Samsung Boosts Vietnam Investment for AI, Semiconductor Workforce Development

Samsung is set to invest an additional $1 billion in Vietnam this year as part of its medium- and long-term expansion plans across electronics, display manufacturing, and electro-mechanics. This investment specifically aims to strengthen the development of talent within the country, particularly in the fields of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and semiconductors. A Party official highlighted Samsung's significant role in Vietnam's economy as the nation's largest foreign direct investment (FDI) enterprise. The Samsung R&D Centre in Hanoi stands as the firm's largest facility in Southeast Asia. To further deepen this relationship, Associate Professor Dr. Doan Minh Huan proposed orienting Samsung as a model FDI enterprise, offering opportunities for Vietnamese senior management officials to undertake study visits and gain practical experience. This initiative aligns with Vietnam's strategy to cultivate its domestic talent pool and achieve self-reliance in advanced technology sectors. Vietnam is currently home to approximately 4,000 start-ups and enterprises in the science, technology, and innovation sectors, supported by a workforce of over 30,000 highly skilled professionals. The government prioritizes investment in strategic technology areas such as AI, big data, and cybersecurity to drive national economic development. The 2026-2030 Digital Economy and Digital Society Development Programme, in particular, emphasizes the cultivation of these advanced technology fields. Vietnam's challenge is not merely to train more engineers or scientists, but to cultivate a generation capable of mastering, improving, and eventually creating core technologies. The Prime Minister has stressed that ministers must take direct responsibility for the implementation of assigned tasks and ensure the quality and progress of database development. Prime Minister Le Minh Hung stressed that the national digital architecture framework should provide a unified, shared, and interoperable architecture for the entire political system, from the central to grassroots levels, while connecting government systems with citizens and businesses. Inforadar noted that Vietnam has progressively streamlined its regulatory framework to clear institutional bottlenecks while putting in place mechanisms designed to spur innovation and technology adoption. The process has also pivoted from a resource-heavy approach to one focused on practical results, with stricter monitoring of projects’ progress. The Dien Bien provincial People's Committee on June 23 authorized a controlled pilot program for digital technology-based products and services using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), targeting a flight safety rate of over 99% during the trial period. Vietnam called for enhanced cooperation and the establishment of common regional frameworks for emerging strategic technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), big data, space technology, and cybersecurity to create a secure digital business environment and improve ASEAN's overall competitiveness. Vietnam's semiconductor ecosystem now comprises around 60 chip design companies, some 7,000 chip design engineers, and 166 universities offering semiconductor-related training programs. Initial registrations from 12 organizations indicate demand for the prototyping of approximately 30,000 chips. Samsung's latest investment is expected to contribute to Vietnam's long-term national goal of fostering a generation capable of mastering, improving, and ultimately creating core technologies. The Vietnamese government continues to streamline regulations and improve the investment environment to promote innovation.