In mid-2025 we attended an enterprise–startup GenAI forum in Ho Chi Minh City. Signal is clear: enterprises in SE Asia are funding AI now; Vietnam teams are ready to deliver.
What changed
- Reverse pitches from enterprises: automation, personalization, fraud, forecasting, digital twins.
- Curated 1:1 matchmaking → fast PoC pathways.
- Talent density in LLM engineering, MLOps, and cloud (AWS/Azure/GCP).
Implications for hiring
Vietnam provides senior AI/ML capability with predictable delivery and cost efficiency. Typical savings vs AU/US: 40–60% at similar skill bands.
Action plan for CTOs
- Define product vs platform boundary: retain product ownership; outsource model ops and data pipelines.
- Start with a 6–12 week PoC; graduate to production on clear metrics (latency, quality, unit economics).
- Stand up a dedicated Vietnam AI squad (LLM eng, data eng, MLOps, QA) managed to your SLAs.
Read the full field report with sources on our research hub: Generative AI in Vietnam: full analysis.
Work with a Vietnam AI squad
We assemble and manage dedicated teams: AI Engineering, DevOps & Cloud, Dedicated Teams.
Contact: Book an assessment or [email protected].
FAQ
Where should CTOs start with Vietnam-based AI initiatives?
Begin with a 6–12 week PoC focused on a measurable KPI, then scale with a dedicated squad (LLM eng, data eng, MLOps).
What cost delta should we model vs AU/US?
Plan for 40–60% savings at equivalent skill bands, with senior ICs available across LLM fine-tuning, data, and MLOps.