Vietnam pushes semiconductor development with France and US partnerships

Vietnam is accelerating its semiconductor industry, aiming to build a strong technology ecosystem and move from strategic planning to concrete implementation. Dr. Nguyen Van Minh, founding head of Hardware‑Efficient AI at Huawei’s French research centre, said Vietnam should focus on building capabilities in materials, wafers, packaging and testing, targeting mature nodes such as 28 nm for industrial, automotive, IoT and edge AI applications. He noted that cooperation with France has so far been limited to digital‑twin and product‑lifecycle projects and urged deeper joint programmes in chip design, AI accelerators and advanced packaging.

Vietnamese Ambassador to the United States Nguyen Quoc Dung highlighted a separate initiative with Nvidia, which plans to set up a research and development centre in Vietnam to train local talent. He stressed that successful collaboration depends on Vietnam’s ability to absorb new technologies step‑by‑step, and cited partnerships with U.S. institutions such as the University of Arizona to develop a pipeline of skilled engineers. Both officials see foreign partnerships as essential for Vietnam to achieve strategic technological autonomy and commercial competitiveness in the semiconductor sector.