Famous "sharks" in the technology world
Nguyen Hoa Binh , born on August 30, 1981 in Hanoi, is known by the nickname “Shark Binh” after participating as an investor in the program “Shark Tank Vietnam”. This character is considered a “technology shark” because he comes from the technology field and often chooses to invest in technology start-up projects.
Mr. Nguyen Hoa Binh graduated with a degree in Information Technology from Hanoi National University, before continuing his studies and receiving a Master's degree in Urban Informatics from Osaka University, Japan.
Photo of Shark Binh during his time studying abroad in Japan (Photo: FBNV).
Nguyen Hoa Binh showed his passion for startups and business thinking from a young age. In 2001, when he was only 19 years old, Binh founded the software company PeaceSoft, which is considered the foundation for the creation of the technology group NextTech later.
PeaceSoft initially focused on technology solutions for businesses, then shifted to "electronicizing traditional commerce". Under Binh's leadership, PeaceSoft attracted funding from international venture capital funds to expand and after only 3 years, the company was valued at about 6 million USD.
In 2005, PeaceSoft launched Chodientu.vn, one of the first e-commerce and online shopping sites in Vietnam, with the goal of helping Vietnamese people shop online more easily and strategically cooperated with eBay to shop online from the US.
In his leadership role at PeaceSoft, Nguyen Hoa Binh raised capital from IDG Ventures to expand the project. Together with Chodientu.vn, PeaceSoft also developed the online payment gateway Ngan Luong to support easier online shopping and payment.
Despite being a pioneer, Chodientu.vn has gradually lost its position to other giants such as Shopee and Lazada. In 2016, Chodientu.vn officially stopped operating so that PeaceSoft (now renamed NextTech) could focus on developing other projects.
Mr. Binh founded PeaceSoft when he was young and it was the foundation for building NextTech Group later (Photo: PeaceSoft).
In 2014, PeaceSoft was renamed NextTech Group, a multi-industry technology group with the goal of building a digital transformation ecosystem. NextTech operates in four main areas: financial technology; e-commerce and logistics; O2O services (from Online to Offline) and a venture capital fund supporting startups.
Prominent brands in NextTech's ecosystem include Ngan Luong, Boxme, FastGo, mPOS...
By 2020, NextTech expanded its operations abroad, owning more than 20 member companies. NextTech's financial technology sector has processed billions of dollars in transactions annually, with Ngan Luong's revenue reaching hundreds of billions to thousands of billions of VND each year.
Projects and services that made Shark Binh's name
Shark Binh and NextTech have personally built and invested in many products, helping to create a name in the field of financial technology and e-commerce. Some notable projects include:
Products and services in the ecosystem and invested by NextTech (Photo: Tri Tuc).
- Ngan Luong : Electronic payment project founded and developed by NextTech, integrating diverse payment methods, bank links, and user protection mechanisms.
- mPOS (mobile POS): Is a mobile payment solution, supporting small and medium-sized enterprises to make quick payment transactions via mobile devices, without the need for a traditional fixed POS machine. mPOS is considered one of the stable and important financial technology services of the NextTech ecosystem to this day.
- FastGo : A ride-hailing app that was expected to be in the top 3 in Southeast Asia but has struggled to compete with other giants. FastGo has now almost ceased operations, although there has been no official announcement about this.
- Boxme and Next SmartShip : Logistics and fulfillment platforms supporting e-commerce. Both services are currently operating normally.
- AntEx : Cryptocurrency project (blockchain DeFi) launched in September 2021. Mr. Nguyen Hoa Binh invested 2.5 million USD through the Next100 Blockchain fund and served as a strategic advisor. The project raised about 4.5 million USD from investors. Mr. Nguyen Hoa Binh committed to investing 50 million USD over 10 years in this project to strengthen investor confidence.
From tech entrepreneur to legal trouble
On October 14, the news that Shark Binh was temporarily detained caused a stir in public opinion, as he was still associated with the image of a successful businessman and frequently shared articles on his personal Facebook page.
Mr. Binh once committed to investing 50 million USD within 10 years in the AntEx project to build investor confidence (Photo: Manh Quan).
It all started in 2021, when Mr. Binh invested $2.5 million in the AntEx cryptocurrency project, then acted as an advisor and pledged to invest another $50 million in the project, as a way to build investor confidence.
However, the value of AntEx's cryptocurrency has lost up to 99% in a short period of time.
In 2023, AntEx will change its name to Rabbit, with a conversion rate of 1,000 AntEx coins equaling 1 Rabbit. This is a move to "redraw the chart" to erase the history of price declines.
However, the Rabbit coin also quickly lost 95% of its value, before the project's website and social media accounts were shut down.
Mr. Binh's temporary detention and prosecution caused a stir in the domestic technology community (Photo: Hanoi City Police).
According to initial information from the authorities, Mr. Binh was accused of being involved in serious violations in the AntEx digital currency project.
Together with his accomplices, he is suspected of mobilizing large sums of money amounting to millions of USD from tens of thousands of investors. Then, through many tricks, this group is said to have appropriated a particularly large amount of money from investors who had trusted and invested in the project.
Currently, Mr. Binh and his accomplices are being detained on charges of Fraudulent appropriation of property as prescribed in Article 174 of the Penal Code and Violation of accounting regulations causing serious consequences as prescribed in Article 221 of the Penal Code.
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/cong-nghe/shark-binh-hanh-trinh-tu-ca-map-cong-nghe-toi-sa-chan-vao-lao-ly-20251014163309122.htm
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