The Government will increase public spending on AI, the National Technology Innovation Fund (NATIF) will allocate a significant portion of its budget to support AI applications, and at the same time implement a public procurement mechanism that prioritizes domestic digital technology solutions...
On October 9, the Vietnam Artificial Intelligence Forum - AI360 2025, with the theme "Building Smart Enterprises and Society with AI", officially opened in Hanoi. The event was organized by the Vietnam Software and Information Technology Services Association (VINASA), under the auspices of the Ministry of Science and Technology.
VIETNAMESE AI MARKET IS THE FASTEST GROWING IN THE REGION
The report at the forum said that Vietnam's AI market is confirmed to be one of the fastest growing markets in the region, with an expected value of about 1.52 billion USD by 2030, maintaining a stable growth rate of 20% per year. The application index also shows a clear acceleration, with an Medium of five more businesses starting to apply AI every hour in 2024.
According to the Vietnam Artificial Intelligence Annual Report 2025 from the Institute of Information Technology, Hanoi National University, based on a survey of nearly 500 businesses and organizations from July 2025, AI is opening up great opportunities to promote digital economic growth, the industries leading the trend, providing AI in Vietnam include information technology 31%, finance-banking (22%), education (17%), e-commerce and healthcare (15%).
Meanwhile, the demand for AI applications is increasing, especially in 5 main areas: education 23%, finance 26%, industrial production 21%, transportation 15% and healthcare 16%.
Mr. Nguyen Van Khoa, Chairman of VINASA, said that if 2023 is "The Year of POCs" (the year of pilot projects), then 2025 will be "The Year of Business Value" (the year of actual business value). The wave of Generative AI and especially AI Agents - systems capable of autonomous operation, are completely changing the way of doing business and managing. VINASA is committed to accompanying, taking the Government's strategic orientation as a guideline for action.
According to experts, Vietnam's AI solutions are solving most of the business problems in Vietnamese enterprises. The ecosystem from computing infrastructure, data infrastructure, to platforms, solutions, and AI agents is ready to serve"
Mr. Nguyen Khac Lich, Director of the Department of Information Technology Industry (Ministry of Science and Technology), assessed that in recent years, Vietnam has been affirming its increasingly high position on the world AI map. According to the Global AI Readiness Index Report 2024 by Oxford Insights, Vietnam ranked 59/193 countries, in the Top 5 ASEAN, and for three consecutive years exceeded the global Medium - a proud achievement, reflecting the strategic vision and steadfast efforts of the Vietnamese Government, businesses and experts.
In particular, digital trust in Vietnamese society is growing strongly. According to the World AI Index 2025 (WIN), Vietnam ranks 6th out of 40 countries, 3rd globally in terms of trust in AI, and 5th in terms of AI acceptance. These numbers are not only about technology, but also show the openness, readiness and confidence of Vietnamese people in the new era.
“Investment Capital flows and AI applications are also accelerating strongly. In just one year, investment Capital in domestic AI enterprises increased from 10 million USD (2023) to 80 million USD (2024) – an 8-fold increase. AI is present in all fields: finance, healthcare, e-commerce, manufacturing, smart cities – contributing to solving practical problems of the country,” said Mr. Lich.
The Director of the Department of Information Technology Industry also emphasized that with the advantage of a young population, potential technology human resources, and strategic leadership from the State, Vietnam's AI ecosystem is ready for a new leap forward.
WHO SHOULD THE MARKET BE CREATED FOR?
However, the biggest challenges facing Vietnam’s AI sector are the lack of high-quality human resources (45% of AI providers), 23% face difficulties with data and computing infrastructure, and 30% are concerned about the lack of a clear legal corridor, according to a report cited at the forum. In AI data, 50% of providers said that data has little or no access to standards, while 51% of training facilities face obstacles with poor quality training data.
A “core bottleneck” in the AI value chain is the large gap between development investment and application investment. While technology solution providers are increasing the scale of projects, with most investing between 1 billion and 3 billion VND, AI spending by application units in 5 key areas (education, healthcare, finance, transportation, industry) has not received much attention.
Mr. Nguyen Khac Lich said that the Vietnamese Government has identified artificial intelligence as one of the pillars of the national digital technology industry. The Ministry of Science and Technology has been updating the National Strategy on AI until 2030, and is preparing to submit a draft AI Law - an important step to perfect the institution, ensuring that AI is developed transparently, safely and responsibly.
These are not only legal documents, but also a “manifesto” for the aspiration to create a “national intellectual infrastructure” – the foundation for a smart society, where public services become proactive and effective; education is personalized according to capacity; healthcare is oriented towards prevention and early care; cities operate according to real-time data; and all citizens can access AI safely and usefully.
Developing AI is not just a technological problem – it is also a problem of markets, of people and of trust.
Mr. Lich said that Vietnam will build a National AI Supercomputing Center, develop open shared AI data, and strongly promote "AI" in enterprises, state agencies and social life.
“To develop AI, we must create a market for AI. Therefore, the Government will increase public spending on AI, the National Technology Innovation Fund (NATIF) will allocate a significant portion of the budget to support AI applications, and at the same time implement a public procurement mechanism that prioritizes domestic digital technology solutions. We need to turn the domestic market into a launching pad to nurture and elevate Vietnamese AI enterprises, helping them reach out to the region and the world,” Mr. Nguyen Khac Lich informed.
