At the workshop, An Chen, Qualcomm’s Vice President of Technology and R&D, said the company is expanding its R&D centers in Vietnam, focusing on integrating AI, semiconductors, software and systems engineering

This was the focus of discussions among domestic and international experts and businesses at the workshop “Challenges and Solutions for Advancing Specialized Semiconductor Chip Development in Vietnam,” organized by the Vietnam National Multi-Project Wafer Coordination Center (VNMPW/CC) under the Ministry of Science and Technology’s Department of Information Technology Industry on September 10, 2026.

Major opportunity, long road to commercialization

Speaking at the workshop, Nguyen Anh Tuan, Director of VNMPW/CC, said that amid intensifying technology competition, semiconductors are not only a high-value-added industry but are also closely linked to technological self-reliance, national security and the economy’s competitiveness.

Vietnam has identified semiconductors as one of its strategic technology sectors. Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW places science, technology, innovation and digital transformation at the center of strategic breakthroughs and calls for Vietnam to gradually master semiconductor technologies. The Semiconductor Industry Development Strategy through 2030, with a vision to 2050, also adopts the formula C = SET 1, in which “S” stands for Specialized, referring to specialized chips.

Specialized chips are designed to solve specific problems and can be used in AI cameras, IoT, robots, UAVs, telecommunications systems, power electronics, smart grids and security devices. Rather than competing on mass-production scale, this approach focuses on optimizing performance, saving energy and meeting the specific requirements of individual products.

This is considered a suitable direction for Vietnam’s current capabilities, given the emergence of a domestic chip design workforce, a developed electronics industry and a relatively large domestic market in areas such as telecommunications, AI, electric vehicles, energy and digital transformation. However, the gap between a design and a commercial product remains substantial. Businesses need access to costly electronic design automation (EDA) tools and licensed IP libraries, while each tape-out can cost millions of US dollars and carries the risk of technical failure.

In addition, Vietnam’s ecosystem for design, manufacturing, packaging, testing and quality certification remains incomplete. Companies with small orders face even greater difficulty accessing international packaging and testing services at reasonable costs. Of particular concern, the “chicken-and-egg” problem remains a major barrier. Businesses are reluctant to invest without a first customer, while customers are not yet ready to purchase an untested product. This vicious cycle has left many projects at the research stage without progressing to commercialization.

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Policies must open markets

Delegates said that removing bottlenecks for specialized chips cannot stop at supporting research; it must also establish an ecosystem capable of bringing products from laboratories to market.

Under the direction shared at the workshop, the Government will develop a list of around 20 priority specialized chip groups, focusing on areas such as AI, edge computing, next-generation telecommunications, sensors, IoT, power electronics and hardware security. This will provide an important signal for businesses to identify technology and market needs and determine their investment direction.

At the same time, support policies need to cover the entire process, from research, design and pilot manufacturing to testing and commercialization. Rather than supporting isolated stages, the Government needs to share risks with businesses in the early stages while assessing projects based on technical results and their ability to bring products into practical applications.

One particularly meaningful solution is to use public investment projects, national digital transformation programs and major infrastructure projects as “first customers” for Vietnamese chips. With orders and real-world testing environments, businesses will have the conditions to refine products, accumulate data, improve reliability and gradually expand their markets.

In parallel, investment is needed in standards, laboratories, testing and quality certification systems so that domestically produced chips can meet industry requirements and compete internationally. Shared infrastructure also plays an important role. VNMPW/CC is expected to provide design tools, IP libraries, laboratories, pilot manufacturing support, testing and connections between chip design companies and companies producing end products. This will help reduce costs, shorten development time and limit risks for businesses.

International cooperation should also be part of the strategy for mastering technology. At the workshop, An Chen, Qualcomm’s Vice President of Technology and R&D, said the company is expanding its R&D centers in Vietnam, focusing on integrating AI, semiconductors, software and systems engineering. Under this approach, Vietnam can gradually develop a workforce capable of mastering the integrated circuit design cycle from front-end to back-end, rather than participating only in simple processing stages.

From the business perspective, Geleximco is advancing plans to invest in a chip manufacturing plant in Hung Yen province, with construction expected to begin in November 2026 and commercial products expected to reach the market in early 2028. The company’s plan to prioritize the integration of control ICs, sensors and power chips designed by Vietnamese engineers into electric vehicles and the industrial ecosystem could create additional real-world demand for domestically developed chip products.

Experts at the workshop said that mastering semiconductor technology will certainly present many challenges. Vietnam also does not need to aim for self-reliance across the entire value chain in a short period. What matters is identifying the links where Vietnam can build an advantage, particularly in design, verification, testing, integration and product development. If policies create markets, shared infrastructure reduces costs, businesses have incentives to invest, and international cooperation shifts from attracting capital toward transferring knowledge, specialized chips could become a “springboard” for Vietnamese businesses to increase value added, gradually master technology and move deeper into the global semiconductor value chain.