Viettel and Qualcomm to co-develop AI smartphones

The signing took place at MWC Barcelona 2026, the world's largest and most influential connectivity event in Spain from March 2 to 5.

Under the agreement, Viettel and Qualcomm will co-develop a flagship smartphone line. Qualcomm will provide reference designs and technical support, while Viettel will lead the development, manufacturing, and commercialisation of products featuring its Agentic AI software ecosystem.

The synergy between Qualcomm's premium hardware and Viettel's Agentic AI platform is expected to define a new generation of smart devices, serving as critical endpoints in the current 5G landscape and paving the way for the 6G era.

Viettel also announced it is accelerating the R&D and commercialisation of its proprietary 6G technology. The Vietnamese telecommunications giant has joined a global strategic alliance initiated by Qualcomm Technologies to expedite the development and global deployment of 6G, with a commercial rollout slated for 2029.

“Viettel and Qualcomm Technologies have established a strong foundation of collaboration through the successful deployment of 5G Open RAN infrastructure at scale,” said Tao Duc Thang, chairman and CEO of Viettel Group.

“Building on this momentum, we are expanding our cooperation towards 6G research and development, where both organisations share a long-term vision of AI-native, autonomous and intelligent connectivity. Together, we aim to advance foundational 6G technologies, from next-generation network architecture to intelligent device ecosystems, contributing to the global evolution of future digital infrastructure.”

According to the roadmap, Viettel is designing 6G as an AI-native system, deeply integrating AI across devices, networks, and cloud computing infrastructure. The technology is built on three strategic pillars: next-generation connectivity, wide-area sensing, and high-performance computing.

Viettel's 6G strategy involves active research into network architecture, with plans to conduct early testing of pre-commercial systems and devices by 2028. Beyond connectivity services, Viettel defines "6G commercialisation" as a comprehensive business model encompassing homegrown network equipment, software platforms, and an AI-integrated smart device ecosystem.

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