Companies in the GBA｜Exploring the heights of Foxconn industrial internet and the lighthouse factory

南方财经全媒体记者 杨雨莱 广州报道

During the 2024 Chinese New Year, OpenAI made a significant move, introducing SORA, which is capable of seamlessly generating 60-second videos. This not only sparked a storm on social media, but also propelled its server supplier, Foxconn Industrial Internet (FII), to reach the limit up on the first trading day of the Lunar New Year. 

The name FII might seem unfamiliar, but its parent company Foxconn surely rings a bell. As Foxconn’s holding subsidiary, FII debuted on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2018, as the first stock in industrial internet and secured a place among the top 500 listed companies in China by market cap.

SORA is just a recent example of FII’s success which has long been leading in cloud computing. In 2017, through partnership with Nvidia and Microsoft, it launched the world’s first AI server - HGX1 which powers ChatGPT. This product has now evolved to the fourth generation. With Foxconn’s heritage, FII excels in manufacturing. Thriving not only in cloud computing-related hardware, but also in precision components. Its 5G equipment and smartphones made up half of its revenue in 2022.

Now FII has entered the era of smart manufacturing. This evolution brings a crucial element: The industrial internet, which underpins high-end smart manufacturing. What exactly is the industrial internet? In essence, it’s about connecting people, data, and machines. FII has integrated it as one of its three major business pillars, establishing a comprehensive set of digital transformation solutions and actively spearheading the creation of “lighthouse factories.”

These “lighthouse factories” serve as global benchmarks for smart manufacturing. Currently, there are 153 such facilities worldwide, with 62 located in China. FII engagaed in the construction of 9 of them. Take the Shenzhen Guanlan Factory of FII as an example. This facility serves as a lighthouse factory specializing in precision metalworking. Thanks to its intelligent systems, the factory’s productivity has soared. Where once it took the time to produce a single product, now it can produce three, which is a testament to the factory’s smart manufacturing capabilities.

Over the five years since its IPO, FII has achieved remarkable financial success, with revenue surging from 415.4 billion yuan to 511.9 billion yuan, while net profit exceeding 20 billion yuan. However, despite a steady increase in revenue, FII's gross profit margins have been declining over the years.

But challenges only made it more determined to excel in the high-end sector. In addition to its focus on “high-end smart manufacturing + industrial internet.” It is also expanding its presence in the domains of big data and robotics. FII spares no expense in investing in innovation. In 2022 alone, its R&D investment exceeded 11.5 billion yuan, resulting in an impressive accumulation of over 6,000 patents and a team of over 30,000 dedicated R&D professionals.

Breaking through with technology, FII has completed a makeover from traditional to smart manufacturing. In the highly anticipated year of 2024, dominated by AI, we eagerly anticipate more enterprises to follow in the footsteps of FII, treating new technology as a “magic wand,” and delighting us with even more surprises through their magical innovations.

出品：南财国际传播中心 21新媒体中心 创意互动中心

策划统筹：于晓娜 丁青云

内容统筹：谭婷 叶映橙

责任编辑：吴桂兴

执行统筹：黄欣然 

设计统筹：林军明

视频统筹：白宇航

监制：施诗

英文翻译&配音：李莹亮

海外运营监制: 黄燕淑

海外运营内容统筹: 黄子豪

运营支持：曾静娇

审校：强燕 蒋韵 黄志明