Long-term Asus CEO Jerry Shen to step down; Here's what lies ahead

Long-terms Asus president and chief executive officer Jerry Shen quits the company by the end of this year, several media outlets report. Shen has decided to step down from his roles at a time when Asus is on the verge of a corporate reform. Shen has been with Asus for 25 years including 11 years as the company’s CEO.

Reports say that Shen will venture into a new AIoT project, which is the combination of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT). Once Shen departs from his current role at Asus, he is expected to establish a new company focusing on the AIoT market. Interestingly enough, Asus will reportedly acquire 30 per cent stake in Shen’s new venture.

As per the Digitimes report, Asus will internally invest up to NT $10 billion to develop its own AIoT arm, which is expected to focus only enterprises and B2B areas.

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With the introduction of the ROG Phone, Asus has been betting big on the gaming smartphone. As we have repeatedly mentioned in our previous stories, prior to ROG Phone, Asus kept both its smartphones and gaming laptop/desktop computer divisions separate from each other.

While the company’s Zenfone smartphone lineup has earned quite a name for itself, Asus ROG (Republic of Gamers) division take care of gaming laptops/desktop division.

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Over the past few years, the brand ROG has earned a fairly good name and presence in the worldwide market. Thanks to the ROG Phone accessories, Asus is filling the gap between these two divisions for the greater good.

News about Jerry Shen's exit from Asus also sparked a new wave of rumours about Asus' discontinuation of the Zenfone brand. Here is what the company have to say:

"With regard to the doubts raised by some on the continuation of the ZenFone brand, we confirm that we will continue to develop the ZenFone series, while also aiming to expand the gaming smartphone market. We will focus on perfecting solutions for gamers and power users."