Edge AI Boom Drives Growth for GIGAIPC and ASRock Industrial

AI technology is rapidly shifting from cloud training to edge inference, triggering a surge in edge computing demand and ushering in a new growth cycle for the industrial PC industry. GIGAIPC (7939-TW) and ASRock Industrial (7710-TW), subsidiaries of Taiwanese motherboard manufacturers, have recently advanced their capital market processes. GIGAIPC was officially listed on the Emerging Stock Market in late July, while ASRock Industrial held a pre-IPO performance presentation in late September. Both companies leverage the resources of their parent groups to accelerate their positions in high-growth vertical markets such as smart manufacturing, retail, entertainment, and robotics.

According to research firm data, the global edge AI market is projected to achieve a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 33.5% from 2025 to 2032, driving rapid deployment of applications in smart factories, utilities, autonomous mobile robots, and hospitality. Driven by this trend, the industrial PC market has seen a strong recovery since this year, with significantly improved long-term order visibility, further expanding shipment opportunities for high-performance industrial computing equipment and edge AI platforms.

Benefiting from the global edge AI wave that is raising end-platform specifications, both GIGAIPC and ASRock Industrial delivered outstanding operational results in the first half of 2024. GIGAIPC reported consolidated revenue of NT$1.12 billion (up 26% YoY), net profit after tax of NT$105 million (up 52% YoY), and earnings per share (EPS) of NT$5.35, demonstrating strong profitability.

ASRock Industrial's first-half revenue surged to NT$1.76 billion (up 95% YoY) thanks to new project ramp-ups, with net profit after tax reaching NT$267 million (up 199% YoY), translating to EPS of NT$4.3. Its first-half profit already significantly exceeded its full-year 2023 level.

GIGAIPC, a subsidiary of the GIGABYTE Group, noted that edge AI is being adopted most rapidly in smart manufacturing, with applications such as AOI visual inspection, predictive maintenance, autonomous guided vehicles, and industrial robots already yielding results. To meet end-user requirements for high computing power, fanless design, vibration resistance, and wide temperature ranges in harsh environments, GIGAIPC's product lines fully support major chipmaker platforms. It has successfully entered the supply chain of the world's top 10 fast-service restaurant brands, and some smart manufacturing and medical projects have already entered mass production.

ASRock Industrial, invested by ASRock, focuses on industrial motherboards, embedded systems, and rugged edge AIoT platforms, actively deploying in five areas: commercial retail, smart factories, robotic vehicles, entertainment gaming, and industrial cybersecurity. This year, ASRock Industrial successfully entered the supply chain of a North American cloud gaming platform and began large-volume shipments. It also launched an edge generative AI workstation equipped with high-performance processors, significantly increasing the share of its entertainment and robotics product lines.

Both companies benefit from strong support from their parent groups in global supply chains, cross-border procurement, and sales channels. GIGAIPC can directly leverage the server and AI computing resources of its sister company GIGA Computing within the same group, while ASRock Industrial benefits from the parent group's complete ecosystem network and diversifies geopolitical risks through overseas multi-site production, steadily expanding its market share in the global wave of industrial intelligence.