AI presents a great opportunity for Vietnam.

It's no coincidence that a new trend is emerging in Silicon Valley – the technology capital of the US and the world . Major technology companies such as NVIDIA, Tesla, and other giants like Apple, Microsoft, and Google are undergoing a transformation, investing heavily in AI platforms and even positioning themselves as AI companies, rather than traditional technology companies.

According to NVIDIA's Chairman and Founder, Jensen Huang, AI will help humanity realize unlimited ambitions, enabling the world to produce hundreds of times more material wealth than humanity has ever produced since its inception. NVIDIA alone, thanks to its restructuring and focus on AI-based products, has experienced remarkable growth. In 2023 alone, the company's market value increased more than 2.5 times, from $480 billion to nearly $1.3 trillion.

Mr. Jensen Huang - President and CEO of NVIDIA Corporation (USA, third from the right), visits the National Innovation Center in Hanoi in December 2023. Photo: MINH CHIEN

What is AI , and why should we focus on AI rather than semiconductor chips to create technological breakthroughs and opportunities for Vietnam?

There are many different definitions of AI, but in its simplest terms, AI aims to develop computer systems and algorithms capable of mimicking, thinking similarly to, and performing tasks requiring human intelligence with a speed and perfection increased thousands of times. The emergence of the ChatGPT language model – an application of OpenAI – three years ago was considered a bombshell, even though this experimental version was quite simple and had many flaws. Very quickly afterward, the ChatGPT impetus inadvertently fueled a race, both overt and covert, to gain dominance in providing infrastructure, solutions, and services in the AI ​​field among giant technology companies such as NVIDIA, Intel, Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, and pioneering countries like the US and China, making it more intense than ever. The company or country that takes the lead in the field of AI will undoubtedly have a significant advantage over its competitors in shaping AI technology standards, overall development trends, and the development of AI in key technology sectors.

According to forecasts by global consulting and auditing firm PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers), AI will contribute up to $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030. The global AI market is predicted to grow at a rate of approximately 40% from 2021 to 2030, or about 20 times – from $100 billion to nearly $2 trillion. Meanwhile, the market value of the semiconductor industry is growing much slower, at only 7%-8% from 2021 to 2030, and its value will only increase from nearly $600 billion to nearly $1 trillion by 2030, which is only half the growth rate of the AI ​​industry.

With such a large market share, it's easy to see why major Silicon Valley tech companies are quickly positioning themselves and transforming into AI companies for the following reasons:

Gaining a competitive advantage: Early adoption and innovation in AI technology will help them gain a competitive edge in the market. By highlighting their AI capabilities, these companies seek to differentiate themselves from competitors and establish themselves as leaders in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.

Understanding and leading market demand: By positioning themselves as AI companies, these companies are attracting and will continue to attract customers seeking AI-powered products and services.

Building brand awareness and creating public and customer perception: Integrating with AI will create a cutting-edge image and forward-thinking mindset about the company. By incorporating AI, companies are shaping their brand perception and attracting potential investors, partners, and customers interested in these future technologies.

Market positioning: By positioning themselves as AI companies, these firms establish themselves as key players in shaping the future of AI. This position allows them to attract top talent, build strategic partnerships, and lead in AI advancements.

For Vietnam, AI revolutions differ significantly from previous "mini-revolutions" in technology, such as the advent of desktop computers, mobile devices, the internet, cloud computing, and semiconductor chips. In these changes, we often lag behind other countries by 10-20 years. Experience shows that for latecomers, breaking into a mature market already dominated by major players is difficult due to the lack of significant advantages. In most cases, late entry means we are relegated to a role of processing, assembling, or participating in stages that do not generate high profit margins.

However, this AI revolution has a new aspect. For most countries around the world, AI is an almost entirely new field. The challenges faced by countries, including Vietnam, are almost the same. Meanwhile, focusing resources on AI research and development now will put Vietnam in a position almost on par with other companies and countries. In addition, Vietnam currently has certain advantages over many other countries, namely:

Despite being a developing country, Vietnam has a level of technological development that surpasses many countries with similar income levels or development stages, with some technology companies reaching regional, even global, levels, such as Viettel and FPT.

Vietnam has a large workforce of over 1 million programmers and engineers, and is a world leader in software exports. This workforce can be upgraded and retrained to develop into AI software engineers.

Located in a strategically important geographical position in the region, and attracting interest from many partners, the upgrading of relations with some of the world's leading technology countries in recent years, such as the US, Japan, and South Korea, has created better conditions for attracting external resources and promoting cooperation in the field of AI.

In addition, there is the attention of the Government along with the strong digital transformation process taking place in many localities, sectors, ministries, and agencies.

All of the above factors indicate that the opportunity for development and for Vietnam to become a prominent nation on the world's technology map is immense. If internal obstacles can be overcome and opportunities are seized with appropriate policies, technology, especially AI, will be a breakthrough field, enabling Vietnam to soon join the "1 trillion USD club"!

Source: https://nld.com.vn/ai-co-hoi-lon-cho-viet-nam-196240206113020117.htm