Accton Technology Corporation ( zh, t=智邦科技, p=Zhìbāng Kējì) is a Taiwanese company in the electronics industry that primarily engages in the development and manufacture of networking and communication solutions, as an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) or original design manufacturer (ODM) partner. Accton has manufacturing plants in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

(

Hsinchu Hsinchu (, ), officially Hsinchu City, is a city located in northwestern Taiwan. It is the most populous city in Taiwan that is not a special municipality, with estimated 450,655 inhabitants. Hsinchu is a coastal city bordering the Taiwan ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

(

Shenzhen Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A Special economic zones of China, special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong ...

), and

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

( Vĩnh Phúc), supported by research and development centers in Taiwan,

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

, and

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Its product include 100G, 400G, and 800G switches designed for data center applications, along with wireless devices and

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...

acceleration hardware. The company partners with

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

, HPE, and telecommunications operators.

History

Accton was founded on February 9, 1988. Accton filled its IPO in November 1995.

Acquisitions

1997 – SMC Networks
1999 – Emitcom
2000 – Minority stake in U.S. Robotics modem division from

3Com 3Com Corporation was an American digital electronics manufacturer best known for its computer network products. The company was co-founded in 1979 by Robert Metcalfe, Howard Charney and others. Bill Krause joined as President in 1981. Metcalfe ex ...

(with NatSteel from

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

)
2010 – Mototech
2021 – Stake in Xsight Labs

Joint ventures

2002 – Accton and SVA Group China – formed SVA Accton
2003 – Accton and Philips – formed Arcadyan Technology
2011 – Accton and Alvarion – formed AWB

Exits

2004 – ADMTek Inc to

Infineon Infineon Semiconductor solutions is the largest microcontroller manufacturer in the world, as well as Germany's largest semiconductor manufacturer. It is also the leading automotive semiconductor manufacturer globally. Infineon had roughly 58,0 ...

for €80 million
2006 – 69% of Arcadyan Technology to Compal for US$30 million

Products

800G Switches

Accton's 51.2 Tbit/s platforms leverage

Broadcom Broadcom Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational designer, developer, manufacturer, and global supplier of a wide range of semiconductor and infrastructure software products. Broadcom's product offerings serve the data cen ...

's Tomahawk 5 silicon and

Intel Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and Delaware General Corporation Law, incorporated in Delaware. Intel designs, manufactures, and sells computer compo ...

's Ice Lake CPUs, targeting modern

data center A data center is a building, a dedicated space within a building, or a group of buildings used to house computer systems and associated components, such as telecommunications and storage systems. Since IT operations are crucial for busines ...

s and AI/ML workloads. AS9817-64D ( QSFP-DD) and AS9817-64O (OSFP800): Both are 2RU switches featuring 64 x 800 GbE ports, with flexible configurations for super-spine role within spine/leaf

network topologies Network topology is the arrangement of the elements ( links, nodes, etc.) of a communication network. Network topology can be used to define or describe the arrangement of various types of telecommunication networks, including command and cont ...

. DCS8500-128D: A 4RU switch with 128 x 400G QSFP112 ports, this high-density platform is designed to improve bandwidth management and simplify spine/leaf topologies. AS9936-128D: A 6RU Network Cloud Fabric switch featuring 128 x OSFP800 fabric interfaces. It is a key component for a VoQ-based fabric Distributed Disaggregated Chassis Network Cloud Cluster, designed for AI back-end networking. The AS9936-128D is specifically designed to support expansive AI/ML clusters, capable of scaling up to 32K-GPU 800G/400G cluster with a two-stage DDC network architecture. This is achieved in combination with the ASA929-18XKE, a 14.4 Tbit/s

full-duplex A duplex communication system is a point-to-point system composed of two or more connected parties or devices that can communicate with one another in both directions. Duplex systems are employed in many communications networks, either to allow ...

2RU Network Cloud Packet Forwarder that features 18 x OSFP800 network interfaces and 20 x OSFP800 fabric interfaces.

Services

In 2022, Accton partnered with

TSMC Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC or Taiwan Semiconductor) is a Taiwanese multinational semiconductor contract manufacturing and design company. It is one of the world's most valuable semiconductor companies, the world' ...

, Delta Electronics,

Gigabyte Technology GIGA-BYTE Technology Co., Ltd. (commonly referred to as Gigabyte Technology or simply Gigabyte) is a Taiwanese manufacturer and distributor of computer hardware. Gigabyte's principal business is motherboards, It shipped 4.8 million motherboards i ...

, MIRLE, and 3M to develop newer data center immersion cooling offerings that reduce energy consumption. That year Accton began shipping 400G switches at scale. The transition from 100G to 400G switches was driven by the increasing demands of 5G,

Wi-Fi 6 Wi-Fi 6, or IEEE 802.11ax, is an IEEE standard from the Wi-Fi Alliance, for wireless networks (WLANs). It operates in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands, with an extended version, Wi-Fi 6E, that adds the 6 GHz band. It is an upgrade from Wi-Fi 5 ( ...

