Vietnam poised for semiconductor boom

Dr. Richard Lawton Thurston, a leading non-engineer semiconductor expert in the US, has played a crucial role in helping numerous companies and governments establish and manage technology parks worldwide.

During a meeting with Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung in Washington on June 26 Thurston emphasised Vietnam's potential in the semiconductor and AI sectors. He noted that AI development requires various technologies, including sensors, memory, data collection, and processing.

"Vietnam can choose one of these stages to focus on and build its strategy," he suggested.

Meanwhile, Minister Dung underscored that following the upgrade of Vietnam-US relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, the two countries have actively promoted diplomatic and cooperative efforts across various fields, particularly in science, technology, and innovation. The US has agreed to support Vietnam in training and enhancing its semiconductor capabilities to integrate into the global value chain.

"These are two areas where Vietnam is focusing on building a high-quality workforce and enhancing research and development capabilities in the long term," Dung stated.

Vietnam is implementing a strategy to develop its semiconductor industry and a project to cultivate a skilled workforce for this sector. By 2030, the goal is to train 50,000 semiconductor engineers, including 15,000 design engineers, and establish four national-level shared semiconductor laboratories and 18 standard semiconductor labs.

The government has consistently stated its commitment to perfecting the institutional framework and offering preferential policies to attract and collaborate with major global technology corporations in the semiconductor industry.

Minister Dung invited Dr. Thurston to serve as an advisor to Vietnam, sharing his expertise and recommendations for developing the semiconductor industry. He also proposed that Dr. Thurston assist in connecting with TSMC and suggest potential collaboration activities between Vietnam and the corporation.

TSMC, headquartered in Taiwan, is the world's largest semiconductor manufacturing company, producing chips for most major technology companies, such as Apple, Nvidia, and Qualcomm.

During this visit, Dung also met with representatives from Microsoft and Super Micro Computer. He urged Microsoft to organise a high-level delegation to Vietnam soon to explore and survey investment opportunities for a research and development centre. Through this initiative, both parties could develop training and research application programmes for AI in Vietnam.

For Super Micro Computer, a leading global server component manufacturer, Dung suggested collaboration with the Vietnamese government and enterprises to develop data centres and infrastructure for AI and 5G.

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