Southeast Asian nations bet on sovereign AI for economic boost

Southeast Asian nations are making significant moves into artificial intelligence development, with Thailand and Vietnam launching major initiatives in partnership with NVIDIA to build domestic AI capabilities and infrastructure.

Key developments: NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang’s recent visits to Thailand and Vietnam mark significant steps in both countries’ pursuit of sovereign AI, which enables nations to develop AI using their own computing infrastructure, data, and workforce.

• Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra met with Huang to discuss AI education and training initiatives focused on weather prediction, climate simulation, and healthcare applications
• NVIDIA is collaborating with dozens of Thai universities and startups to advance AI development
• SIAM.AI Cloud, a Bangkok-based cloud infrastructure company, plans to expand its offerings with NVIDIA’s latest GPU technologies

Vietnam’s AI expansion: The Vietnamese government is deepening its commitment to artificial intelligence through several major initiatives and partnerships.

• NVIDIA announced plans to establish its first research and development center in Vietnam
• The center will focus on software development and collaborate with local enterprises, startups, government agencies, and universities
• NVIDIA acquired VinBrain, a Hanoi-based healthcare AI company specializing in AI diagnostics for multimodal health data
• The company currently works with 65 Vietnamese universities and over 100 AI startups through its NVIDIA Inception program

Economic implications: The push for sovereign AI development reflects the growing importance of artificial intelligence in driving economic growth across Southeast Asia.

• Industry analyst IDC projects AI will contribute nearly $20 trillion to the global economy through 2030
• Other nations, including Canada, Denmark, and Indonesia, have launched similar sovereign AI initiatives using NVIDIA technology
• The focus on domestic AI development allows countries to maintain control over their data while building local expertise

Recognition and partnerships: NVIDIA’s engagement in Southeast Asia has been marked by significant recognition and strategic collaborations.

• Jensen Huang received the 2024 VinFuture Prize alongside other AI pioneers including Yoshua Bengio, Geoffrey Hinton, Yann Le Cun, and Fei-Fei Li
• SIAM.AI Cloud is expanding its partnership with NVIDIA to include advanced GPU technologies
• The initiatives emphasize the importance of keeping national data resources within domestic control while fostering local AI expertise

Looking ahead: As Southeast Asian nations build their AI capabilities, the balance between domestic control and international collaboration will be crucial for success, with countries needing to maintain sovereignty over their data while leveraging global technological expertise and resources.