Vietnam has another billion-dollar AI data center network

Create Capital Vietnam, Haimaker.ai and joint venture Vietnam Data Gen announced plans to develop a network of AI data centers with a total design capacity of 100 MW. The project has a total investment of one billion USD, disbursed in stages, linked to market demand.

Phase one of the project is implemented in Da Nang High-Tech Park, with a capacity of 10 to 20 MW, with an investment capital of 100-200 million USD. In phase two, the project expands capacity to 40-60 MW, with capital of 400-600 million USD. Phase three brings the scale of the AI ​​data center network to 100 MW, achieving operating capacity at the national and regional levels.

According to the participating parties, implementation in stages ensures that the project can be flexibly adjusted according to actual needs, instead of spreading investment from the beginning. Technically, the data center is located in a location that meets three requirements: stable power source, internationally connected Internet infrastructure and high business density.

Each center is designed in a high-density rack model, suitable for GPU-based computing systems. The target customer groups of this network are state agencies, banks, telecommunications businesses, cloud service providers and technology companies, developing AI applications.

Mr. Su Le, founder of Haimaker, said the project aims to build infrastructure that allows data to be stored and processed domestically, meeting the requirements of large computing volumes while still ensuring data sovereignty.

Mr. Nguyen Huy Dung, member in charge of the Central Steering Committee for the development of science, technology, innovation and digital transformation, said that the 100 MW AI data center project will contribute to improving domestic computing capacity, gradually affirming Vietnam’s position as a “sovereign AI country”.

The project was announced in the context that AI is forecast to contribute increasingly to global economic growth. According to IDC, by 2030, AI could contribute $5,000 billion to the world economy, mainly through automation, data-based decision support and improved operational efficiency.

In Vietnam, the AI ​​Economy report published by the National Innovation Center (NIC), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Boston Consulting Group shows that, by 2040, AI can contribute 120-130 billion USD to economic growth. Of which, 45-55 billion USD comes from consumer demand for AI application products and services; 60-75 billion USD from cost savings thanks to increased productivity.

Vietnam currently has 41 commercial data centers, with a total design capacity of 221 MW. Over the past year, many large-scale data center projects have also been announced.

In August, Viettel started construction of An Khanh Data Center, on an area of ​​1.9 hectares, with a total investment of 17,500 billion VND. The project has a design capacity of 60 MW, expected to become the largest data center in the North.

The same month, the Ministry of Public Security inaugurated National Data Center No. 1 with a total investment of more than 16,800 billion VND, considered one of the largest and most modern data centers in Southeast Asia.

In October, the Department of Science and Technology of Ho Chi Minh City said that G42 Group of the United Arab Emirates plans to invest two billion USD to build an AI metadata center in Ho Chi Minh City.