, IoT, AI, and digital transformations in consumer electronics and enterprise sectors. This escalation in demand is particularly notable among major tech companies like

Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

, and Facebook. Also in 2022, Accton developed

Vodafone Vodafone Group Public Limited Company () is a British Multinational company, multinational telecommunications company. Its registered office and global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It predominantly operates Service (economic ...

's disaggregated cell site gateway (DCSG) routers for their 5G network. These routers are critical to Vodafone's strategy to automate networks and diversify vendors, supporting the company's expansion of its 5G infrastructure as part of its open RAN initiatives. Since 2021, Accton has been involved in developing and producing multiple generations of Intel's Habana Labs GOYA AI Inference Card, GAUDI AI Training Card, and GAUDI HLS-1 AI Training System. These products are designed to enhance AI computation speeds and efficiency in cloud environments. Since 2020, Accton (through its Edgecore Networks subsidiary) has been shipping Terragraph-enabled hardware units to service providers and system integrators worldwide. Terragraph is a gigabit wireless technology developed by Meta (formerly Facebook), designed to deliver high-speed internet connectivity over the air, close to fiber-optic speeds, using the 60 GHz spectrum band. In 2019, Accton designed and manufactured switches for Amazon,

AT&T AT&T Inc., an abbreviation for its predecessor's former name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the w ...

and NTT Com and Annapurna Labs. In 2016, through the Open Compute Project (OCP), Accton had the opportunity to develop Meta's Wedge 100 that equip their hyperscale 100G data centers. Accton has played a crucial role in designing and manufacturing the Minipack switches that are integral to Meta's F16 data center network topology. These modular switches, tailored for 100G and 400G applications, are deployed in various capacities, including as fabric, spine, and aggregator, to efficiently manage data traffic across Meta's extensive network infrastructure. Earlier initiatives include Accton's partnership in 2015 with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) in the OpenSwitch initiative, alongside Broadcom, Intel, and VMware. In 2014, Accton manufactured Linux-based switches for

Cumulus Cumulus clouds are clouds that have flat bases and are often described as puffy, cotton-like, or fluffy in appearance. Their name derives from the Latin , meaning "heap" or "pile". Cumulus clouds are low-level clouds, generally less than in a ...

and provided hardware solutions for Big Switch Networks. In 2002, the company was chosen as Microsoft's OEM partner to supply their Microsoft Broadband Networking product line. Since 1999, as an EMS provider, Accton has manufactured networking products for major OEMs such as

Cisco Cisco Systems, Inc. (using the trademark Cisco) is an American multinational digital communications technology conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develops, manufactures, and sells networking hardware, s ...

, Intel,

Juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' ( ) of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere as far south ...

, and Fujitsu.

Finance

During the year 2009, Accton obtained approximately 69% and 14% of its total revenue from switches and WLAN products, respectively. During the year 2017, Accton obtained approximately 68% and 12% out of its total revenue from network switches and network appliances. Network access came third with 9%, followed by 5% in

Wireless Wireless communication (or just wireless, when the context allows) is the transfer of information (''telecommunication'') between two or more points without the use of an electrical conductor, optical fiber or other continuous guided transm ...

networking and 1% of the revenue coming from Broadband networking gear. Total sales for 2018 increased 18.23 percent annually to NT$43.09 billion (over US$1.3 billion) with

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

Amazon (company) Amazon.com, Inc., doing business as Amazon, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company engaged in e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. Founded in 1994 ...

, and

HP Inc HP Inc. is an American Multinational corporation, multinational information technology, information technology company with its headquarters in Palo Alto, California, that develops personal computers (PCs), printer (computing), printers and re ...

weighing in.

Corporate Affairs

Management

Accton's key management personnel consists of: * Kuo-Hsiu Huang (

Chairperson The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a Board of directors, board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by ...

) * Jun Shi (

Chief Executive Officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

and President) * Fanny Chen (

Chief Financial Officer A chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization who is assigned the primary responsibility for making decisions for the company for projects and its finances; i.a.: financial planning, management of financial risks, ...

) * Michael K.T. Lee (Senior Vice President of R&D) * Melody Chiang (Senior Vice President of Business Management) * Jackal Lee (Senior Vice President of Product Supply & Demand) * Enco Liew (Vice President) * Ben Cheng (Vice President) * Joseph Hsieh (Vice President)

Board of directors

Accton's board consists of the following directors: * Kuo-Hsiu Huang (chairperson at Accton, former Director at Accton) * Chiu-Hsia Wei (Vice Chairperson at Accton) * Heng-Yi Du (Director at Accton, chairman at Wan Yuan Textiles, Chung Tai Transportation, and Ting Sing Co, Director of Ve Wong Corporation, SECOM, South China Insurance, and The Ambassador Hotel) * Shu-Chieh Huang (Independent Director at Accton, former CEO of

Deloitte Deloitte is a multinational professional services network based in London, United Kingdom. It is the largest professional services network in the world by revenue and number of employees, and is one of the Big Four accounting firms, along wi ...

