Hanoi (VNA) – The Philippines newspaper, the Manila Times on December 10 highlighted that the Vietnamese government's agreement with NVIDIA to establish an Artificial Intelligence (AI) research and development (R&D) centre, recognising that it’s “a game-changing development for Vietnam in the era of artificial intelligence.”
The newspaper praised the Vietnamese government for investing in and strategically partnering with the world's leading graphics processing units (GPU) innovator. Vietnam now has the potential to be a major global hub for innovation, and this is a landmark victory for innovation in Vietnam.
Sharing the opinion, the diplomat.com stated that NVIDIA's agreement to establish an AI R&D centre and AI Data Centre in Vietnam represents a significant advancement in plans to make Vietnam a regional technology hub.
The agreement signed on December 5 in Hanoi involves expanding an AI data centre owned by Viettel, a major telecommunications group in Vietnam, which is already utilising NVIDIA's technology. NVIDIA also announced its acquisition of VinBrain, a healthcare startup under the Vingroup conglomerate.
This agreement reflects the strong confidence of one of the world's leading AI companies in Vietnam's future as a regional technology centre.
In a statement, NVIDIA expressed its confidence in the country’s bright AI future, citing CEO Jensen Huang’s appraisal of Vietnam’s the "vibrant ecosystem of researchers, startups, and businesses". Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA said that with its expertise in AI development, the group will partner with a vibrant ecosystem of researchers, startups and enterprise organisations to build incredible AI right here in Vietnam.
According to the Manila Times, the upcoming R&D centre will bring numerous benefits to Vietnam, focusing on software development, leveraging the country's abundant STEM talent, and attracting industry leaders, startups, government agencies, universities, and students to accelerate AI adoption.
Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung stated that NVIDIA's support in the AI field will help Vietnam achieve its development goals in the high-tech sector. It will also contribute to making the entire Southeast Asia region a destination for innovation.
NVIDIA is collaborating with more than 100 Vietnamese startups as part of its startup programme, along with 65 domestic universities.
The diplomat.com reported that NVIDIA has been considering investments in Vietnam for some time. During a visit to Hanoi last year, CEO Jensen Huang mentioned that his company is committed to investing in Vietnam and making it a "second home."
Notably, the company plans to expand partnerships with leading Vietnamese technology firms and support the country in training talent for AI development and digital infrastructure.
Last year, NVIDIA began collaborating with FPT Smart Cloud, its first cloud partner in Vietnam. In April, FPT announced plans to work with NVIDIA to build a 200 million USD AI factory using NVIDIA's graphics chips and software.
All these activities are part of NVIDIA's efforts to expand in Southeast Asia, a region witnessing a surge in demand for data services due to the digital economy boom. According to a recent report, this market is projected to reach 263 billion USD by 2023, up from just 31 billion USD in 2015.
This year, executives from major US tech companies like Apple and Microsoft also visited Southeast Asia, announcing billions of USD in investments. These companies are focusing on data centres designed to support the expansion of AI services in Vietnam, and around the world./.
