9,000 kilometers — that’s the air distance separating us from the center of global hardware production and one of the world’s leading regions for semiconductor, computer hardware, and IT development. In May, the entire tech world converged there, and we couldn't stay behind. The reason was COMPUTEX Taipei 2025, Asia’s largest IT expo, held in Taipei since 1981. This year's theme was AI Next, which happens to be our future as well. Covering an area of 80,000 m², it featured 1,400 exhibitors from over 30 countries, including tech giants such as NVIDIA, AMD, Intel, Foxconn, and many others.

 

 

Among the more than 86,000 visitors from 152 countries, we ventured there for the first time. Our goals for the Taiwan trip were clear:

  • to visit the home of leading tech companies, many of which are our business partners, peek behind the scenes of their production, and break the ice through face-to-face meetings;

  • to leverage the high concentration of industry professionals for networking, doing business “right at the source,” and securing contacts with new suppliers and customers;

  • to witness firsthand what the future of IT holds and increase our expertise in AI.

Taiwan – An Island of Contrasts and Paradoxes

From the very first moments, it was clear to us that Taiwan is at the forefront of technology—and likes to show it, even in places you'd least expect. Take, for instance, digitalized toilets, where the control panel lets you adjust water temperature, spray intensity, direction, and even activates a drying fan.

Outside the restroom stalls, screens indicate real-time occupancy, showing exactly which stall is free.

 

 

Metro tickets are also out of fashion. In Taiwan, technological advances extend even to public transport. To enter the metro, you buy a small token, which you toss into the turnstile when exiting to let you out. Everywhere there are barriers that open precisely when the train stops, aligned down to the millimeter, so passengers board and exit through clearly marked lanes. This organized system is underscored by complete silence inside carriages. Nobody talks; phones are the quiet companions during rides.

Public transport is excellent and widely used, connecting large cities with factories mostly located in suburban areas or smaller towns and villages.

 

 

Here, air conditioning isn't just a tool to cool air—it's also a showcase of technological progress and prestige. The colder the better for one’s status. Handling sudden temperature swings—up to 15 degrees Celsius between air-conditioned interiors and the hot, humid outdoors—was challenging for us Central Europeans, who aren't used to it.

You can clearly feel in Taiwan that locals are fully aware that technology moves them forward and opens doors to the world. They pursue technological excellence with surprising precision, especially given that in everyday life, details often don't matter much.

These differences create stark contrasts and paradoxes.

 

 

In big cities, everything runs perfectly — modern buildings, top infrastructure, and tech everywhere. Yet travel just a few kilometers outside, and you're suddenly transported into a different era. The countryside remains frozen in time.

Those high-tech toilets are spotless, yet kitchens rarely prioritize hygiene. And you won’t find trash bins on the streets anywhere.

Public transport has strict order, but roads are chaotic with scooters zipping past from all sides.

Air conditioning is ubiquitous, but no one worries about refrigerating fresh meat.

Dining etiquette is casual—you might eat on the floor, yet afterward clean your teeth meticulously with toothpicks that also have an interdental brush.

 

 

Quality Food at Low Prices

Even though hygiene standards in gastronomy are far below European norms, Taiwanese food is excellent. As the locals are hospitable, we tasted many traditional specialties, though we did secure ourselves with our good old "Anafrovica," just to be sure.

 

 

Among the culinary highlights were ice cream sprinkled with coriander wrapped in scallion pancake dough, rice burgers, or a breakfast specialty—hard-boiled eggs cooked in tea leaves. Tea is everywhere, even on soda fountains alongside Coca-Cola. Taiwan innovates even in this traditional area; for instance, the globally popular Bubble Tea originated here in the '80s. Restaurants readily serve your own wine if you bring it along. As Czechs, however, what surprised us most was the local beer's taste—it was remarkably similar to ours.

European-style food dominated events and hotels. American-style fast food is everywhere, and forks have largely replaced chopsticks, even among locals.