Taiwan) * Fa-Yauh Lee (Independent Director at Accton, Independent Director at Aethertek) * Eizo Kobayashi (Independent Director at Accton, chairman at

Itochu is a Japanese corporation based in Umeda, Kita-ku, Osaka and Aoyama, Minato, Tokyo, Aoyama, Minato, Tokyo. It is one of the largest Japanese ''sogo shosha'' (general trading and investment companies) distinguished by the strength of its textil ...

, Independent Director at Omron and

Japan Airlines Japan Airlines (JAL) is the flag carrier airline of Japan. JAL is headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its main hubs are Tokyo's Narita International Airport, Narita and Haneda Airport, Haneda airports, as well as secondary hubs in Osaka's Kansai ...

and

Japan Exchange Group , abbreviated as JPX or Nippon Torihikijo, is a Japanese financial services company headquartered in Tokyo and Osaka. It is a "financial instruments exchange holding company" subject to the regulations of the Financial Instruments and Exchange A ...

) * Ankur Singla (Independent Director at Accton, former CEO of

Volterra Volterra (; Latin: ''Volaterrae'') is a walled mountaintop town in the Tuscany region of Italy. Its history dates from before the 8th century BC and it has substantial structures from the Etruscan, Roman, and Medieval periods. History ...

, SVP at F5 Networks, SVP/GM

Juniper Networks Juniper Networks, Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. The company develops and markets networking products, including Router (computing), routers, Network switch, switches, network management so ...

, CTO at HPE Aruba)

Recognition

2018 – Outstanding Work Environment in Gender Equality from the

Hsinchu Science Park The Hsinchu Science Park (HSP; ) is an industrial park complex that originated as one campus straddled Hsinchu City, Hsinchu County, Chunan and Tongluo, later expanded to cover six campuses across Taiwan. It was established by the government of ...

Bureau
2018 – National Quality Award from the Ministry of Economic Affairs (Presented by President

Tsai Ing-Wen Tsai Ing-wen (; pinyin: ''Cài Yīngwén''; born 31 August 1956) is a Taiwanese politician and legal scholar who served as the seventh president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) from 2016 to 2024. A member of the Democratic Progressive Party ...

) ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' follows some stories about this company.

CSIRO patent issues

The Australian

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government agency that is responsible for scientific research and its commercial and industrial applications. CSIRO works with leading organisations arou ...

(CSIRO) holds the patent to a component of the IEEE 802.11n standard. This component is also part of other protocols marketed under the

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for Wireless LAN, local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by ...

trademark. The IEEE requested from the CSIRO a Letter of Assurance that no lawsuits would be filed for anyone implementing the standard. In September 2007, CSIRO responded that they would not be able to comply with this request since

litigation A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. ...

was involved. In April 2009, it was revealed that CSIRO reached a settlement with 14 companies including Accton plus other major technology companies —

Hewlett-Packard The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company. It was founded by Bill Hewlett and David Packard in 1939 in a one-car garage in Palo Alto, California ...

Asus ASUSTeK Computer Inc. (, , , ; stylized as ASUSTeK or ASUS) is a Taiwanese Multinational corporation, multinational computer, phone hardware and electronics manufacturer headquartered in Beitou District, Taipei, Taiwan. Its products include deskto ...

Dell Dell Inc. is an American technology company that develops, sells, repairs, and supports personal computers (PCs), Server (computing), servers, data storage devices, network switches, software, computer peripherals including printers and webcam ...

Toshiba is a Japanese multinational electronics company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. Its diversified products and services include power, industrial and social infrastructure systems, elevators and escalators, electronic components, semiconductors ...

Netgear Netgear, Inc. (stylized as NETGEAR in all caps), is an American computer networking company based in San Jose, California, with offices in about 22 other countries. It produces networking hardware for consumers, businesses, and service provide ...

D-Link D-Link Systems, Inc. (formerly Datex Systems, Inc.) is a Taiwanese multinational manufacturer of networking hardware and telecoms equipments. It was founded in 1986 and headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan. History Datex Systems was founded i ...

Belkin Belkin International, Inc., is an American consumer electronics company headquartered in El Segundo, California. It produces mobile and computer connectivity devices and peripherals for consumer and commercial use. These include wireless charger ...

, SMC Networks,

, Buffalo Technology,

, and

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...

— on the condition that CSIRO did not broadcast the resolution.MacBean, Nic
Patent proceeds to fund new CSIRO research
''ABC News'', April 22, 2009. Accessed September 1, 2009.

References

{{Electronics industry in Taiwan Computer companies of Taiwan Computer hardware companies Taiwanese companies established in 1988 Manufacturing companies based in Hsinchu Electronics companies established in 1988 Electronics companies of Taiwan 1995 initial public offerings Companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange

History

Acquisitions

Joint ventures

Exits

Products

800G Switches

Services

Finance

Corporate Affairs

Management

Board of directors

Recognition

CSIRO patent issues

See also

References