US chipmaker Qualcomm wishes to build a large AI technology research and development center in Vietnam, according to Mr. Jilei Hou, Vice President of Engineering at Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.,.

He revealed the plan during a meeting with Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Chi Dung in Hanoi on April 16.

It will be the third largest R&D center of the group in the world, following the two others in India and Ireland.

According to Mr. Jilei Hou, Qualcomm has two representative offices in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, along with its first research and development center in Southeast Asia, established in Hanoi in 2020.

Notably, the group launched the Qualcomm Vietnam Innovation Challenge (QVIC), an annual program aimed at incubating and supporting Vietnamese tech startups with financial, technical, business, and intellectual property assistance, he said.

He also introduced the group’s plan to acquire Movian AI of Vingroup, highlighting Qualcomm’s strong commitment to nurturing talents for Vietnam, thereby contributing to the global development of AI.

For his part, Deputy PM Dung said Vietnam aspires to become a regional and global hub for AI and semiconductors, and hopes that Qualcomm will help build and join hands with Vietnam to realize this ambitious goal.