By Kimberley Kao
Artificial-intelligence company G42 and a consortium of Vietnamese companies have teamed up for a $1 billion project to expand AI and cloud infrastructure in the Southeast Asian country.
Abu Dhabi-based G42 will work with FPT Corp., a technology and telecommunications company, and the Viet Thai Group, one of Vietnam's largest consumer and retail operators.
The partnership is "backed by consumption commitments of up to $1 billion," aiming to position Vietnam as a regional leader in AI infrastructure development, the companies said in a statement Monday. Under the agreement, significant cloud capacity will be deployed across three data-center locations in Vietnam to support public- and private-sector workloads.
"The initiative aligns with G42's broader mission to build a global and inclusive Intelligence Grid, interconnecting advanced AI infrastructure, cloud platforms, and governance frameworks to enable AI capabilities on demand, while respecting national sovereignty," the statement said.
The partnership also includes plans for national AI-skilling and workforce development programs to support AI adoption.
Southeast Asia has been attracting billions of dollars in data-center and AI investments from tech giants such as Microsoft and Google amid surging demand.
Part of the demand comes from the need to host data domestically.
G42, backed by a state-owned global investment firm and Microsoft, controls various companies across the healthcare and space-technology sectors.
Last year, OpenAI said it was partnering with G42 and others to build a huge AI data center in Abu Dhabi, the ChatGPT maker's first large-scale project outside the U.S.
"Vietnam clearly understands that it cannot move forward alone," FPT Chairman Truong Gia Binh said. "In areas such as semiconductors, AI, cloud computing, big data, and cybersecurity, we need strategic alliances with partners we can rely on and trust."
Write to Kimberley Kao at kimberley.kao@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
02-08-26 2312ET
