In 2026, Taiwan once again proved its unshakable place at the core of the global tech landscape with two AI events that drew worldwide attention. The first was COMPUTEX 2026, the largest edition in the show's history. Under the theme "AI Together," it brought together 1,500 exhibitors from around the world and announced the arrival of a new era in which AI moves from the cloud into the physical world. The second was the "Healthy Taiwan" initiative led by Foxconn and NVIDIA, a US$1.5 billion program that uses AI agents and physical robots to transform Taiwan's healthcare system. Together, these two trends outline Taiwan's twin-engine strategy in the global AI wave.

COMPUTEX 2026: AI Moves From the Compute Race to Real-World Deployment

COMPUTEX 2026 took place at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center from June 2 to 5, 2026, and set new records:

  • 1,500 exhibitors from 33 countries and regions
  • More than 6,000 booths, an unprecedented scale
  • A brand-new "AI Robotics Zone" showcasing AI robots, smart services, autonomous mobility and human-robot collaboration
  • A record-breaking forum program, with 28 sessions and 29 world-class experts from leading companies such as NVIDIA, Microsoft, Google DeepMind and Qualcomm

This year's theme, "AI Together," marks a major turning point for the AI industry: competition has shifted from a pure contest of compute power to system integration and ecosystem collaboration. Jason Chen, chairman of the Taipei Computer Association, stressed that the key to AI competitiveness lies in complete system capabilities spanning computing, connectivity, storage, energy efficiency and applications.

James Huang, chairman of the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), said: "COMPUTEX 2026 marks a pivotal turning point as the AI industry moves from the compute race to real-world deployment, from manufacturing automation to elderly care and workforce transformation. Taiwan's resilient and complete ICT supply chain makes COMPUTEX not just a technology showcase but a core hub for global AI collaboration."

According to TrendForce, the global market for large language models (LLMs) for robots will exceed US$100 billion by 2028, with a compound annual growth rate of 48.2%, and Taiwan is at the forefront of this revolution.

"Healthy Taiwan": Foxconn × NVIDIA Reshape Healthcare With AI

On the eve of COMPUTEX, NVIDIA announced at its GTC Taipei summit that Foxconn and Taiwan's major medical centers have officially deployed teams of NVIDIA-powered AI agents to drive a full transformation of Taiwan's healthcare system.

Scale of the program:

  • The Taiwan government's "Healthy Taiwan" program has committed US$1.5 billion to building a sovereign, regulated, AI-native healthcare system
  • Taiwan's major medical centers already handle more than 14 million patient encounters a year through AI systems
  • Taiwan has obtained 85 FDA- or TFDA-cleared medical AI solutions

Breakthroughs in Foxconn's CoDoctor AI platform:

Foxconn's CoDoctor AI platform integrates multiple specialist AI agents to help clinicians with diagnostic reasoning, documentation and cross-department care coordination:

  • ECG AI agent: an AI electrocardiogram screening system that helps hospitals triage patients more efficiently
  • Corovia AI agent: automatically reconstructs 3D images of the heart and coronary arteries, cutting a clinical workflow that used to take two hours to just one minute
  • Endovia AI agent: an AI-assisted colonoscopy solution that supports real-time lesion detection

Physical AI robots arrive in hospitals:

Foxconn's Nurabot nursing collaboration robot has completed on-site validation at Taichung Veterans General Hospital and is gradually expanding to Taipei Veterans General Hospital and other hospitals. Nurabot saves frontline nurses 2 to 3 hours of indirect care work every day, letting them spend more time caring for patients.

In addition, Foxconn's Scrub Bot operating room collaboration robot is already working in real operating rooms. It responds to surgeons' voice commands and adapts in real time to fast-changing surgical needs.

Using hospital digital twins built on NVIDIA Omniverse, Foxconn has cut robot deployment time by 40% and achieved 98% navigation accuracy.

An Upgraded "Silicon Shield" for Taiwan's AI

Taiwan's AI strategy has evolved from the traditional semiconductor manufacturing "silicon shield" into an all-round "AI silicon shield" covering AI infrastructure, healthcare, robotics and the global supply chain. Taiwan's 2026 GDP growth forecast has been raised to 9.64%, with AI demand as the main driver.

Shih Chung-liang, Minister of Health and Welfare, said: "Taiwan's investment in AI medical technology is genuinely improving the way we deliver care to our citizens. Healthy Taiwan has already brought real change to hospitals across the country, improving health outcomes for millions of patients."

Conclusion: Taiwan, Indispensable in the Global AI Era

From the global stage of COMPUTEX to the local practice of "Healthy Taiwan," Taiwan is advancing on two tracks at once to secure an irreplaceable strategic position in the global AI race. For businesses, investors and policymakers, Taiwan is not only a manufacturing hub for AI hardware but is also becoming a global proving ground for real-world AI applications.

In 2026, Taiwan is not just taking part in the AI revolution. It is defining where the AI revolution goes.