Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. will operate a U.S. factory owned by SoftBank Group Corp., setting up what's in the running to be the first manufacturing site in the Japanese company's 500 billion Stargate venture with OpenAI and Oracle Corp. SoftBank is acquiring Hon Hai's electric-vehicle plant in Ohio but the Taiwanese company will continue to run the complex after turning it into an AI server production plant, Hon Hai Chairman Young Liu said, confirming a report. SoftBank will supply manufacturing gear to the factory, and a joint venture between the two companies will make AI data center-related equipment, Liu said. SoftBank is scouting a number of potential data center sites to serve as a flagship for Stargate, weighing their access to water, power and telecom networks. Hon Hai's participation represents a boon for SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son's ambition to be at the center of surging investment in artificial intelligence hardware. Hon Hai -- known also as Foxconn -- assembles Apple iPhones and Nvidia servers.

Sharp Corp. announced Tuesday it will acquire Toshiba Corp.'s once-signature personal computer business in a bid to make a comeback in the PC market. Sharp, controlled by Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., will pay ¥4 billion for an 80.1 percent stake in Toshiba Client Solutions Co., a PC-related subsidiary of Toshiba that once held the biggest share of the global laptop market but has since lost out to overseas rivals. The stock transfer is planned for Oct. 1. Sharp also announced it will issue new shares worth up to ¥200 billion to buy back preferred shares from banks, seeking to quickly improve its financial status. Sharp aims to turn Toshiba's money-losing business into a new profit-driver by exploiting its liquid crystal display production and the manufacturing know-how of parent Hon Hai.

OSAKA – Sharp Corp. is considering a joint bid with parent company, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., to invest in embattled Toshiba Corp.'s memory chip business, a Sharp executive said Wednesday. By teaming up with the Japanese electronics firm, Hon Hai, the Taiwan-based main assembler for Apple Inc., may be attempting to avoid a possible scenario in which the Japanese government blocks the deal out of fear that a sale of Toshiba Memory Corp. to a foreign company could undermine national security. While the chip industry is vulnerable to swings in demand, the business can still be an important asset in the age of the internet of things, the Sharp executive told reporters Wednesday. "We still think it's a good investment. We're not going to make profits by keeping our cash at banks," the executive said.

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. reported an unexpected rise in quarterly earnings after the main assembler of Apple Inc.'s devices rode record iPhone sales during the pivotal holiday shopping period. The world's biggest contract manufacturer of electronics reported a 30 percent increase in net income to 68.8 billion Taiwan dollars ($2.3 billion) in the three months ended December, according to Bloomberg calculations derived from previously released data. Hon Hai, better known as Foxconn Technology Group, derives about half its sales from Apple, data compiled by Bloomberg shows. The world's most valuable company shipped an unprecedented 78.3 million iPhones during the October-December quarter, despite its latest device representing a modest update on its predecessor. Optimism around Apple's iPhone for 2017 -- the 10th anniversary of the iconic device -- has driven the Taiwanese company's stock close to a decade high.

BEIJING – Growing optimism about the next iPhone has propelled Apple Inc. to record highs. Halfway around the globe, a lesser-known Taiwanese company is riding that same wave of euphoria. Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., the main assembler of the U.S. company's smartphones, has gained 29 percent in the past year, with its shares touching a decade-high on optimism about Apple's 10th anniversary iPhone. That's helped the biggest company in Foxconn Technology Group defy a flat-lining mobile market on expectations Apple will use the anniversary to introduce its most advanced and popular device yet. The billionaire founder's installed robots throughout a juggernaut that spans China to Southeast Asia to shore up its manufacturing prowess, while investing in emergent fields from virtual reality to artificial intelligence.

The Japan Times newsroom selected these tech and digital stories as the most important of 2016. All systems go: For a few weeks in the summer, it seemed to be all that anyone was talking about was "Pokemon Go," an augmented-reality game you play on your phone. The game was the result of a collaboration between Nintendo and Niantic. With China's Alibaba offering the world's first virtual reality shopping experience, it seems the race for dominance has just begun. Insiders believe driverless cars will become a hot topic in 2017 as Japan hopes to showcase self-driving vehicles at the 2020 Olympics.