MSI targets shipping ten million motherboards by 2025, despite a reportedly cautious AI strategy - a milestone that would mark the first for the company and match competitor Gigabyte's achievement.
MSI Steadily Expands and Evolves Amidst Changing Market Landscape
Taoyuan-based tech giant MSI is continuing its production of motherboards while simultaneously expanding its manufacturing footprint across Vietnam, Thailand, California, and Europe. This strategic move aims to support growing demand and broaden its growth horizons.
In the second half of 2025, MSI plans to gradually increase shipments, focusing on traditional strengths such as motherboards, graphics cards, and notebooks. Notebook shipments for MSI are forecast to reach around 2.55 million units this year, with a 5-6% year-on-year increase.
MSI's product lines have received positive feedback for their crowd-pleasing thermal designs and aesthetics. The company's higher-end models offer flagship quality at a lower price point, making them attractive to consumers.
The new facilities will help scale notebook, desktop, and server assembly for broader growth. MSI's Q2 revenue in 2023 topped NT$61 billion (roughly 2 billion USD), with the first-half total reaching a record NT$114.9 billion (about 3.8 billion USD), driven by demand ahead of tariffs.
However, MSI has not been immune to the economic headwinds and consumer hesitancy that plagued the tech industry in 2022. The company experienced a sharp decline in board shipments, with volumes dropping by over 40%.
In an effort to diversify its portfolio and remain competitive, MSI is cautiously building out AI server credibility. The company has developed a suite of enterprise-grade platforms, including Nvidia MGX servers and its own DGX Spark supercomputer deployments.
Unlike local competitors Asus and ASRock, MSI is taking a measured approach in the AI server race. The company's approach to AI rollouts is measured, focusing on calculated growth across its hardware business. MSI's motherboard volumes are on par with Gigabyte, but the company is not rushing to match the aggressive AI server expansion of its competitors.
In terms of market position, MSI is experiencing strong growth in core hardware sectors, with over 10 million motherboard shipments projected and market leadership in GPU shipments alongside ASUS.
Here's a comparison of MSI and its competitors in the AI server market:
| Aspect | MSI | ASUS / ASRock | |--------------------------------|---------------------------------|-----------------------------------| | AI Server Strategy | Cautious, gradual ramp-up | Aggressive scaling and early entry| | Platforms Focus | NVIDIA MGX, DGX modular servers | Broad AI server portfolio expansion| | Market Focus | Strong focus on motherboards, GPUs, notebooks | Strong AI server & enterprise AI push| | Shipment Volume (2025 forecast)| >10 million motherboards; growing AI server shipments | Increasing AI server production rapidly |
In summary, MSI is emerging as a solid competitor by leveraging NVIDIA’s MGX and DGX technologies with an enterprise-grade AI platform lineup but balancing growth with its existing hardware business. This contrasts with rivals aggressively expanding AI server capacity at a faster pace. MSI's strategy aims to support both tariff-sensitive consumer markets and longer-term enterprise ambitions without compromising either segment. The company is projected to ship more than 10 million motherboards in 2025, marking the first time the company reaches this milestone.
- As MSI plans to focus on increasing shipments and broaden its growth horizons to various regions, it is also expanding its portfolio to include artificial-intelligence servers, leveraging NVIDIA's MGX and DGX technologies for an enterprise-grade AI platform lineup.
- Apart from their strong focus on traditional gadgets such as motherboards, graphics cards, and notebooks, MSI is leveraging technology to diversify its portfolio, utilizing artificial-intelligence to reinforce its existing hardware business, while maintaining a cautious approach in the rapidly evolving AI server market.
