President, Hon Hai Research Institute Young Liu From Lab to Industrial Foresight: Powering Hon Hai’s Transformation into a Technology Engine
Reflecting on the past few years, Hon Hai has arrived at a critical inflection point. We are rapidly transforming from a globally recognized manufacturing company into a leading, technology-driven enterprise. At the very heart of this metamorphosis is the Hon Hai Research Institute, the catalytic engine propelling this transformation.
Rooted in Technology: The Institute’s Strategic Mission
The mission of the Hon Hai Research Institute is to build the core technological capabilities that the Hon Hai Group will require over the next three to seven years. Our research directly supports the Group’s forward-looking strategies, spanning artificial intelligence, semiconductors, next-generation communications, quantum technology, and cybersecurity. The Institute not only supports internal R&D but also serves as an important platform for global collaboration and consultation, ensuring that Hon Hai continues to exert influence on the international technology stage.
In 2025, the Institute achieved a series of milestones. In artificial intelligence, we launched FoxBrain, a large language model (LLM) purpose-built to integrate industrial expertise, manufacturing practices, and engineering contexts. As the world’s first AI LLM optimized for traditional Chinese, FoxBrain was developed through a more efficient and cost-effective training approach, setting a new milestone for AI development in Taiwan.
In quantum computing, I regard quantum technology as one of our most vital long-term investments. Quantum communications and quantum sensing are already demonstrating early value, while quantum computing holds the potential to reshape existing computing paradigms. Today, the global quantum landscape remains in the Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum (NISQ) era, where systems are constrained by noise and scalability challenges. The Institute is actively advancing ion-trap platforms to develop high-fidelity quantum operations and scalable architectures while also exploring hybrid quantum-classical frameworks to enable large-scale, hybrid quantum-supercomputing (or quantum-HPC) integrated applications.
Semiconductors remain at the core of the technology industry. The Institute is actively advancing heterogeneous integration and optoelectronic integration technologies while also exploring advanced packaging substrate materials to maximize chip integration density. By evolving semiconductors from simple, single-material computing components into system cores that integrate computation, photonics, and communications, we are strengthening our competitiveness in the global semiconductor value chain.
For next-generation communications, we are strategically advancing 6G Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) technologies. Our initiatives span ground terminal equipment, satellite-to-ground testbeds, and advanced simulation software. Looking ahead, we will continue to validate Inter-Satellite Link (ISL) capabilities and deepen collaboration with international partners. These efforts lay the foundation for Hon Hai to become an important partner to satellite constellation service providers, building a complete communications technology chain that extends seamlessly from the ground to space.
Information security is the foundation of trust in the digital era. As AI becomes deeply embedded across industries, we are advancing research in both AI for Security and Security for AI, not only mitigating emerging risks but also unlocking AI’s full strategic value. Additionally, we are developing Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) to proactively address the cryptographic challenges that quantum computing will inevitably bring. Most importantly, we view security governance as inseparable from research and practice. From strategic design to Group‑wide implementation, we are building the next generation of defense frameworks.
Our Three-Tier R&D Ecosystem
To maximize execution efficiency, Hon Hai organizes its R&D into three collaborative tiers:
1. Hon Hai Research Institute: Responsible for the Proof of Concept (POC), dedicated to solving fundamental scientific challenges and validating conceptual feasibility.
2. Group R&D Center: Translates scientific breakthroughs into viable product prototypes.
3. Business Units (BUs): Scale, commercialize, and manufacture these prototypes for the global market.
Take FoxBrain for example: The Institute demonstrated the scientific feasibility of the model; the Group R&D Center transformed it into a product-ready version; and finally, the Business Units carried out fine‑tuning, post-training, and market commercialization.
Technological breakthroughs do not happen overnight; they are the result of compounding patience, long-term accumulation, and strategic foresight. The Hon Hai Research Institute exists to bridge the gap between forward‑looking research and real-world industrial demand, transforming theoretical exploration into engineering capabilities and concrete applications. This is what fuels the Group’s continuous innovation, sharpens our global competitiveness, and drives the entire industry forward. We take pride in seeing technology evolve into products and products mature into successful businesses. In creating new opportunities, we also hope that the benefits of technological breakthroughs are shared broadly so that collective effort translates into collective reward.
