Driving the Future of Artificial Intelligence in Vietnam
Riding the global wave of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Zalo has emerged as a pioneer in AI development in Vietnam. Alongside researching and building AI-powered products, Zalo has consistently supported the tech community in mastering AI developed by Vietnamese people, for Vietnamese users. Pioneering a Leading AI Forum for the Vietnamese Community In 2017, as the world was accelerating in the AI race, advanced technologies with cognitive capabilities surpassing the human brain began to appear. These included Microsoft’s speech recognition system that reached “human parity” with an error rate of just 5.9%, Facebook’s versatile assistant Jarvis, and a series of virtual assistants like Apple’s Siri, Google Assistant, and Amazon’s Alexa. This explosion drew a promising future for AI that no tech giant wanted to miss out on. At that time in Vietnam, AI was still relatively new. Most Vietnamese research projects were being conducted overseas. The Zalo AI Summit was born as a forum for the domestic AI community to connect, exchange knowledge, and grow together. A Hub of Experts and Cutting-Edge Solutions In 2017, Zalo held the first Zalo AI Summit—an annual AI forum bringing together Vietnamese AI engineers and top experts and researchers from around the world. The forum created opportunities for in-depth discussions to deliver practical AI solutions tailored to the needs of Vietnamese users. It also served as a stage to showcase new AI products, technologies, and solutions designed to optimize the everyday lives of Vietnamese people. In its very first year—when AI was just “taking root” in Vietnam—the Zalo AI Summit proudly attracted over 230 engineers and developers, including prominent PhDs and MScs working in AI at Silicon Valley (USA) or at leading global corporations and research institutions. To date, we are proud to have successfully hosted the event six times, with participation from world-class experts and more than 3,000 AI engineers. Each year, the Zalo AI Summit has updated its theme to reflect ongoing developments and to provide a comprehensive picture of AI trends in Vietnam across different stages of growth.
A Shared Aspiration: “Vietnamese Engineers Can Absolutely Build AI” It was no coincidence that, from the very first event, the Summit was able to gather renowned experts from around the world. What connected them all was a shared spirit of openness, a desire to create value, and the aspiration that “Vietnamese engineers can absolutely build AI.” Over its 7 years of organization, the Zalo AI Summit’s greatest contribution has been bringing AI closer to everyday life and making the technology more accessible. The event has introduced numerous advanced AI solutions such as Kiki Auto (in-car assistant), eKYC (electronic Know Your Customer) identity verification, and a homegrown large language model (LLM) built from the ground up. Through its steady companionship with Vietnam’s AI community, the Zalo AI Summit has become—and will continue to be—a practical and meaningful forum for the country’s artificial intelligence ecosystem.
VNG Campus, Tan Thuan Ward, Ho Chi Minh City