Paris: Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. Chairman Young Liu met with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Monday (local time), as the Taiwan-based manufacturing giant unveiled new investments in France in semiconductors and AI infrastructure.
According to Focus Taiwan, the meeting took place during the annual "Choose France" summit, an event hosted by Macron to promote foreign direct investment. Franck Paris, director of the French Office in Taipei, provided a briefing on the meeting's significance. Speaking to reporters on Monday ahead of the meeting, Paris explained that Liu was expected to discuss "two important developments" involving Hon Hai, also known internationally as Foxconn.
The projects involve a semiconductor packaging venture with French partners Thales and Radiall, and an AI infrastructure partnership with Bull, a French advanced computing company. Paris, France's top envoy to Taiwan, stated that the meeting would allow Macron to assure Chairman Liu that these investments would be supported at the highest political level in France.
CNA reached out to Hon Hai on Tuesday for more details about Liu's meeting with Macron, but the company indicated that any further information regarding the meeting would be provided by the French government or the French Office in Taipei.
According to a news release issued by Hon Hai on Monday, the venture with Thales and Radiall will launch Tessalia Technology SAS, a joint effort dedicated to outsourced semiconductor assembly and testing (OSAT). Representatives of the involved companies and French officials attended a ceremony on Monday to lay the foundation stone for the future Tessalia facility in Le Barp, near Bordeaux, as part of the "Choose France" summit.
The three companies aim to create, test, and assemble advanced packaging solutions for electronic chips, notably for aerospace, telecom infrastructure, automotive, and medical sectors. With production set to begin by the end of 2029, Tessalia targets an output of more than 50 million SiP components annually by 2033 and plans to employ 800 people at full production.
Hon Hai also highlighted that the initiative seeks to involve other industrial players to support an investment potentially exceeding 250 million euros by 2033.
In a separate announcement, Hon Hai detailed its strategic collaboration with Bull to develop AI and cloud infrastructure in Europe for global markets. This partnership will utilize Bull's factory in Angers, France, and Hon Hai's facilities in the Czech Republic to deliver AI infrastructure solutions, including computing systems and related components. The project is expected to see an initial investment of over 120 million euros.