TPGroup and Korea’s Pebble Square Plan a $7 Million R&D Push on AI Chips and Edge AI
Vietnamese geospatial technology group TPGroup has signed a memorandum of understanding with South Korea’s Pebble Square to research, develop and apply artificial intelligence chips and edge AI computing, VietNamNet reported on October 19. The agreement followed the Vietnam Digital Technology Forum in Korea on October 1, which was chaired by the Ministry of Science and Technology.
Alongside the MoU, the two sides agreed in principle on a joint research programme of five projects with an expected total budget of $7 million. TPGroup brings experience in geospatial technology, surveying, digital twins, GNSS satellite positioning, drones and urban and infrastructure management. Pebble Square, which operates in Vietnam as Pebble Vina, focuses on AI semiconductors, edge computing and specialised AI. In VietNamNet’s framing, one partner holds the real-world data and problems, the other the on-device processing brain.
Planned areas include cyber-physical systems, smart cities, digital twins, 3D GIS, geospatial survey data processing, construction monitoring, disaster prevention and renewable-energy infrastructure. Possible applications include AI built into drones, smart cameras, IoT sensors and urban digital-twin platforms, though both sides acknowledge these still need research, testing and evaluation before commercialisation. Given the early budget, the outlet expects the partners to customise existing chip designs rather than start from scratch, a pragmatic way to save time and limit risk.
What it means in practice
Edge AI fits Vietnamese use cases because a survey drone, a bridge strain sensor or a disaster-warning device cannot always wait for a cloud round trip or rely on a stable link. The deal follows a pattern of Korean ties seen in Da Nang’s Korea MoUs on AI and semiconductors, and sits next to VNPT and Qualcomm’s expanded edge-AI pact. On the research side, VNU-HCM’s commitment to AI-chip and robotics labs shows universities moving in the same direction.
TPGroup chairman Lai Thien Phong said the company wants to master core technology step by step, combining international partners’ R&D with its own deployment strength to build high-value AI products under a Vietnamese brand that can compete abroad. Over the longer term the partners plan expert exchanges, engineer training, knowledge transfer and AI module development in Vietnam, and will discuss a joint lab for AI semiconductors and edge AI.
What to watch: which of the five projects is funded first, whether the joint lab is formally established, and whether any TPGroup drone or digital-twin product ships with Pebble Square silicon inside.