The Diplomat: 'Launch pad' to turn Vietnam into a regional technology hub

The signing of an agreement by US chip giant Nvidia to establish an artificial intelligence (AI) research and development center and an AI data center in Vietnam marks a significant step forward in its plan to turn Hanoi into a technology hub in Southeast Asia.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Mr. Jensen Huang, Founder and CEO of NVIDIA Corporation (USA) witnessed the signing ceremony of the cooperation agreement between the Vietnamese Government and NVIDIA Corporation on research and development of artificial intelligence. Photo: Duong Giang/VNA

This is the assessment in an article published on December 6 on The Diplomat website - an international news magazine about politics, society and culture in the world, especially in the Indo-Pacific region. According to the article, the agreement involves the expansion of an AI data center owned by the Vietnam Military Telecommunications Group. This is also the group currently using Nvidia's technology. Nvidia also said it has acquired healthcare startup VinBrain, a unit of the large Vietnamese corporation Vingroup. The agreement demonstrates the strong confidence of one of the world's leading AI companies in Vietnam's future as a regional technology hub. In a statement, Nvidia expressed "belief in the bright future of Vietnam's artificial intelligence development". The statement quoted CEO Jensen Huang as praising Vietnam's vibrant technology ecosystem including researchers, startups and business organizations. Nvidia has been considering investing in Vietnam for some time. During a visit to Hanoi late last year, CEO Jensen Huang said his company was committed to investing in Vietnam and making the Southeast Asian country its “second home.” In particular, the company plans to expand partnerships with leading Vietnamese tech companies and help the country train talent to develop AI and digital infrastructure. Last year, Nvidia began working with FPT Group member FPT Smart Cloud, the company’s first cloud partner in Vietnam. In April, FPT announced that it would build a $200 million AI “factory” with Nvidia using Nvidia’s graphics chips and software.

All of this is part of Nvidia’s expansion in Southeast Asia, a region that is seeing a surge in demand for data services thanks to the booming digital economy. According to a recent report, the market is expected to reach $263 billion by 2023, up from just $31 billion in 2015. Nvidia’s recent deals in Southeast Asian countries reflect the growing recognition by foreign tech companies of the importance of the region, with its young, tech-savvy population and upwardly mobile society, as both a manufacturing hub and a market for technology products. The region is also attractive to Western companies looking to reduce their dependence on China as geopolitical tensions with the United States continue to rise. This year, the CEOs of leading US technology companies Apple and Microsoft also made a trip to Southeast Asia, announcing billions of dollars in investments, especially in data centers designed to support the expansion of AI services. Source: https://baotintuc.vn/thoi-su/the-diplomat-be-phong-dua-viet-nam-thanh-trung-tam-cong-nghe-khu-vuc-20241209172057678.htm