In a recent Facebook post, FPT Executive Board member Do Cao Bao shared that the corporation is planning to establish an AI factory in Japan. As when FPT launched its AI factory in Hanoi in April 2024, many people asked him why FPT calls it an AI factory. Is FPT exaggerating, or is it just a catchy name?
“Actually, FPT didn’t come up with the term ‘AI factory’, nor did we choose the name to sound fancy. The original English term is ‘AI Factory’ or ‘AI Factories’, which is a new concept that has emerged in the past few years”, said Do Cao Bao.
According to Do Cao Bao, an AI factory is not just about using AI to automate production processes, as many people assume. The term “AI Factory” is often misunderstood. Some people think it refers to integrating AI into manufacturing lines, which is not the case.
In the book Competing in the Age of AI (2020), authors Marco Iansiti and Karim Lakhani explain that AI factories are a systematic approach to integrating AI into business operations, focusing on creating a production cycle that enhances the different components of the AI system.
Academically, an AI factory is considered a standardized environment where AI applications are developed, deployed, and managed at scale—similar to traditional manufacturing. This model also emphasizes the importance of a healthy cycle involving user engagement, data collection, algorithm design, and continuous improvement, driving continuous innovation and enhancing AI capabilities.
“In conclusion, FPT uses the term that is internationally recognized, and the translation of ‘AI Factory’ in Vietnamese is ‘nhà máy AI’, nothing else”, Do Cao Bao affirmed.
In April 2024, FPT announced a comprehensive strategic partnership with NVIDIA, a leading multinational technology corporation, to boost AI research, and provide services and solutions to customers in Vietnam and globally.
FPT and NVIDIA partner to boost AI research, provide services and solutions to customers in Vietnam and worldwide.
The two parties plan to build an AI factory, train high-quality human resources, and become a Service Delivery Partner in NVIDIA’s partner network.
According to the memorandum of understanding, FPT plans to invest $200 million to build an AI factory to provide a cloud computing platform for AI research and development with sovereignty in Vietnam. The factory will include supercomputers operating on NVIDIA’s latest technology, including the NVIDIA AI Enterprise application framework and H100 Tensor Core GPU chips.
The AI factory will provide GPU cloud services to FPT’s enterprise customers globally, giving them access to core resources to enhance their research capabilities, accelerate AI application, especially generative AI, and achieve breakthroughs in productivity and customer experience.
At the same time, the factory will help FPT accelerate the building and development of high-value AI platforms and applications for customers in all industries. It is expected that three months after the cooperation is signed, the factory will start its construction plan.
According to a recent report by Vietcap Securities, FPT also plans to establish an AI factory/provide GPUaaS in Japan because the company believes that the demand for AI is strong and untapped in the region, while APAC customers are facing local government data privacy requirements to access FPT’s GPUaaS in Vietnam. The company is still discussing with local partners in Japan, possibly leasing a local data center to deploy this service, and has not yet committed any capex investment.
