Artificial intelligence is no longer a distant concept but a present reality, driving a global transformation that is reshaping industries and economies worldwide. To cultivate this wave of innovation and make it accessible to all, NVIDIA is engaging directly with communities across the globe through specialized events, such as its AI Days. These gatherings bring together hundreds of developers, researchers, startups, and technology enthusiasts to examine the cutting-edge technologies powering the latest AI breakthroughs.
Most recently, this conversation unfolded in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. There, over 800 attendees convened for NVIDIA AI Day to delve into the strategic concept of sovereign AI. The event featured 15 dedicated breakout sessions exploring physical, agentic, and generative AI, as well as the critical role of AI factories in enabling innovation from the local to the global scale.
In his opening address, Chuck Tybur, Head of the NVIDIA Partner Network, underscored the strategic importance of sovereign AI. He outlined several key components essential for its successful implementation:
- National AI Imperative: A national recognition that developing domestic AI capabilities is crucial for economic growth, national security, cultural preservation, and sustained innovation.
- Collaborative Ecosystem: A thriving, interconnected ecosystem of developers, scientists, entrepreneurs, investors, enterprises, and government bodies.
- AI-Ready Workforce: A robust talent pool equipped with a diverse and comprehensive set of AI skills.
- Culturally Relevant Models: AI models and datasets specifically tailored to a region’s unique language, culture, and requirements.
- Local AI Infrastructure: Locally owned, operated, and governed AI factories to ensure control and security.
Reflecting on the host city, Tybur noted that Ho Chi Minh City exemplifies “dynamic economic growth, relentless innovation, and an entrepreneurial spirit.” This sentiment was echoed by Vo Xuan Hoai, Deputy Director of the Vietnam National Innovation Center, who stated, “Vietnam puts AI at the center of its economic strategy.” The Center plays a pivotal role in this mission by supporting the nation’s startup and innovation landscape, thereby contributing to the broader development of science and technology in the region.
The Strategic Importance for Vietnam
The advancements in Vietnam illustrate how AI is becoming a core driver of digital transformation, with significant impacts on government services, finance, smart manufacturing, healthcare, and the creative industries.
This progress is built upon a strong foundation of local talent. During a visit to Vietnam last year, Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA, observed, “Vietnamese people have achieved remarkable excellence in STEM fields, with many young students excelling in mathematics, science, and technology. This provides a solid foundation for developing future technologies.” The growing number of professionals and startups in the field further underscores the rapid expansion of Vietnam’s AI ecosystem.
A Closer Look at the Event
Beyond the topical breakout sessions, the event facilitated specialized meetups for startups and members of the NVIDIA Partner and Cloud Partner networks. Attendees also had the opportunity for hands-on learning through NVIDIA Deep Learning Institute training labs, which covered:
- The Fundamentals of Agentic AI: An introduction to agent abstraction and emerging frameworks, offering key insights into the latest AI and software innovations.
- Generative AI Model Compression: A technical session on methods to distill, quantize, and prune large language models (LLMs) for greater efficiency, optimized inference, and reduced deployment costs, including a discussion of potential trade-offs and NVIDIA solutions.
Vietnam’s Industry in Motion
Several Vietnam-based NVIDIA partners and customers are already at the forefront, advancing the nation’s role in the AI-driven industrial revolution. Key initiatives include:
- GreenNode is developing large-scale Vietnamese LLMs using high-quality, culturally tailored datasets, with a focus on scalable and secure deployment.
- FPT is demonstrating end-to-end AI development powered by a domestic AI factory, utilizing NVIDIA H100 and H200 GPUs to securely train, fine-tune, and deploy enterprise AI agents.
- VNPT AI is enhancing its capabilities by integrating the NVIDIA DeepStream SDK with its in-house AI models for computer vision and speech recognition, enabling advanced real-time video analytics.
- Zalo is focusing on creating sovereign LLMs finely tuned to the nuances of the Vietnamese language and culture.
The Path Forward
Looking ahead, Vietnam has set ambitious goals to establish three national data centers and rank among the top four AI nations in Southeast Asia by 2030. This vision is supported by a clear understanding of modern sovereignty.
“Nowadays, in the tech era, sovereignty also extends to technology,” stated Tuan Minh Pham, CEO of FPT Software and Executive Vice President of FPT Corporation. “Our mission isn’t only to develop the country or protect our independence in cyberspace but also to ensure national security, the privacy of our people, and resilience against external factors. I believe that AI and sovereign AI are very important to propel Vietnam further and support the country in speed and scalability to catch up with developed nations.”
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