US chipmaker Qualcomm has announced the acquisition of Vietnamese AI developer MovianAI for undisclosed sum.
MovianAI is the generative AI (genAI) arm of VinAI Application and Research JSC, a machine learning research lab.
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VinAI is a unit of Vingroup, one of Vietnam’s largest conglomerates.
Led by Dr Hung Bui, former Google DeepMind research scientist, MovianAI’s parent organisation VinAI’s generative AI team has significant expertise in AI, from advanced research to the development of customised AI models and engineering.
Commenting on the acquisition, Bui, the founder and CEO of VinAI said: “We are ready to contribute to Qualcomm’s mission of making breakthroughs in fundamental AI research and scale them across industries, including smartphones, PCs, software-defined vehicles, and more.
“Our team’s expertise in generative AI and machine learning will help accelerate the development of innovative solutions that can transform the way we live and work.”
The integration of VinAI’s generative AI research and development (R&D) capabilities with Qualcomm’s R&D efforts is expected to enhance the company’s ability to innovate in the AI sector, the chipmaker said.
Qualcomm Technologies engineering senior vice-president Jilei Hou said: “This acquisition underscores our commitment to dedicating the necessary resources to R&D that makes us the driving force behind the next wave of AI innovation.
“By bringing in high-calibre talent from VinAI, we are strengthening our ability to deliver cutting-edge AI solutions that will benefit a wide range of industries and consumers.”
For more than two decades, Qualcomm is said to have collaborated with the Vietnamese technology ecosystem to develop and deliver new solutions.
In October 2024, UK-based semiconductor company Arm Holdings notified Qualcomm of the cancellation of their architectural license agreement.
