When mentioning Taiwanese companies, what do you think of first? Is the world's largest electronic product manufacturer Hon Hai Precision (Foxconn parent company), or the world's largest semiconductor foundry TSMC. In fact, in addition to these two companies, there is another foundry giant that cannot be ignored. It is Quanta Computer (Quanta Computer) .
Public information shows: Quanta Computer, established in the late 1980s, is the world’s largest notebook computer R&D, design, and manufacturing company, with annual revenue of more than NT$1 trillion (approximately RMB 230 billion). TSMC is almost on par. More than 30% of the world's notebook computer production comes from this company, and its customers include Lenovo, HP, Dell, and Apple.
When it comes to Quanta Computer, one has to mention the founder Lin Baili . On the Forbes 2019 China Rich List, he ranked 91st with a net worth of 26.8 billion yuan. This billionaire is a model of self-made.
He was born in Shanghai and came to Hong Kong with his parents since he was a child, living in a slum. In order to change his fate, Lin Baili studied hard and was successfully admitted to the Department of Electrical Engineering of National Taiwan University. In school, he was exposed to computers for the first time and became very interested in it. He spent the whole day studying in the laboratory. In the early 1970s, he and his friend Wen Shiren developed Taiwan's first microcomputer, which caused a sensation in the industry. You know that the famous Steve Jobs successfully assembled the Apple computer four years later. After graduating from university, the two decided to start a business together, and co-founded Sanai and Jinbao Electronics with friends. However, starting a business is not all smooth sailing. For various reasons, they finally choose to go their separate ways. Turning to the topic, Wen Shiren is not only an entrepreneur, but also the author of the martial arts novel "Qin Shi Mingyue". And Xu Chaoying, the partner of the second venture, and his son Xu Shengxiong later founded Compal Computer (the world's second largest computer foundry). In other words, this group of people produces more than half of the world's computers.
back to the topic. In the late 1980s, Lin Baili teamed up with a dozen like-minded technical experts to establish Quanta Computer. The production base is located in a humble building in Taipei's Shilin District. At that time, notebook computers became popular, and many large companies took a fancy to this market and looked for foundries.
However, Quanta has little reputation since its establishment, and it is difficult to get orders. In order to reverse the situation, Lin Baili came to visit the client in person with his computer behind his back. Despite being rejected countless times, he did not give up. After more than two years of hard work, the company finally gained a foothold in the industry.
In the late 1990s, they began to produce for Dell, and then successively won orders from giants such as HP, Lenovo, and Apple. In 2001, it became the world's largest notebook computer foundry for the first time. In the next 18 years, this position has never wavered. In addition to Shanghai, Chongqing, Changshu, Taiwan and other places, the company also has production bases in Europe and the United States.
In recent years, with the development of 5G, artificial intelligence, cloud computing and other technologies, many foundry companies have sought new businesses. Quanta Computer began to extend its reach to cloud computing and enterprise network system solutions, smart home products, automotive electronics, Internet of Things and other fields. It remains to be seen whether the transformation will succeed.
