Qualcomm plans to build a large AI R&D center in Vietnam

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Chi Dung received Mr. Jilei Hou, Senior Vice President in charge of technology of Qualcomm Group - Photo: VGP/Thu Sa.

Thanking the Deputy Prime Minister for taking the time to receive the delegation, Mr. Jilei Hou said that Qualcomm is the world's leading corporation in the field of telecommunications and mobile devices with a capitalization value of about 154 billion USD ; currently leading in the field of 5G, operating under a fabless production model, and expanding its business to design and develop semiconductor chips, software, and services for other fields such as artificial intelligence (AI), automobiles, computers, and the Internet of Things (IoT).

In Vietnam, the Group has 2 representative offices in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and the first Research and Development Center in Southeast Asia in Hanoi in 2020.

Notably, Qualcomm has had a prominent initiative, the Qualcomm Vietnam Innovation Challenge (QVIC), which is held annually to incubate and support Vietnamese technology startups in finance, technology, business, and intellectual property.

Introducing the acquisition plan for MovianAI (in charge of generative AI) from April 1, Mr. Jilei Hou commented that MovianAI brings together the best team of AI scientists and researchers in the world and has a very high-quality research lab.

"Through the acquisition of MovianAI, Qualcomm demonstrates its strong commitment to contributing to AI research and development as well as nurturing AI talent in Vietnam," said Mr. Jilei Hou.

Noting that the Vietnamese Government pays special attention and wishes to promote cooperation with Qualcomm, the Deputy Prime Minister highly appreciated the Group's activities in general and in Vietnam in particular. In particular, it has closely coordinated with the National Innovation Center (NIC) to organize major programs such as the Vietnam Innovation Day, the Qualcomm Vietnam Innovation Challenge (QVIC) and connected and supported Vietnamese startups to participate in the global supply chain.

Regarding the purchase of MovianAI, the Deputy Prime Minister said that the Group needs to have a specific strategy and plan to operate and develop the center and quickly bring practical results. From there, it will support Vietnamese experts, startups, and businesses to develop in the fields of AI, semiconductors, and connect to the global value chain.

"I expect Qualcomm's cooperation will help Vietnamese enterprises 'grow'," the Deputy Prime Minister expressed, adding that Vietnam encourages cooperation in research and development, human resource training and support for Vietnamese enterprises to participate in the global value chain.

At the same time, the Deputy Prime Minister suggested that the Group continue to expand research and development activities in Vietnam, especially at NIC Hoa Lac, to take advantage of Vietnam's preferential policies in the fields of semiconductors and AI and contribute to the development of Vietnam's technology ecosystem; support Vietnamese engineers to participate in the Group's research activities.

Thanking the Deputy Prime Minister for his guidance and strategic thinking, Mr. Jilei Hou said that the Group has researched, analyzed and wishes to build a large AI technology research and development center in Vietnam. This will be the 3rd largest R&D center in the world (after 2 centers located in India and Ireland).

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Chi Dung welcomed the above plan of Qualcomm and said that in parallel, there should be a separate program of the Group to support STEM training for Vietnamese children so that the young generation can access AI earlier, contributing to training talents early and remotely.

Along with that, the Deputy Prime Minister also noted that Qualcomm should consider the potential to expand production in Vietnam because Vietnam has all the advantages such as: a relatively good AI and semiconductor ecosystem with many leading investment names in the world; stable politics and the Government has a clear strategy and commitment to developing this field; priority institutions in AI and semiconductor investment; technology infrastructure is being heavily invested in; abundant human resources.

Source: https://znews.vn/qualcomm-du-kien-xay-dung-trung-tam-rd-lon-ve-ai-tai-viet-nam-post1544569.html