Vietnam is asking Qualcomm and Samsung to deepen their investment in artificial intelligence, semiconductors and research and development as the country attempts to move higher in the global technology value chain.
Reuters reported that Vietnamese leaders are seeking expanded cooperation with the American and South Korean technology companies. The appeal is part of a wider strategy to develop domestic capability rather than remain primarily a manufacturing location for other countries’ technology.
Why Vietnam matters
Vietnam already occupies an important position in global electronics manufacturing. It has a young workforce, growing technical education, proximity to Asian supply networks and relationships with companies seeking alternatives to excessive concentration in a single country.
However, assembling devices and creating high-value intellectual property are different economic positions. The greatest long-term gains often sit in chip design, advanced packaging, research, software and ownership of platforms.
What deeper investment could include
- AI and semiconductor research centres linked to universities.
- Training programmes for chip design, verification and advanced manufacturing.
- Local supplier development and technology-transfer agreements.
- Data infrastructure that allows Vietnamese businesses to build AI services.
- Support for domestic startups rather than investment flowing only to foreign subsidiaries.
Qualcomm brings expertise in connectivity, mobile processors and edge AI. Samsung combines semiconductor manufacturing with a vast consumer-electronics business. For Vietnam, partnerships with both companies could connect research, manufacturing and real product deployment.
The global diversification race
Governments and companies are redesigning technology supply chains after years of disruption, export restrictions and geopolitical tension. Countries that can offer skills, power, stable regulation and logistics are competing for investment that once flowed through a narrower set of hubs.
But public incentives must be assessed carefully. A large factory can create jobs while still leaving the most valuable knowledge and ownership elsewhere. The strongest national strategy connects foreign investment to local research, supplier growth and intellectual-property creation.
A lesson for emerging AI economies
Vietnam’s approach carries a broader lesson for countries across Africa and the Global South. The AI economy should not be approached only as a market for imported models. Nations can negotiate for skills, infrastructure, research partnerships and locally relevant applications.
The MaryChuks.com perspective
The AI race is becoming an ecosystem race. Talent, chips, energy, universities, data centres and local companies must reinforce one another.
Vietnam’s ambition will ultimately be measured not by the number of announcements but by how much durable domestic capacity it builds. Investment matters most when it leaves behind knowledge, ownership and the ability to create the next generation of technology.
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