(Yicai) Dec. 19 -- Aginode, formerly Nexans Telecom Systems, has opened its new Asia-Pacific Manufacturing and R&D Center in Shanghai, with the aim of capitalizing on the growing demand for advanced data infrastructure amid the global revolution in artificial intelligence.

Located in the city’s Nanxiang Town, Jiading District, the 7,800-square-meter facility has advanced clean rooms, automated production workshops, R&D and testing facilities, and a customer experience center, and was completed in 147 days.

It marks a key milestone for Aginode as the French maker of cables and connectivity for the telecom and data industries celebrates its 30th anniversary in China and APAC market. The new center is expected to have an annual production value of CNY450 million (USD61.9 million), according to Jiang Zhenhai, general manager of the firm's APAC operations.

“We focus primarily on telecom and data, both technically and strategically,” Jiang said in an interview with Yicai. “A major part of our focus is on data centers, particularly those built with smart technologies, including AI computing. This is at the heart of our business.” 

Aginode anticipates significant opportunities from the AI revolution. “There are three main components in this ecosystem,” Jiang said. “At the bottom is the data model, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT,” he said. “The second part is the database layer, with major players like Microsoft, Alibaba, and Tencent.

“The final part is end customers. We have a very strong position in this segment.” said Jiang, mentioning clients such as Samsung, Xiaomi and the world’s leading provider of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices.

The Paris-based company is already tackling next-generation challenges. “AI is revolutionizing data center design,” Jiang noted. “Take cooling systems. Space for cables is increasingly constrained, forcing us to innovate new solutions.”

Innovation Hub 

The facility's strategic significance extends beyond China's borders, according to Frank Coenen, a partner at Syntagma Capital, which acquired Aginode last November. “This isn't just about serving the domestic market,” he told Yicai. “It’s a key export hub supporting our expansion across Asia, the Middle East, and beyond.”

The center's R&D and testing section, supported by more than 20 technicians and annual investment of CNY 20 million (USD 2.7 million), has filed 14 patents in communications and data transmission in the past year.

Coenen, who has seen China develop over the past two decades, highlighted a major shift in the country's role. “China has transformed from being merely a low-cost manufacturing base to becoming a global innovator,” he said. “Just look at electric vehicles. China is now leading globally.”

“China has become an innovator in many fields,” he said. “What we will see is that China manufactures, produces, exports and innovates, taking Chinese companies to advance out of China into Europe and the US with their own technology.”

“Looking at the current global data landscape, the US is leading, but China is quickly catching up,” according to Jiang. “We are based in China, and from here, we’re learning from the local market, competition, and customer needs.”

“This knowledge is being transferred to our teams in Europe, allowing us to better organize our efforts for the global market, especially in growing regions such as the Middle East and South Africa,” he said.

‘Extremely Selective’

For Syntagma, which picks only two or three investment opportunities from about 250 a year, Aginode's global footprint was a key attraction. “We're extremely selective,” Coenen pointed out, as the private equity firm needs to see valuable global potential, strong tech foundations, and clear growth trajectories. Aginode checked all of these boxes, he added.

As a Europe-based investor, Syntagma believes that although the region is its core market, the more international a company is -- whether it is in the United States, Asia, or China -- the more Syntagma is interested, Coenen said.

Beyond the industrial sphere, Coenen expressed optimism about China’s progress in various fields. He noted that sustainability and connectivity will continue to take root in the electrical sector.

Editor: Tom Litting