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AMD announced plans in August 2024 to establish two R&D sites in southern Taiwan: one in Tainan and one in Kaohsiung. Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said the company would work with Taiwanese universities and businesses to expand research capacity. Official investment-promotion material later reported that both offices began operating in 2025, although AMD’s 2024 announcements did not specify staffing, budgets, or exact addresses.
Where are AMD’s two Taiwan R&D centers?
The announced locations are Tainan City and Kaohsiung City. On August 21, 2024, Taiwan’s MOEA said AMD had indicated it would establish R&D sites in both cities and cooperate with Taiwanese universities and industry. MOEA’s announcement attributes the plan to AMD during a meeting with Senior Vice President Keith Wang.
The next day, Tainan’s Economic Development Bureau separately confirmed the Tainan site and the plan to work with local universities and companies. Its announcement supports Tainan’s inclusion, but it does not provide a facility address or an opening date.
What is known about each location?
| City | Publicly confirmed information | Research focus and scale |
|---|---|---|
| Tainan | Named by MOEA in 2024; separately confirmed by Tainan’s Economic Development Bureau. | Invest Taiwan’s 2025 presentation says the office began operating that year and identifies AI hardware and software and silicon photonics as focus areas. Headcount, budget, and exact address are not stated in the cited announcements. |
| Kaohsiung | Named by MOEA in 2024. | Invest Taiwan’s 2025 presentation says the office began operating that year and identifies AI hardware and software and silicon photonics as focus areas. Headcount, budget, and exact address are not stated in the cited announcements. |
The 2024 announcements do not break out separate roles or specializations for the two sites. They support a partnership-based expansion, not a comparison of which center is larger or more important.
#1 Best Overall
- The world’s fastest gaming processor, built on AMD ‘Zen5’ technology and Next Gen 3D V-Cache.
- 8 cores and 16 threads, delivering +~16% IPC uplift and great power efficiency
- 96MB L3 cache with better thermal performance vs. previous gen and allowing higher clock speeds, up to 5.2GHz
- Drop-in ready for proven Socket AM5 infrastructure
- Cooler not included
What will AMD research in Taiwan?
The 2024 MOEA and Tainan releases describe expanded research capacity through cooperation with universities and companies, but do not give project-level descriptions. A later official Invest Taiwan presentation says the Tainan and Kaohsiung R&D offices began operations in 2025, with work focused on AI hardware and software and silicon photonics. That presentation provides useful official context; it is not a detailed AMD facility announcement.
Did AMD already open the offices?
According to Invest Taiwan’s 2025 presentation, the offices in both cities began operating in 2025. The 2024 MOEA and Tainan announcements themselves described plans, rather than confirming completion. The cited public materials do not give a precise opening date, staffing level, or facility address for either location.
Rank #2
- AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D Gaming and Content Creation Processor
- Max. Boost Clock : Up to 5.7 GHz; Base Clock: 4.3 GHz
- Form Factor: Desktops , Boxed Processor
- Architecture: Zen 5; Former Codename: Granite Ridge AM5
How does the plan relate to AMD’s later Taiwan investment?
On May 21, 2026, AMD announced more than $10 billion in investments across Taiwan’s ecosystem to expand strategic partnerships and advanced-packaging manufacturing for AI infrastructure. AMD describes this as a broader ecosystem effort in its announcement. It is separate from the two-site R&D plan announced in 2024 and does not, by itself, establish the cost or scale of those offices.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- Pure gaming performance with smooth 100+ FPS in the world's most popular games
- 6 Cores and 12 processing threads, based on AMD "Zen 5" architecture
- 5.4 GHz Max Boost, unlocked for overclocking, 38 MB cache, DDR5-5600 support
- For the state-of-the-art Socket AM5 platform, can support PCIe 5.0 on select motherboards
- Cooler not included
Rank #4
- Processor provides dependable and fast execution of tasks with maximum efficiency.Graphics Frequency : 2200 MHZ.Number of CPU Cores : 8. Maximum Operating Temperature (Tjmax) : 89°C.
- Ryzen 7 product line processor for better usability and increased efficiency
- 5 nm process technology for reliable performance with maximum productivity
- Octa-core (8 Core) processor core allows multitasking with great reliability and fast processing speed
- 8 MB L2 plus 96 MB L3 cache memory provides excellent hit rate in short access time enabling improved system performance
Rank #3
- Can deliver fast 100 plus FPS performance in the world's most popular games, discrete graphics card required
- 6 Cores and 12 processing threads, bundled with the AMD Wraith Stealth cooler
- 4.2 GHz Max Boost, unlocked for overclocking, 19 MB cache, DDR4-3200 support
- For the advanced Socket AM4 platform
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