Hanoi National University and CT Group on August 22 signed a strategic cooperation agreement to master semiconductor chip technology. The event featured a scientific seminar titled “Ensuring security and technological autonomy in Vietnam’s chip production amid national digital transformation.”

Speaking at the event, Chung cited an example to highlight the urgency of technological independence. Recently, China’s cyberspace regulator questioned Nvidia about H20 chip backdoors and remote tracking capabilities. Nvidia has faced ongoing scrutiny over chips with tracking devices. 

China also removed Western chips from its major hydroelectric projects. The world is also facing a new security threat: malware that operates at the CPU level, meaning it can hide deep within hardware and bypass most traditional security solutions.

The US has banned Chinese-made chips in military equipment, while Australia has prohibited Chinese chip components in government networks.

“Today, no independence is true independence if we remain technologically dependent. Vietnam is undergoing rapid digital transformation at an unprecedented pace. However, this swift transformation raises new challenges,” he said.

“Vietnam has completed digital transformation on the first pillar – citizens, and it is moving to the second pillar - organizations, and the third, the final channel -  encompassing terrestrial, near-space, and multi-layered digital transformation. The third pillar involves vastly larger data volumes and hardware devices. Yet, Vietnam relies entirely on foreign chips, risking disruptions, potential national data leaks, and lack of control in emergencies.

CT Group believes that a higher vision is needed. First, Vietnam needs to master core technologies from chip design to production and commercialization. 

Second, it is necessary to create Made by Vietnam products for civilian, defense, and security purposes, competing globally.

Above all, Vietnam must build an independent, self-reliant, and robust semiconductor industry, laying the foundation for high-tech and national autonomy. Only then can Vietnam become a new semiconductor hub in Southeast Asia, serving both national needs and global supply.

And to do this, there must be a strategic alliance among the state, academia, and businesses.

At the event, Associate Prof Pham Bao Son, Deputy Director of Hanoi National University, noted that the collaboration with CT Group is a strategic milestone, embodying the spirit of “Partnership - Innovation - Development” by linking academia with business, knowledge with practice, research with production, and training with the high-quality labor market.

Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU) and CT Group will collaborate in training high-quality human resources, conducting research, and transferring technology, while jointly implementing applied research projects, particularly in the fields of semiconductors, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), AI, smart cities, and clean energy.

Thai Khang