Kingslide Industrial Co. (2059), a Taiwanese manufacturer of AI server rails, has climbed to become the island’s second-most expensive listed stock, behind only Aspeed. The company’s sharp stock gain has also lifted founder Lin Tsung-chi’s fortune.
According to Forbes’ real-time billionaires list updated on Aug. 10, Lin’s net worth rose to $16.7 billion, ranking him No. 173 in the world. That moved him ahead of Yageo Chairman Chen Tai-ming, whose fortune stood at $16.5 billion and ranked No. 178 globally. Foxconn founder Terry Gou was listed at $15.8 billion, ranking No. 189, while Quanta Chairman Barry Lam was listed at $14.5 billion and ranked No. 212.
The report said the real-time list changes with daily stock-price moves, so it should not be treated as the same thing as Forbes’ annual ranking of Taiwan’s richest people. At the latest update, though, Lin had moved ahead of Chen.
AI data center demand is the common thread
ABMedia said the surge in both men’s fortunes comes from the same broad theme: the AI data center arms race. The difference is in what they sell. Kingslide supplies server rails, while Yageo sells MLCCs, tantalum capacitors and other electronic components.
Yageo has also been one of this year’s stronger AI-related beneficiaries. Demand from AI servers has increased the need for high-end MLCCs, tantalum capacitors and magnetic components, bringing renewed attention to passive components that had long been seen as part of a mature industry. Even so, Kingslide, another Taiwan-based parts maker tied to AI infrastructure, has now overtaken Yageo not only in market momentum but also in the paper wealth tied to its founder.
From furniture drawer slides to server rails
Lin founded Kingslide in Kaohsiung in 1986. The company initially focused on drawer slides and hardware components used in furniture. Around 2000, it moved into rail systems for IT equipment and gradually expanded into server rails and Cable Management Arm, or CMA, products.
Forbes said Kingslide won Compaq as a customer in 2001, then entered the supply chains of large technology companies including IBM and Dell. It eventually became one of the world’s major server-rail suppliers.
Server rails may look like minor components, but they are essential mechanical parts used to secure, pull out and maintain servers inside racks. As Nvidia GPU servers and AI data centers are built out at scale, rack power use, weight and complexity are all increasing. That has also increased demand for related mechanical components. The report described Kingslide as a “shovel seller” in the current wave of AI data center construction.