Opening of AI360 Forum: Seeking breakthrough opportunities and removing bottlenecks for AI

On October 9, the Vietnam Artificial Intelligence Forum - AI360 2025 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 .

With the theme "Building Smart Enterprises and Society with AI," the Forum is positioned as an annual national forum on artificial intelligence, a gathering place for managers, experts, research institutes and businesses to discuss, share and cooperate to make AI a new growth driver of Vietnam's digital economy .

The forum gathered 300 delegates, including leaders of ministries, departments, branches, experts, and the technology business community, marking an important milestone in the journey of promoting the development and application of artificial intelligence (AI) in Vietnam.

AI - Breakthrough opportunities and bottlenecks that need to be removed

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 adoption index also shows a clear acceleration, with an average 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 Khac Lich - Director of the Department of Information Technology Industry (Ministry of Science and Technology) emphasized at the Forum 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 average - a proud achievement, reflecting the strategic vision and steadfast efforts of the Government, businesses and experts of Vietnam.

Mr. Nguyen Khac Lich - Director of the Department of Information Technology Industry (Ministry of Science and Technology). (Photo: PV/Vietnam+)

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 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.

"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," said Mr. Nguyen Khac Lich.

However, according to experts at the Forum, the biggest challenge is the lack of high-quality human resources (45% of AI providers), 23% have difficulties with data and computing infrastructure, and 30% are concerned about the lack of a clear legal corridor.

In AI data, 50% of vendors reported limited or no access to benchmark data, while 51% of training facilities struggled with poor quality training data. The report also pointed to a “core bottleneck” in the AI value chain: the large gap between development and application investments.

While technology solution providers are increasing the scale of their projects, with most investments ranging from 1 billion to 3 billion VND, the AI costs of application units in 5 key areas (Education, Health, Finance, Transportation, Industry) have not received much attention.

Solve specific problems at AI360

A topic of interest at the Forum was the application of AI to the two-tier government model. The two-tier government model and the trend of streamlining the apparatus are putting direct pressure on the grassroots staff, such as: a shortage of people but a sudden increase in workload, with up to 1,065 tasks being decentralized and pushed down to the commune level.

A statistic from a business's implementation concluded: Each grassroots official, if having AI Assistant 24/7 to guide professional work according to regulations, reduces 60% of search time, improves file quality. Chatbot for public services, classifying and automatically redirecting files, expecting to process 70% is common with people. In terms of operational optimization: AI + RPA reduces 40-60% of processing time, forecasts workload, and coordinates personnel.

At the seminar, experts and leaders agreed that there are two tasks that currently occupy most of the workload of civil servants: processing documents and reporting. For processing documents, there will be assistants, AI chatbots that support multiple channels on applications, on the web or at Kiosks.

For management and reporting systems, we need fully AI solutions with the ability to customize and flexibly meet the needs in a simple way for staff without IT expertise, completely replacing the old software system.

AI will help two-level governments forecast situations, automate processes, operations, and public services, helping governments improve operational efficiency and staff capacity, thereby bringing positive effects and citizen satisfaction.

According to experts, Vietnamese 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.

The topic session on Developing Product Development Capacity in the Generation AI era was a highlight for Vietnamese technology business leaders. Here, VINASA announced the draft AI Capacity Maturity Framework, a comprehensive guidance framework for technology businesses, including key factors such as: measuring value & ROI, data readiness; core technology capacity, innovation speed, risk management, etc. This reference framework helps businesses evaluate and allocate resources appropriately.

Mr. Nguyen Van Khoa - Chairman of VINASA spoke at the event. (Photo: PV/Vietnam+)

Mr. Nguyen Van Khoa - Chairman of VINASA shared: If 2023 is "The Year of POCs" (year of pilot projects), then 2025 will be "The Year of Business Value" (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.

Mr. Khoa said: "VINASA also clearly identified a number of urgent tasks to remove the 'bottlenecks' of AI in Vietnam, including: First, solving the problem of application and management, focusing on transforming the mindset from testing (POC) to creating Business Value. Second, standardizing capacity: We announced the Draft AI Capacity Maturity Framework (STAIR - Strategic Transformation & AI Readiness). This is the first strategic tool to help businesses self-assess and orient their AI capacity. Third, building a Connecting Ecosystem: Bringing AI from the laboratory to practice, from vision to real value through activities connecting components in the ecosystem between the Government - Research Institutes - Enterprises and organizations, applying enterprises."

The exhibition space displays typical AI products in trade, finance, healthcare, education and logistics, demonstrating the strong rise of domestic creativity and technological capacity. (Photo: PV/Vietnam+)

Along with a series of professional content, AI & CEO Networking was organized within the framework of the forum, gathering more than 100 business leaders, investors and research institutes, to promote B2B - B2G cooperation. 10 exhibition booths displayed typical AI products in trade, finance, healthcare, education and logistics, demonstrating the creativity and strong emerging domestic technological capacity./.

(Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/khai-mac-dien-dan-ai360-tim-kiem-co-hoi-dot-pha-thao-go-diem-nghen-cho-ai-post1069231.vnp