The story of Taiwanese manufacturing once again proves: in the era of artificial intelligence, it's not just chip makers who win, but also those who provide the physical infrastructure for them. 85-year-old Lin Tsung-chi, founder of King Slide Works, a company specializing in furniture hinges and slides, has become the wealthiest person in Taiwan. Since the start of this year, his firm's market capitalization has soared by nearly 280%, propelling him to the top of the national billionaire rankings.
The secret to success lies in diversification. Beyond its conventional furniture hardware, King Slide produces high-precision rail mechanisms for server racks. These components are critical: they hold heavy computing equipment and allow engineers to slide it out for maintenance without disrupting the delicate cooling system. Based on my market analysis, the company controls about 80% of the global market for such slides used in high-performance servers.
Margins Nvidia Would Envy
King Slide's financial performance is staggering. In the latest quarter, the company's gross margin reached 87%, compared to around 50% just a few years ago. For context: Nvidia's margin currently stands at 75%, while TSMC's is 68%. King Slide's Executive Vice President, Jay C. Wang, attributes this profitability to two decades of engineering development. These aren't just metal rails—they are specialized mechanisms designed for specific architectures.
"When an AI server rack costs millions of dollars, customers care less about the price of the slides than their quality," noted Brady Wang, Associate Director at Counterpoint Research.
Forbes estimates the founder's fortune at approximately $20.3 billion. He has surpassed Terry Gou of Foxconn, whose wealth has also grown on the wave of AI infrastructure. This is a landmark moment: a classic component manufacturer overtakes electronics giants.
New Architectures, New Opportunities
Demand for King Slide's products will only grow. Cloud giants, including Google and Alibaba, are actively transitioning to their own AI accelerators. Each such chip differs in dimensions, heat dissipation, and connectors, requiring a unique rack design and, consequently, new slides. Data center density is also increasing: the declared capacity of gas power plants to power them in the U.S. has grown from 97 GW to over 189 GW in six months.
However, the monopoly is coming to an end. According to Daiwa Securities, King Slide's share of supplies for Nvidia systems could drop to 75% next year, as the chip maker expands its pool of suppliers. Major data center operators are already preparing to use competition to drive down prices.
My take: The King Slide story is a vivid example of how "invisible" infrastructure becomes a critical link in the AI value chain. But investors should remember: high margins attract competitors, and the current 87% is a peak, not a new baseline. The question is whether the company can maintain its technological leadership as the market begins to saturate.