 

 

Taiwan’s Cultural Globalization

Western influences are evident in everyday Taiwanese life. Public life shows clearly that Taiwan is one of Asia's most liberal democracies. Compared to China, Taiwanese society increasingly charts its own course—open, independent, and unafraid to highlight its differences. Traditional values blend with Western individualism and noticeable Japanese influences.

Baseball is popular, cheerleaders are trendy among girls, and fashion blends Western, Japanese, and Korean styles—short skirts, knee-high socks, and loafers being commonplace. Many women wear contact lenses to visually enlarge their eyes, and cosmetic or minor plastic procedures are common.

Many young Taiwanese study in the U.S., and the government invests heavily in English education. Young people generally have no trouble with English, though in the service industry it's often a different story. Surprisingly, even many high-ranking company executives don't speak perfect English.

Events surrounding COMPUTEX were styled in European or American fashion, clearly signaling Taiwan’s position among global tech leaders.

 

The IT Future Through the Eyes of Tech Leaders

The main attraction of our trip was the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center and its surroundings. A great advantage of this trade fair is its simultaneous abundance of interesting side-events. Unusually, some companies invited us to hotel rooms—if exhibition halls ran out of space, beds were removed and hotel rooms transformed into exhibition booths. Everyone aimed to maximize this prestigious IT event, ourselves included.

We kicked off with the Supermicro Innovate! event, culminating in a joint keynote with NVIDIA. We were particularly intrigued by NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang's concept of data centers with the "AI Factory" manufacturing model, introduced during COMPUTEX’s keynote. He outlined plans for expanding an AI supercomputer in Taiwan in collaboration with TSMC, Foxconn, and local authorities.

 

 

Jensen Huang joined the stage with Charles Liang from Supermicro, who presented Data Center Building Block Solutions (DCBBS) — modular, water-cooled, high-density AI and HPC servers. According to Liang, liquid cooling will be crucial for maintaining performance in AI data centers and is becoming the logical choice for cooling high-end CPU/GPU systems, increasingly popular even among standard gaming and workstations.

 

Behind the Scenes With Those Who Shape the World of IT

The following day, we visited Supermicro’s booth, where we reconnected personally with Vik Malyala, Vice President of the European division. Our face-to-face meeting strengthened both friendship and business ties.

 

 

Another key supplier we couldn't miss was Giga Computing with their impressive booth. Their AI flagship, GIGAPOD, clearly showcased their future-oriented approach. Touring their production plant, we saw everything from PCB manufacturing to server assembly. The highlight was an enormous automated warehouse and a production line for RTX 5090 GPUs, rolling off as effortlessly as fresh buns. Equally impressive was the royal treatment and exceptional traditional cuisine.

 

 

Our friends at ASRock Rack also gave us a royal treatment, making us feel at home. Their booth demonstrated close partnerships with tech giants like AMD, Intel, Ampere, and NVIDIA. Outside COMPUTEX, we explored Taiwan’s beauty, visiting Yehliu Geopark with its unique rock formations and the picturesque town of Shifen, known for its historic railway station operating continuously since 1918 and sky lanterns launched every minute. Naturally, we sent up our own lantern, wishing success to our partnership with this vibrant brand.

 

 

On the fourth day, we joined our friends at ASUS, moving from their innovation-packed booth to their cutting-edge AI development center in Taipei. Later we traveled to Taichung’s National Center for High-performance Computing, home to the Taiwania 2 supercomputer built by ASUS, conveniently located near TSMC's factory producing NVIDIA graphics chips.

From day one, we felt we were literally at the helm steering the modern world. This final experience reinforced our impression.

 

 

Clear Direction, Strong Vision, and Customer Benefits

Our partners’ hospitality exceeded expectations, inspiring and delighting us. During meetings, we strengthened relationships, gained a deeper understanding of their mindset, and secured contacts with direct suppliers—allowing a wider product range, faster delivery, and better pricing. Additionally, meeting customers from Europe and elsewhere at COMPUTEX was a pleasant and practical bonus.

Summing up, our Taiwan trip fulfilled all our objectives, exceeded expectations, and reinforced that, together with our partners, we offer the absolute best the server market has today.

And we'll certainly head back next year.