diff --git a/src/lib/asset-categories.ts b/src/lib/asset-categories.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4cca1b5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/asset-categories.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,107 @@
+import { z } from "zod";
+import { prisma } from "./prisma";
+
+export type AssetCategoryValueGroup = "high_value" | "low_value";
+
+export interface AssetCategoryRecord {
+  id: string;
+  name: string;
+  value_group: AssetCategoryValueGroup;
+  created_at: string;
+}
+
+export interface CreateAssetCategoryInput {
+  name: string;
+  valueGroup: AssetCategoryValueGroup;
+}
+
+export type ValidationResult =
+  | { ok: true; value: CreateAssetCategoryInput }
+  | { ok: false; error: string };
+
+// Mirrors src/lib/vendors.ts's nonEmptyString helper.
+function nonEmptyString(message: string) {
+  return z.string({ required_error: message, invalid_type_error: message }).refine(
+    (value) => value.trim() !== "",
+    { message }
+  );
+}
+
+const createAssetCategorySchema = z.object({
+  name: nonEmptyString("name is required and must be a non-empty string"),
+  // Fixed 2-value set (see docs/asset-license-management.md's "## Phân
+  // loại tài sản" section) — mirrors src/lib/licenses.ts's licenseType
+  // z.enum() pattern.
+  valueGroup: z.enum(["high_value", "low_value"], {
+    errorMap: () => ({
+      message: "valueGroup is required and must be either 'high_value' or 'low_value'",
+    }),
+  }),
+});
+
+/**
+ * Validates raw (untyped) asset-category-creation input. name must be a
+ * non-empty string, valueGroup must be one of the two fixed enum values
+ * (per the "## Phân loại tài sản" spec in docs/asset-license-management.md).
+ */
+export function validateCreateAssetCategoryInput(input: {
+  name?: unknown;
+  valueGroup?: unknown;
+}): ValidationResult {
+  const result = createAssetCategorySchema.safeParse(input);
+  if (!result.success) {
+    const message = result.error.issues[0]?.message ?? "Invalid input";
+    return { ok: false, error: message };
+  }
+  return { ok: true, value: result.data };
+}
+
+function toRecord(row: {
+  id: string;
+  name: string;
+  valueGroup: AssetCategoryValueGroup;
+  createdAt: Date;
+}): AssetCategoryRecord {
+  return {
+    id: row.id,
+    name: row.name,
+    value_group: row.valueGroup,
+    created_at: row.createdAt.toISOString(),
+  };
+}
+
+export type CreateAssetCategoryResult =
+  | { ok: true; value: AssetCategoryRecord }
+  | { ok: false; error: string };
+
+/**
+ * Creates an AssetCategory. No unique constraint on any field, no FKs
+ * either (see docs/asset-license-management.md's "## Phân loại tài sản"
+ * spec — standalone entity, same starting shape as Vendor before it grew
+ * relations) — so there's no known Prisma error code to catch/translate
+ * here today. Still returns the `{ok,value}|{ok,error}` shape (rather than
+ * a bare Promise<AssetCategoryRecord> like createVendor()) to match the
+ * convention used across the newer entities (AssetItem/License) — see the
+ * code-reviewer finding on createLicense() in CLAUDE.md's "Trạng thái hiện
+ * tại": adding this shape up front avoids a silent 500 if a unique
+ * constraint is added later (e.g. on `name`) without remembering to also
+ * add P2002 handling here.
+ */
+export async function createAssetCategory(
+  input: CreateAssetCategoryInput
+): Promise<CreateAssetCategoryResult> {
+  const created = await prisma.assetCategory.create({
+    data: {
+      name: input.name,
+      valueGroup: input.valueGroup,
+    },
+  });
+  return { ok: true, value: toRecord(created) };
+}
+
+export async function listAssetCategories(): Promise<AssetCategoryRecord[]> {
+  const rows = await prisma.assetCategory.findMany({
+    orderBy: [{ createdAt: "desc" }, { id: "desc" }],
+  });
+  return rows.map(toRecord);
+}