HANOI, April 24 — Vietnamese tech giant FPT plans to build a US$200-million-dollar artificial intelligence factory using Nvidia technology, the company said Tuesday, as Vietnam aims to become a semiconductor and AI hub.

Long a low-cost destination to make clothes, shoes and furniture, Vietnam is now eyeing a rapid climb up the global supply chain and has put computer chips at the heart of its development plans.

FPT said it has established a strategic partnership with Nvidia, which includes plans to build a US$200-million-dollar AI factory using Nvidia’s AI software and chips.

"FPT is committed to digital transformation, AI, cloud, and education... working to achieve its vision to turn Vietnam into an AI hub of the world through collaboration with Nvidia in technology, business development, and training,” FPT chairman Truong Gia Binh said in a statement.

The factory will help FPT "accelerate the construction and development of AI platforms and applications”, he said.

Nvidia’s singular role in the AI revolution has taken the world by storm, with its powerful GPU chips and software an integral ingredient in the creation of generative AI.

Rivals like AMD or Intel still struggling to match the power and efficiency of the company’s blockbuster H100 product, launched in 2022.

As part of the collaboration, FPT plans to incorporate Nvidia’s programs into university and high school curricula to develop high-tech human resources, aiming to reach at least 30,000 students within five years.

The statement did not give details of where the factory will be built.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said during a visit to Vietnam last December that the US chip giant wanted to set up a semiconductor base in the South-east Asian country.

Huang also said that Nvidia had invested around US$250 million in Vietnam.

Global supply chain shocks and fears about the United States’ reliance on China for strategic resources are boosting investment in the growing semiconductor industry in Vietnam.

The country has around 6,000 engineers in the semiconductor industry, but it aims to increase the number to 50,000 by 2030. — AFP