As Taiwan's high-tech manufacturing and semiconductor sectors play an increasingly critical role in the global economy, companies are accelerating their overseas expansion to navigate rising geopolitical risks and supply chain realignments. These strategic moves aim to diversify operational risks, reduce manufacturing costs, get closer to end markets, and improve delivery speed and service efficiency, while meeting the global demand for supply chain security.
However, expanding abroad comes with significant challenges, such as talent shortages, skills gaps, cultural and language barriers, and local regulatory compliance. That's where the right partner makes all the difference. A global leader in IT services and consulting, HCLTech brings robust capabilities in engineering R&D, digital transformation, cloud services, and AI. The company distinguishes itself through flexibility, rapid deployment, and strong localization support, three competitive edges that make it the partner of choice for 50% of Fortune 500 companies and 40% of the Global 2000, spanning industries such as high-tech manufacturing, semiconductors, finance, and automotive.
“Setting up operations overseas requires more than just technical know-how, it involves understanding local tax policies, labor laws, and communicating effectively with governments, suppliers, and the workforce,” said Terry Tai, General Manager of HCLTech Taiwan. “Without proper support, language barriers or regulatory missteps can delay projects or inflate costs.”
With $13.8 billion in revenue in FY25, a presence in 60 countries, and a global team of over 220,000 professionals from 167 nationalities, HCLTech is equipped to help companies establish operations across the US, Europe, and Southeast Asia. Its local teams offer culturally fluent and technically proficient support to minimize risks and ensure smooth setup and operation.
A Trusted Partner for Semiconductor Leaders Worldwide
HCLTech’s proven expertise is reflected in numerous global success stories. For instance, when a leading Taiwanese technology manufacturer expanded into India, it faced local system integrators struggling with ERP implementation and post-launch maintenance. Turning to HCLTech, the company deployed a bilingual team to manage coordination and swiftly completed IT infrastructure setup, data migration, and system testing, launching the plant within a short timeframe. It’s a textbook example of how HCLTech supports clients 「from plant setup to go-live」.
Tai further highlighted HCLTech's deep partnerships within the global semiconductor industry. The company supports IC design houses and semiconductor equipment vendors with comprehensive services, from RTL, Functional Verification, Physical Design to design verification (DV). These services address talent shortages by providing both technical solutions and support in recruiting and training skilled professionals.
“Taiwan remains a global hub for semiconductor innovation,” Tai said. “However, when companies expand abroad, they often encounter challenges in finding local talent or addressing skill gaps, which can delay local operations. Beyond our engineering services, we help bridge that talent gap with tailored recruitment and workforce development solutions.”
Notably, HCLTech is a member of TSMC's Design Center Alliance (DCA) and Samsung’s SAFE(Samsung Advanced Foundry Ecosystem) ecosystem. This membership allows the company to provide IC design customers with advanced process enablement and technical services that accelerate time-to-market and enhance competitiveness.
AI-Powered Innovation to Shape the Future
As AI technologies evolve and adoption expands, enterprises are increasingly eager to integrate AI into their operations. HCLTech has long invested in this space, offering proprietary platforms such as “AI Foundry and AI Force ”, designed to streamline data preprocessing and optimize AI applications. These tools have helped Taiwanese companies in sectors like manufacturing, semiconductors, and automotive improve efficiency and reduce costs.
In IT service management, AI reduces the need for human agents by automating request classification and delivering instant online responses to user inquiries and issues. This significantly lowers labor costs and processing times, thereby helping maintain the stability and efficiency of enterprise systems.
“In the semiconductor domain, we've implemented AI in optimizing DV scripts and automating code conversion, speeding up verification and reducing reliance on senior engineers,” Tai explained.
In the automotive field, HCLTech supports clients in software-defined vehicles (SDVs) and advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS). The 2024 acquisition of Germany's ASAP Group, an engineering service provider specializing in autonomous driving and connected vehicles enhances HCLTech's capabilities. Additionally, HCLTech collaborates with major automakers on smart manufacturing and digital innovation.
With the accelerated pace of automotive system development and the growing importance of over-the-air (OTA) software updates powered by increasingly high-performance automotive chips, HCLTech offers technical support that complies with rigorous industry standards such as ISO 26262, ISO 21434, and ASPICE, making it a valuable partner for automotive electronics suppliers, including those in Taiwan.
HCLTech also collaborates with partners like SAP and ServiceNow to build the next generation of AI-enabled enterprise solutions. In December 2024, HCLTech announced the opening of an SAP AI Innovation Lab in Munich, Germany. This strategic partnership with SAP's headquarters focuses on helping clients accelerate their transformation to SAP S/4HANA Cloud through RISE with SAP and SAP Business AI.
HCLTech partners with ServiceNow to deliver GenAI-based solutions that enable personalized and seamless omnichannel user experiences. The collaboration ensures improved user engagement across all devices and at the right moments.
Looking ahead to 2025, the company will focus on three strategic priorities: deploying AI-driven solutions, strengthening vertical industry support, and deepening localization capabilities. To date, HCLTech has introduced AI platforms and modules tailored to key industries, semiconductors, finance, and high-tech manufacturing helping enterprises derive actionable insights from data, accelerate decision-making, and shorten innovation cycles.
Terry Tai, General Manager of HCLTech Taiwan. HCLTech
Article edited by Joseph Tsai
