Major Vietnam, US tech firms sign deals

Major tech firms from Vietnam and the U.S., including VNPT, Mobifone, and Rikkeisoft from Vietnam, and Synopsys, Qualcomm, and Nvidia from the U.S., along with government agencies have agreed to commence or boost their cooperation.

Firms made their commitments at the Vietnam-U.S. Business Forum in San Francisco on Monday (local time). The event, focusing on technology and innovation cooperation, was part of Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s visit to the U.S.

Rikkeisoft, among the biggest private tech firms in Vietnam, will invest $2 million in the U.S. in 2023 and raise the figure to $30 million by 2026, focusing on high-tech workforce development, market expansion, and merger & acquisition (M&A) activities.

Dallas-based RKTech, wholly owned by Rikkeisoft, was established in early 2023 to provide high-quality and comprehensive information technology solutions and services to American businesses in various sectors, such as automotive and manufacturing.

Vietnam's state-owned telecom group VNPT and American giant Qualcomm signed an agreement on provision of copyrights, tools, and equipment for the research, testing, development, and production of telecommunication and technological solutions for 5G, smart cities, and the Internet of Things (IoT).

Their cooperation will be based on Qualcomm’s equipment and solutions and VNPT’s platform, amid VNPT’s focus on developing digital infrastructure and a digital government.

Besides, Mobifone, one the of largest telecommunication providers in Vietnam, and Juniper Networks signed an agreement on cooperation in data centers and cloud computing.

On the same day, Prime Minister Chinh had working sessions with businesses based in Silicon Valley.

Synopsys, a top electronic design automation (EDA) firm, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the National Innovation Center (NIC) under Vietnam’s Ministry of Planning and Investment to build a workforce for integrated circuit (IC) design in Vietnam. In particular, the American firm will help the Vietnamese agency in establishing an incubation center for chip design.

Synopsys also signed a MoU with an agency under Vietnam’s Ministry of Information and Communications for developing the semiconductor industry in Vietnam.

Working with Nvidia, PM Chinh proposed the American giant to invest more in Vietnam, such as establishing a factory in the country. The government chief asked relevant agencies to cooperate with Nvidia on detailed deployment.

In reply, Nvidia president Jensen Huang affirmed the firm wants to collaborate with Vietnam in semiconductors, artificial intelligence and IT, and expects Vietnam to become its production hub in Southeast Asia.

During Biden’s September 10-11 visit, the two countries upgraded the bilateral ties to a comprehensive strategic partnership. Businesses from Vietnam and the U.S. also signed deals and announced investments worth billions of USD.

As of August 20, the U.S. was the 11th-biggest foreign investor in Vietnam with 1,286 valid projects and total registered capital of $11.79 billion, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment. In the year to August 20, U.S. businesses registered to invest $490 million in the country, up 32% year-on-year.