Could the best graphics cards of the future be made in Vietnam? Nvidia's chief executive, Jensen Huang, will discuss potential semiconductor collaboration with the Vietnamese government and companies in Hanoi on Monday, Reuters reports. The move could be an attempt by Nvidia to diversify its supply chain and reduce reliance on its traditional partners.
The meetings will explore potential partnerships and technology sharing between Nvidia and its partners. Reuters claims an invitation letter to the event points to ways 'to boost the semiconductor industry' in Vietnam and 'Nvidia's potential partnership with Vietnamese tech firms.'
Vietnam is not known for chip manufacturing, but the first name that comes to mind when discussing this country in the semiconductor context is Intel, which has an extensive test and assembly facility near Ho Shin Minh City. This facility plays a crucial role in Intel's global supply chain, yet the company scrapped plans to make additional investments in the facility.
Meanwhile, geopolitical tensions open the doors for Vietnam to move beyond chip assembly to chip production. One of the main points of interest is whether Nvidia agrees to share technology with at least one Vietnamese company.
An industry insider, who wished to stay anonymous, suggested that such a deal is expected to happen at the meeting. This could be a big step in transferring important technology to Vietnam, helping it become more influential in the global semiconductor market.
Major Vietnamese companies like FPT, Vingroup, and Viettel are set to attend the meeting, though they are not sharing any specific deals they might be discussing. The report says the Vietnamese investment ministry, which is organizing the event, has not made any comments either.
Many companies are trying hard to reduce reliance on China-based and sometimes Taiwan-based production facilities due to geopolitical risks and the U.S. crackdown against China's artificial intelligence (AI), high-performance computing (HPC), and semiconductor sectors.
Nvidia has already moved the assembly of its AI and HPC hardware from China, but its chips are still made and assembled in Taiwan. It is evident that the company might be exploring ways to diversify its supply chain further, but how Nvidia could use Vietnam remains to be seen.
