Taipei:Amazon.com Inc., a leading U.S. cloud service provider, is participating as a strategic investor in a private placement by Gold Circuit Electronics Inc., a printed circuit board (PCB) manufacturer based in Taiwan. According to Focus Taiwan, Gold Circuit announced on the Taiwan Stock Exchange that its board has approved a plan allowing Amazon to subscribe to approximately 1.86 million shares at NT$856 (US$27.14) per share. This transaction is expected to cost Amazon around NT$1.589 billion, resulting in Amazon becoming a shareholder in Gold Circuit. This move comes amid rising demand for PCBs used in AI servers during the global artificial intelligence boom. The subscription price offered to Amazon is about 80 percent of the reference price set by Gold Circuit and approved by its board. This marks the first private placement involving a strategic investor for Gold Circuit this year. Industry sources report that Amazon Web Services (AWS), Amazon's cloud services division, has established strong relati onships with Taiwanese suppliers such as Gold Circuit. Prior to this investment, Amazon participated in a private placement by Alchip Technologies Ltd., a Taiwan-based ASIC designer, in April. These investments highlight the importance of Taiwanese suppliers in the global AI supply chain as Amazon expands its collaboration with Taiwanese companies in developing PCBs for AI server applications. In addition to the private placement, Gold Circuit's board has approved a plan to invest NT$7.9 billion in land purchases and the construction of a new plant to increase production capacity. This expansion is planned to begin in the fourth quarter of this year and will be funded through the issuance of convertible bonds.