Taipei: Taiwan’s role in the evolving landscape of artificial intelligence (AI) is “very special” and its manufacturing ecosystem is heavily relied on by the United States, AMD Chair and CEO Lisa Su said Tuesday at National Taiwan University (NTU).

According to Focus Taiwan, Su spoke during a chat with NTU President Chen Wen-chang titled “AMD’s Transformation to AI Leader,” as part of this year’s NTU Royal Palm Lecture Series. She praised the ecosystem surrounding AI in Taiwan, emphasizing its foundational start with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) and extending to include the ODM, OEM, manufacturing, and design ecosystems. Su, who also fielded questions from students, expressed her belief that Taiwan would see increased investment in software and systems in the future.

Su highlighted the importance of the Taiwanese manufacturing ecosystem from a U.S. perspective, noting the necessity of building resilience within it. She also acknowledged the significant role of AMD’s Taiwan-based teams in the company’s research and development efforts. Prior to the lecture, Su met with TSMC Chairman C.C. Wei and planned further meetings with AMD’s customers and supply chain partners.

The discussion also touched on the challenges posed by U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, which have complicated plans for tech companies’ manufacturing supply chains. Su described the situation as “dynamic” but expressed confidence in managing supply chain issues through close collaboration with partners.

In her remarks on AI, Su discussed the impact of the Taiwan ecosystem in producing components for companies like AMD and Nvidia Corp., which are crucial for powering tools such as ChatGPT. She also spoke about DeepSeek, a large language model from a Chinese team, noting its potential to make AI more accessible and affordable, thereby accelerating AI applications.

Su stressed that there is no “one-size-fits-all” AI computing ecosystem, highlighting the existence of various models that employ different algorithms. She anticipated continued significant investment in AI, encompassing both large-scale funding and more affordable approaches.

Su concluded by mentioning that five of the top 10 supercomputers currently use AMD technology, underscoring the central role of high-performance computing (HPC) in future developments.