Nvidia commits $1M in AI scholarships to Vietnamese students

The scholarships will be administered through the Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City (VNU-HCM).

VNU-HCM announced Thursday that the program will be named the Jensen Huang Scholarship after the tech giant's CEO. This initiative is a core part of the collaboration between Nvidia and the university, aiming to develop Vietnam's AI ecosystem.

The scholarship program will operate on a pilot scheme spanning through the end of next year.

As much as $800,000 of the funding is designated to support students specializing in Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) technology. This portion will directly fund students' AI research and startup projects. GPUs are specialized processors crucial for accelerating image and video creation by performing massive parallel calculations, making them central to advanced AI.

The remaining $200,000 will be used to finance training activities, skill development initiatives, and achievement awards.

The university noted that this represents one of the largest corporate-sponsored scholarships for students in AI-oriented fields, including Information Technology, Computer Science, Data Science, Electronics and Telecommunications, Applied Mathematics and Informatics, and other relevant disciplines.

In the inaugural year, 50 scholarships will be granted to exceptional final-year or newly graduated students from VNU-HCM's member institutions. These include the University of Technology, University of Science, International University, University of Information Technology, and An Giang University.

To qualify, applicants must demonstrate a strong academic record, requiring a minimum GPA of 3.5/4.0 and an English proficiency score of IELTS 6.0 or TOEFL iBT 80 or higher. Candidates must also submit a comprehensive portfolio showcasing their academic performance, research capability, and extracurricular achievements.

Successful recipients will gain access to several high-value opportunities: participation in an intensive AI training program led by Silicon Valley experts, access to study materials via the Nvidia Deep Learning Institute platform, sponsorship for professional courses and conferences, and prospects for internship and project opportunities with Nvidia itself.

This scholarship announcement follows a previous investment earlier in February 2024, when VNU-HCM’s University of Information Technology acquired an Nvidia DGX A100 supercomputer to significantly boost its AI training and research capabilities.

Founded in 1993, Nvidia initially focused on 3D gaming chips before becoming a global leader in advanced AI chips and software. The company experienced a major breakthrough with the global AI boom catalyzed by the launch of OpenAI's ChatGPT in late 2022, a technology heavily powered by Nvidia’s graphics processors.

As of October 2025, Nvidia stands as the world’s most valuable chipmaker, boasting a market valuation of $5 trillion.