US brings Vietnam into the semiconductor CHIPS Act

Viet · Sep 13, 2023

The US government bringing Vietnam into its CHIPS Act with major investments by Synopsys and Marvell for chip design centres and Amkor for assembly.

The recent CHIPS and Science Act includes the $500m International Technology Security and Innovation Fund (ITSI Fund) run by the US State Department to promote the development and adoption of secure and trustworthy telecommunications networks and ensure semiconductor supply chain security and diversification.

A Memorandum of Cooperation on Semiconductor Supply Chains, Workforce and Ecosystem Development signed yesterday will formalize a partnership to expand the capacity of the semiconductor ecosystem in Vietnam, particularly to expand capacity in reliable partners where it cannot be re-shored to the United States. This is a focus on semiconductor assembly and test but also semiconductor design centres and training.

Amkor Technology will start operations at a $1.6bn test and assembly plant Bac Ninh Province next month, while Synopsys is launching a semiconductor design and incubation centre in collaboration with Saigon Hi-Tech Park. Marvell also plans to establish a world class semiconductor design centre in the Vietnamese capital, Ho Chi Minh City.

“One of the major challenges of the global semiconductor industry is research and engineering shortage and this presents a huge opportunity for aspiring Vietnamese tech talents. The establishment of Marvell’s Design Centre in Vietnam is a significant step towards bridging this talent gap and fostering the semiconductor industry in Vietnam,” said Dr. Loi Nguyen, Executive Vice President of Marvell’s Optical and Copper Connectivity Group and a native of Ho Chi Minh City.

The US and Vietnam launched a series of workforce development initiatives in Vietnam that jointly develop hands-on teaching labs and training courses for semiconductor assembly, testing, and packaging. The US government will provide initial seed funding of $2 million to launch the initiatives, in conjunction with future support from the Government of Vietnam and the private sector.

Another bilateral Memorandum of Understanding also strengthens technical cooperation to support Vietnam’s efforts to quantify its Rare Earth Elements (REE) resources and meet high environmental, social, and governance standards to provide materials outside China’s supply chain.