Demand in the domestic market along with a series of new regulations and policies are supporting for the Vietnamese AI start-up community to develop.

According to data from many reports, the number of Vietnamese AI start-ups is increasing rapidly, even the GenAI Fund predicts that with the current growth in scale and number of AI businesses, Việt Nam can surpass Singapore in AI start-up market share in the Southeast Asian region.

“Việt Nam is forecast to lead the ASEAN region in the number of AI businesses. Organisations and businesses in many fields such as education, healthcare, and especially e-commerce, are increasing the application of AI to reduce workload and improve efficiency," Prof. Dr. Chử Đức Trình, rector of the University of Engineering and Technology, under the Vietnam National University told Thời báo Kinh tế Việt Nam (Vietnam Economic Times).

According to MarketsandMarkets research, the global artificial intelligence market is expected to grow from US$214.6 billion in 2024 to more than $1.3 trillion by 2030, with an annual growth rate (CAGR) of 35.7 per cent during the forecast period.

Rapid digital transformation across various industries, such as healthcare, finance, manufacturing and retail, needs AI applications to improve efficiency and customer experience.

A report conducted by Google and Temasek said that Việt Nam's digital economy is expected to reach $45 billion by 2025 with AI technology playing a major role in this growth.

These figures show a wide market at home and abroad for the Vietnamese AI start-up community to explore and affirm their capabilities.

Many AI start-ups in Việt Nam agree that developed technology research will be the premise for creating innovative businesses, including in the field of artificial intelligence. This means that development needs to start from research institutes, universities and technology organisations.

So far, Việt Nam has had about 50 universities specialising in information technology, more than 20 organisations having certificates of registration for scientific and technological activities granted by the Ministry of Science and Technology, and hundreds of other technology communities and associations. The growth of them has created a strong AI ecosystem.

In addition, Việt Nam has recently signed many important economic cooperation agreements with many countries. This has brought opportunities to cooperate with leading international companies, and expand their operations to foreign markets.

Meanwhile, in the domestic market, the demand for AI applications is also exploding.

According to the report “AI at work is here. Now comes the hard part” published by Microsoft, 88 per cent of people surveyed in Việt Nam said they used AI at work, higher than the world level.

Microsoft also noticed a trend of workers in Việt Nam equipping themselves with AI tools to use, instead of waiting for deployment from companies and organisations.

Trình believes that along with the advantage of a young population loving technology, Vietnamese businesses are also gradually recognising the benefits of integrating technology, including AI, into innovation in production and business activities. So, they are willing to put investment in technology to optimise processes and save costs.

Demand from the domestic market is constantly increasing and seen as a 'delicious cake' that Vietnamese AI companies have competitive advantages to exploit.

Nguyễn Văn Khánh, director of Information Technology of the Data Science Joint Stock Company, a business operating in the field of artificial intelligence in Việt Nam, said that the Government has made great strides in supporting and promoting the development of AI enterprises in Việt Nam.

"These companies are benefiting a lot from the Government's policies, including tax incentives and paperwork support," Khánh said.

However, to accelerate the development of the Vietnamese start-up ecosystem, including start-ups in the field of AI, the Government needs to add new financial support mechanisms, such as venture capital funds or preferential loan programmes for high-tech start-ups. These mechanisms will create favourable conditions for the AI companies to develop further. — VNS