Artificial Intelligence · Profile from AI Research Companion
Supermicro (Super Micro Computer, Inc.)
The San Jose server maker, founded in 1993 by Charles Liang, that builds computers from interchangeable "building blocks" and, by being first to ship each new Nvidia GPU generation in volume, became the best-known listed pure play on AI servers. Its revenue rose from ~$7.1bn in fiscal 2023 to ~$15bn in fiscal 2024, ~$22.0bn in fiscal 2025 and $39.1bn in fiscal 2026 (year to June 2026, company), and it guided to $65–72bn for fiscal 2027 (August 2026, company). It has done this at gross margins of roughly 10–17%, the thin end of the AI hardware stack (section 01), and with a governance record that keeps interrupting the growth: an accounting restatement, Nasdaq delisting and SEC settlement (2017–2020); the disputed "Big Hack" report (2018); a short-seller report, a delayed annual report and the resignation of its auditor (2024); and, in March 2026, criminal charges against co-founder Wally Liaw and two others over the alleged diversion of ~$2.5bn of Nvidia-GPU servers to China (DOJ; the company was not charged).
At a glance
- Founded
- November 1993, San Jose, California, by Charles Liang (CEO), his wife Sara Liu and Yih-Shyan "Wally" Liaw
- Headquarters
- San Jose, California (Silicon Valley manufacturing campus); manufacturing and integration also in Taiwan and the Netherlands, with a Malaysia campus announced (company)
- Ownership / structure
- Public company, Nasdaq: SMCI (IPO March 2007; delisted August 2018, relisted January 2020); S&P 500 member from March 18, 2024; 10-for-1 stock split October 2024. Liang and Liu are the largest individual holders (verify current stake)
- Leadership (2026)
- Charles Liang (founder, chairman and CEO); David Weigand (CFO, verify current title); Sara Liu (co-founder, senior VP and director, verify); independent directors Scott Angel and Tally Liu lead the 2026 export-control review (reported). Wally Liaw resigned from the board in March 2026 after being charged (reported)
- AI products
- GPU servers and full racks for Nvidia (HGX H100/H200, B200/B300, GB200/GB300 NVL72) and AMD Instinct platforms; direct liquid cooling (DLC and DLC-2) systems; "Data Center Building Block Solutions" (racks, power, cooling, networking, software and on-site deployment)
- Scale
- Revenue ~$5.2bn (FY2022), ~$7.1bn (FY2023), ~$15bn (FY2024), $22.0bn (FY2025), $39.1bn (FY2026, +78%); FY2026 gross margin 10.8% (Q4 FY2026 17.5%); >$60bn of new orders and record backlog entering FY2027 (company, August 2026); preliminary Q1 FY2027 revenue $18.5–19.5bn (company, October 2026)
- Capital raised
- IPO March 2007; convertible notes and equity raised in 2024–25 to fund working capital (verify amounts); no venture history to speak of — growth has been funded by operations, bank lines and the public markets
- Key partnerships
- Nvidia (early access to each GPU platform); AMD; Intel; xAI (Colossus servers, with Dell); CoreWeave, Lambda and other neoclouds (Supermicro is a Lambda investor); DataVolt (Saudi Arabia, $20bn non-binding MOU, May 2025)
- Signature moves (incl. failures)
- Founding and the building-block model (1993); the accounting restatement, delisting and SEC settlement (2017–2020); the "Big Hack" report (2018); the AI server boom and S&P 500 entry (2023–24); liquid cooling and xAI's Colossus (2024); the Hindenburg report and auditor resignation (2024); guidance cuts, margin squeeze and DataVolt (2025); the co-founder diversion indictment (2026)
8 strategic moves analysed
Each one gets a full strategy file in the companion: context, the decision, the financing, what happened, and the lesson.
1993
Founding and the Building Block Model
Founding
2018
Accounting Restatement Delisting and SEC Settlement
Restructuring / regulatory action
2018
The Big Hack Report
Controversy / reputational crisis (response to a press report)
2023
AI Server Boom and SP500 Entry
Growth strategy / index inclusion
2024
Direct Liquid Cooling and xAI Colossus
Launch / customer deal
2024
Hindenburg Report and Auditor Resignation
Regulatory / governance crisis
2025
Guidance Cuts Margin Squeeze and DataVolt
Strategy reset / partnership
2026
Co Founder Diversion Indictment
Regulatory action / lawsuit (criminal charges against insiders; company response)