth, Texas, gives it domestic capacity to assemble and test advanced systems used in artificial-intelligence infrastructure.

The site, called the D1 AI smart facility, covers 324,000 square feet and is Wistron’s first U.S. facility dedicated to producing AI servers for Nvidia, according to the company. It is currently making Nvidia’s GB300 Grace Blackwell Ultra Superchip, an AI processing platform used in high-performance computing systems.

Wistron said the plant will later add production of Nvidia’s Vera Rubin Superchip. The company described that platform as part of the next generation of AI computing, extending the manufacturing role of the Fort Worth site beyond current Grace Blackwell systems.

U.S. capacity for AI infrastructure

Wistron said the facility will increase production of Nvidia AI servers and expand U.S. capacity for the assembly and testing of systems that connect into Nvidia’s DSX infrastructure. Those systems are designed to support the deployment of AI factories, a term used by Nvidia and its partners for large-scale computing installations that process and train AI workloads.

Simon Lin, Wistron’s chairman, said in the company’s release that the Fort Worth location would become “one of the most important” sites for building AI infrastructure in the United States over the next several years.

Wistron said the Texas operation is intended to serve as the central engine of its U.S. manufacturing business. The company said its production model will rely on digital manufacturing, energy optimization and local operations, reflecting what it called the next phase of AI infrastructure development.

Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang said demand for AI factories is “incredible” and said they must be produced broadly. Nvidia has relied on a network of manufacturing partners to build the hardware required for AI data centers, including server systems, chips and related infrastructure.

Taiwanese suppliers expand in the U.S.

Wistron’s move adds to a broader shift by Taiwanese technology manufacturers toward greater U.S. production capacity. CNBC reported that TSMC last week announced an increase in its Arizona investment, another example of major Taiwanese suppliers adding operations in the United States as AI and semiconductor supply chains draw more policy and customer attention.

Nvidia says its partner manufacturing facilities extend across 43 U.S. states. The company lists Wistron, TSMC and Foxconn among those partners and estimates that the network will contribute $485bn to U.S. gross domestic product in 2026.

The Fort Worth opening links Wistron more closely to Nvidia’s AI hardware supply chain at a time when demand for data-center computing has driven investment in domestic manufacturing capacity. For Wistron, the immediate market reaction came through its Taiwan-listed shares, which climbed nearly 10% following the announcement.

This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.