Vietnam’s Data Center Leap: CMC’s $250M Project and Vietnam’s Rise as a Regional AI Powerhouse
- Tuelee Anh
- Jul 19
- 3 min read
In late June 2025, the Management Board of Saigon Hi-Tech Park (SHTP) officially approved CMC Technology Group’s investment in the CMC Hyperscale Data Center project, valued at over USD 250 million. With 30MW initial capacity (scalable to 120MW), a GPU supercluster, and 25+ proprietary AI models, this facility is purpose-built for AI, cloud, and cybersecurity.
I. Vietnam’s rise as SEA's digital hub
Over the past three decades, Vietnam has evolved from a digitally underserved economy to a rising tech hub. In the late 1990s, fewer than 1 million Vietnamese had internet access. Today, the country hosts R&D operations for global giants like Google, NVIDIA, and Apple.
Vietnam's data infrastructure is growing rapidly. With approximately 33 data centres primarily in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the domestic market is currently valued at $1.57 billion (2024) and projected to reach $3.53 billion by 2030. Despite Southeast Asia's underbuilt digital capacity, forecasts suggest regional demand will triple by 2027.

Image 1: Vietnam Data Center Market Forecast, Research and Markets (2024)
CMC's facility marks Vietnam's largest digital infrastructure investment to date and establishes it as a serious player alongside Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia. More importantly, it reduces reliance on foreign-hosted services and positions Vietnam as a rising AI and data hub.
II. Vietnam reforms for infrastructure acceleration
Vietnam’s transformation isn’t accidental, it’s increasingly policy-enabled and private-sector-led.
Key developments include:
A new government decree (effective July 2025) that simplifies licensing for data centers and delegates approval authority to Ho Chi Minh City.
Relaxation of foreign ownership limits for digital infrastructure, encouraging cross-border capital.
Improvements in land acquisition, zoning, and tax incentives for tech projects.
III. The Project: CMC’s hyperscale data center
CMC’s new facility is more than a physical asset; it’s set to be the “AI Heart” of Vietnam’s digital economy.
Location: Situated in Saigon Hi-Tech Park, the strategic tech hub of Ho Chi Minh City.
Power capacity: Launching with 30MW, scalable up to 120MW to support future AI and cloud demand.
AI infrastructure: Equipped with 1,000+ NVIDIA GH200 GPUs, optimized for high-performance AI workloads.
Integrated stack: Runs on CMC Cloud, built to host and deploy over 25 proprietary AI models like SmartDocs (OCR) and CATI-VLM (vision-language model).
Sustainability design: Features water-efficient cooling systems is renewable energy-ready and uses digital twin technology for real-time monitoring and optimization.
Core use Cases: Supports generative AI, cloud computing, big data analytics, cybersecurity services, and smart city infrastructure.
Built to Tier III international standards, this project is expected to put Vietnam on the global digital map, not just as a consumer of technology, but as a creator and exporter.
IV. Strategic impacts for Vietnam
1. Digital sovereignty & economic security
CMC’s infrastructure reduces Vietnam’s reliance on foreign-hosted data services, allowing greater control over national digital assets and aligning with rising global concerns about data localization and sovereignty.
2. AI innovation at home
By enabling local training and deployment of large AI models, this facility lowers latency, reduces costs, and opens new possibilities for Vietnamese startups and researchers. CATI-VLM, for example, has outperformed GPT-4 Vision and Amazon Textract in recent benchmarks.
3. Workforce upskilling & talent magnet
CMC aims to grow to 15,000 engineers, including 6,000 AI-focused roles, by 2028. This initiative will:
Fuel STEM education and GenAI adoption
Attract overseas Vietnamese and global tech talent
Create a national sandbox for applied production-grade AI development
V. Regional & global significance
Southeast Asia and geopolitical framing
CMC’s project positions Vietnam alongside Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia, but with a unique value proposition:
Tech talent: Young, abundant, and increasingly AI-trained
Policy agility: Faster execution compared to peers
Cost advantage: Competitive TCO for global cloud and AI clients
Green edge: Built with sustainability at the core
Vietnam is rising not just as a market, but as a platform for regional AI innovation and infrastructure export.
VI. Final thoughts
CMC's $250 million data centre is more than just a facility. It’s the launchpad for Vietnam’s broader tech ambitions, serving startups, attracting global players, and accelerating AI innovation.
At VinVentures, we see firsthand how Vietnamese founders are building world-class products. This infrastructure leap will empower a new generation of startups with the tools, compute, and talent they need to scale globally.
Sources:
Data Centre Magazine. (2024, July 15). Will CMC’s US$250m data centre become Vietnam’s AI heart? https://datacentremagazine.com/news/will-cmcs-250m-data-centre-become-vietnams-ai-heart
Tech in Asia. (2024, July 16). Vietnamese tech firm CMC to build $250m hyperscale data center. https://www.techinasia.com/news/vietnamese-tech-firm-cmc-build-250m-hyperscale-data-center