Artificial Intelligence: A strategic 'weapon' in the global semiconductor race

Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer an option but has become a mandatory command, a strategic "weapon" for Vietnam to position itself in the global value chain of high-tech and semiconductor manufacturing.

That was the consistent message at the workshop “Artificial Intelligence - Promoting Vietnam's high-tech and semiconductor manufacturing ecosystem” held on November 8.

Action to fall behind

Speaking at the workshop, Mr. Hoang Trung Hieu, Deputy Director of the National Innovation Center (NIC), Ministry of Planning and Investment , emphasized that AI is rapidly changing the way we design, produce and manage.

AI is seen as a decisive driving force to help Vietnam shift from traditional manufacturing to an innovation-based ecosystem.
Mr. Hoang Trung Hieu, Deputy Director of the National Innovation Center (NIC), Ministry of Planning and Investment. (Photo: Vietnam+)

“AI enhances the productivity, accuracy and resilience of the supply chain, facilitating the transition to smart factories. With a forecast to contribute more than 15 trillion USD to the global economy by 2030, AI is seen as a decisive driving force to help Vietnam shift from traditional manufacturing to an innovation-based ecosystem,” Mr. Hieu said.

Emphasizing this urgency, Mr. Dato' Bock KL, Senior Vice President of Sandisk, concretized it with thoughtful numbers. According to him, the world is drowning in a "sea of data" - every 60 seconds, factories create the amount of information equivalent to a whole day in the 1970s. And, the only solution to exploit that "sea of data" is AI.

However, the reality in Vietnam shows a big gap. Specifically, Mr. Dato' Bock KL warned that the manufacturing industry contributes about 20% to Vietnam's GDP, but only about 8% of factories are actually applying AI, while this figure in China is 40%.

Dato' Bock KL warned that the advantage of cheap labor will not last forever and if action is not taken now, Vietnam will fall behind in the technology race.

“AI is no longer an option, it is a must. Don’t wait until you are affected by this wave, we must embrace it,” Dato’ Bock KL stressed.

Experts discuss on the sidelines of the workshop. (Photo: Vietnam+)

Building an autonomous ecosystem

Faced with such an urgent need, the Vietnamese Government has been taking strategic and decisive steps. Mr. Ho Duc Thang, Director of the National Institute of Digital Technology and Digital Transformation, affirmed that Vietnam is facing a historic opportunity with the aspiration to gradually become a master, move towards autonomy and assert national digital sovereignty in AI. The clearest evidence is that the Government has officially submitted to the National Assembly the Draft Law on Artificial Intelligence.

"If this Law is passed, Vietnam will become one of the first countries in the world to enact a specialized law on AI, creating an open and safe legal corridor to promote innovation," Mr. Ho Duc Thang shared.

Vietnam needs 'Make in Vietnam' chips and Vietnamese-owned design, packaging and testing solutions to build those supercomputers.
Mr. Ho Duc Thang, Director of the National Institute of Digital Technology and Digital Transformation. (Photo: Vietnam+)

Besides institutions, computing infrastructure is identified as the second pillar. Mr. Ho Duc Thang said the State will lead investment in large-scale High Performance Computing (HPC) Centers, creating "huge orders" for the domestic semiconductor industry. Vietnam needs 'Make in Vietnam' chips and design, packaging and testing solutions owned by Vietnamese people to build those supercomputers.

Along with that, breakthrough financial mechanisms such as the National AI Development Fund, "AI Voucher" and "dual" human resource training strategy (understanding both semiconductors and AI) are also being promoted.

Mr. Thang emphasized that AI and semiconductors are "two sides of the same coin, the 'wings' for the Vietnamese economy to fly", in which the State plays the role of "conductor" connecting three houses: State-School-Enterprise.

SEMIEXPO Vietnam 2025 Semiconductor Industry Exhibition. (Photo: Vietnam+)

Human resource problem to humanoid robots

From a strategic perspective, experts delved into practical applications and challenges.

Lincoln Lee, Vice President of Siemens EDA, pointed out a big paradox of the semiconductor industry. Chip technology is approaching the threshold of 1 trillion transistors by 2030, but the number of design engineers graduating is not enough to meet the demand. Accordingly, factories must use more AI to improve the design productivity of engineers.

Mr. Lincoln Lee delivered a powerful message: "AI probably won't replace you, but someone using AI might replace you."

In fact, AI applications have brought about tangible changes. Mr. Matthew Gulley, Vice President of Turner International, shared how AI is being deployed on construction sites creating semiconductor factories to improve safety and productivity. From dog-shaped robots that continuously scan lasers to compare construction progress in real time, detecting errors immediately, to AI applications installed on phones that help workers identify hazards on the spot.

Factories must use AI more to improve the design productivity of engineers.
(Photo: Vietnam+)

“The biggest benefit is not just time saved, but increased job satisfaction, because workers can focus on more complex problems,” says Gulley.

Looking further ahead, Mr. Ngo Quoc Hung, founder of VinRobotics, envisioned a future where humanoid robots would be the solution to the labor shortage caused by an aging population. He believes that today’s young generation is no longer interested in hard work in factories and humanoid robots will be the necessary supplementary labor force.

"The future is closer than we think. Maybe in just a few years, we will see the deployment of humanoid robots in factories," Mr. Hung predicted, adding that VinGroup is investing heavily to reaffirm Vietnam's commitment to this revolution./.