Amid a growing electronics ecosystem emerging in Southeast Asia, Vietnam's potential was recognized by chipmakers as Nvidia initiated its expansion, eyeing an IC design center in the country.
With rising demand for mature-node chips, relocation efforts by global electronics suppliers, and global chip investments from companies like Amkor and Marvell, US-based EDA tool provider Synopsys foresaw a growing IC design industry in Vietnam.
As per local media, when meeting with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Nvidia said it plans to invest US$250 million in Vietnam. Huang's visit followed a warming bilateral relationship between the US and Vietnam as US President Joe Biden visited Vietnam in September, announcing the US-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership that covers semiconductors. More similar investments and visits by US semiconductor companies and their executives are expected to follow.
Given the growing scale of Vietnam's domestic market, locally designed chips have the opportunity in low-end applications before entering the systematic level, attracting major IC design houses, such as Marvell and Nvidia, to expand Vietnam as one of their global design hubs.
In September 2023, Synopsys announced its collaboration with the Authority of ICT Industry of Vietnam (AICTI), under the Ministry of Information and Communications, to advance semiconductor development in Vietnam and support AICTI's plans to establish a Vietnam semiconductor research institute. AICTI is drafting a semiconductor strategy by utilizing Synopsys' technology in proto-design and simulation to optimize System-on-Chip software and hardware co-design.
Robert Li, chairman and president of Synopsys Taiwan and vice president for sales at Taiwan, Southeast Asia, and India, said Vietnam could follow successful examples, such as Taiwan, without starting everything from scratch, adding that Synopsys had undertaken various training programs around the world, enabling newcomers to integrate into and contribute to the company seamlessly.
