Dr Le Quang Dam, CEO of Marvell Technology Vietnam, said at the recent Global Vietnam Innovation Forum 2025 at Google Asia-Pacific in Singapore that the momentum to boost high-tech cooperation between the US and Vietnam, especially in the semiconductor industry, became significant following the visit of US President Joe Biden to Vietnam in September 2023.

He estimated that Vietnam now has 60 companies in the microchip design sector. However, the distribution of these companies is uneven, with 85 percent of the businesses located in HCM City. Meanwhile, the central region, especially Da Nang, and Hanoi have workforce growth rates of 3-30 percent.

In 2000, Vietnam had only about 30 engineers majoring in chip design. Within just 5 years, from 2005 to 2010, the number increased rapidly. It is expected that Vietnam will have 6,000 engineers in advanced design this year.

The government of Vietnam has set a goal of having 50,000 engineers in the semiconductor industry by 2030, 15,000 of whom will major in design. To reach that end, Vietnam needs to make big investment and efforts in training to produce high-quality workforce.

The increase in number of engineers depends on the supply of semiconductor manpower. Marvell expects a growth rate of 20 percent. The goal is to have 50,000 semiconductor industry workers by 2030, including 35,000 for manufacturing and 15,000 for design, which means 1,000- 3,000 design students are needed each year.

Dam said that this is a "once-in-a-century" opportunity for the development of Vietnam's semiconductor industry amid an increasingly complex geopolitical landscape. The Politburo’s Resolution 57 has outlined clear development directions and goals for science and technology, including the microchip industry. It shows Vietnam’s strong determination in making breakthroughs in science and technology and innovation.

The determination of businesses is also crucial, particularly in science and technology, a field that requires close coordination between "government policies, university training programs, and unanimous commitment from both domestic and international businesses".

"Vietnam has a great opportunity. This opportunity won't come by itself; we have to create it," he said.

"We have a clear strategy, the attention of the government, and Vietnamese or Vietnamese-origin engineers and talents, within or outside the industry, need to unite to create value for the country," Dam said.

Le Quang Dam was technical director of Marvell Technology in Silicon Valley before returning to Vietnam in 2013 to establish the Marvell Vietnam Office "from scratch."

During his two decades working abroad, the CEO of Marvell Technology Vietnam worked with leading corporations in the industry such as Miranda Technologies, Gennum, ATI Technologies, AMD, Broadcom, and Marvell Technology.

The Vinh