“AI is shifting from being a standalone technology sector to becoming a form of general-purpose infrastructure. If we fail to view capital for the AI economy as a multi-layered ecosystem—PPP for AI infrastructure, venture capital for startups, and credit/incentives for applications—then AI in Vietnam will remain at the stage of small-scale pilots,” said Dr. Vu Hoang Linh from the University of Economics, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, in an interview with The Saigon Times. An ambitious scenario and the funding question The Saigon Times: According to the Vietnam AI Economy Report 2025 released in July 2025, by 2040 artificial intelligence (AI) could contribute up to US$130 billion to Vietnam’s GDP, equivalent to about 25% of the economy’s current size. How do you view this projection? Are we being overly optimistic? Dr. Vu Hoang Linh: The figure of US$130 billion by 2040 is indeed ambitious. If measured against today’s GDP (forecast at around US$491 billion in 2025), that’s 25%. But if measured against Vietnam’s projected GDP in 2040 (about US$1,200–1,300 billion, assuming 6–6.5% annual growth), AI’s contribution would be around 10–11%. That’s still very large—roughly triple Vietnam’s current total textile export turnover. However, to reach this level, Vietnam must focus on four […]