How Vietnam Is Positioning Itself In The Global AI Development Race

Many companies reach the same turning point when starting an AI development: the strategy is ready, the use cases are clear, but the team isn’t. Building an internal AI team takes time, experienced engineers are difficult to hire, and delaying the project means losing momentum in a fast-moving market.

That’s why more organizations are reconsidering where their AI development should actually happen. Instead of limiting the search to local talent pools, they are exploring technology hubs that offer both engineering capability and scalability. In recent years, Vietnam has started appearing more frequently in that conversation. Today, that expertise is expanding into AI development, supported by a growing talent pool, competitive costs, and increasing government investment in AI.

So the question becomes: Is Vietnam truly a strategic destination for AI development? In this blog, we will examine the key factors shaping Vietnam’s rise in the global AI landscape, and what businesses should consider when choosing Vietnam as a partner for AI development.

The Global AI Boom is Creating a Talent Shortage

What happens when a company is ready to build an AI product, but can’t assemble the team fast enough to do it? This situation is becoming increasingly familiar for many organizations. The ideas are often already there, using AI to automate repetitive workflows, improve customer experiences, or uncover patterns hidden in large volumes of data. The challenge usually appears later, when those ideas need to be turned into something real.

Building an AI system requires a very particular combination of skills. Teams need engineers who understand machine learning models, people who can prepare and manage large datasets, and developers who know how to integrate those models into existing platforms. Finding professionals who can cover these areas is rarely straightforward, especially as more companies invest in AI development.

Not surprisingly, the hiring market has started to reflect that pressure. Some estimates suggest there are around 500,000 AI-related roles still unfilled worldwide, highlighting how quickly the demand for AI development expertise has grown in recent years.

For companies based in the US, Europe, or Australia, outsourcing AI can offer three key advantages:

Faster access to skilled engineers
Lower operational costs
The ability to scale teams quickly

As a rapidly growing technology hub in Southeast Asia, Vietnam has developed a strong pipeline of engineers capable of contributing to complex AI development projects.

Vietnam’s Expanding Pool of Talent

A strong talent base is the foundation of any successful AI development ecosystem, and Vietnam has been steadily strengthening its workforce over the past decade. Vietnam offers deep-developed talent, with estimates of 500,000+ software engineers and around 55,000 – 60,000 IT graduates entering the workforce annually, providing a scalable base for software development engagements.

But do those engineers have the skills required for AI development? Encouragingly, the answer is increasingly yes. Vietnamese developers are widely trained in modern programming languages and frameworks commonly used in AI development, including Python, Java, and machine learning frameworks. In fact, surveys indicate that more than 70% of Vietnamese are proficient in modern development stacks that support AI systems.

In addition, universities are rapidly expanding programs focused on AI and data science. According to recent reports, around 150 universities in Vietnam now offer IT-related programs, many of which include AI-focused courses and research initiatives.

Several initiatives are also helping accelerate talent development:

Universities introducing specialized AI degrees
Technology companies collaborating with academic institutions
Training programs supported by global tech firms

For example, partnerships between universities and companies like NVIDIA are integrating AI education into engineering curricula across dozens of Vietnamese institutions.

Competitive Costs That Make AI Projects More Feasible

One challenge that often surfaces when planning AI development is the cost of assembling the right team. Building practical AI solutions usually involves more than one specialist. Data engineers, machine learning engineers, backend developers, and infrastructure experts often need to work together to move a model from experiment to production.

Salary benchmarks show how significant the gap can be across regions. According to data from Glassdoor and Talent.com, compensation for machine learning engineers varies widely depending on location:

United States: Around $140,000 – $170,000/year
Western Europe: Roughly $80,000 – $120,000/year
India: Typically $40,000 – $70,000/year
Vietnam: Often $30,000 – $60,000/year,

The difference can significantly reshape how organizations approach AI development. Instead of allocating most of the budget to a small internal team, companies often gain the flexibility to build larger engineering groups, experiment with different AI models, and refine solutions before scaling them across the business.

Government Strategy Is Accelerating AI Development

In 2021, the Vietnamese government officially launched the National Strategy on Research, Development and Application of Artificial Intelligence to 2030 under Decision No.127/QĐ-TTg. The strategy sets an ambitious target: by 2030, Vietnam aims to rank among the top 4 countries in ASEAN and the top 50 globally in AI research, development, and application.

The roadmap outlines several concrete initiatives to strengthen the national AI ecosystem. These include building 3 national big data and high-performance computing centers, establishing 3 national AI innovation hubs, and developing 50 open datasets across multiple industries to support AI research and product development. (Source: CSIRO Research)

Beyond infrastructure, the strategy also focuses heavily on talent development and innovation capacity. The government plans to expand AI education programs, strengthen university research capabilities, and increase collaboration between academic institutions and technology companies. These efforts aim to build a sustainable pipeline of engineers, researchers, and data scientists capable of supporting large-scale AI development projects.

More recently, policymakers have started discussing new legal and regulatory frameworks for AI, including plans to update the national AI strategy and introduce a dedicated AI law. These efforts aim to create clearer governance models around transparency, data usage, and responsible AI deployment while encouraging domestic innovation.

Time Zone Compatibility that Keeps AI Development Moving

Vietnam’s position in the GMT+7 time zone helps reduce this friction. For companies in Asia-Pacific markets such as Singapore, Japan, or Australia, working with Vietnamese AI development teams usually means operating within the same business hours. Product discussions, sprint planning sessions, and technical troubleshooting can happen in real time, allowing teams to resolve issues quickly and keep development cycles moving forward.

The time difference also creates useful overlap with European teams. When clients in Europe finish their workday, engineering teams in Vietnam can continue building features, refining models, or running experiments overnight. By the time European teams return online, new updates or results are often already available for review.

Equally important is how teams communicate. Vietnam’s technology industry has spent years collaborating with international clients, which means many engineering teams are already familiar with global working styles. English, Korean, and Japanese are widely used in project communication, and distributed collaboration tools such as Jira, Slack, GitHub, and Zoom are part of everyday workflows.

Instead of relying on occasional updates, most teams operate within structured delivery frameworks, daily stand-ups, sprint reviews, and transparent progress tracking. This makes it easier for international clients to stay involved in AI development projects without needing to manage every detail.

Challenges to Consider When Choosing Vietnam for AI Development

Vietnam’s technology industry has grown quickly over the past decade, and this rapid expansion also brings certain challenges that companies should consider when evaluating the country for AI development. Some of the most notable challenges include:

A limited pool of highly specialized AI engineers

A key constraint involves the availability of highly specialized AI talent. Vietnam has more than 50,000 of IT graduates each year, yet engineers with deep expertise in machine learning architecture, advanced data science, and large-scale model training remain limited compared with the growing demand for these skills.

Differences in technical maturity across development teams

Some technology firms have accumulated years of experience delivering complex AI development projects for international markets, while others are still expanding from traditional software outsourcing into AI-focused services.

Growing competition for experienced engineers

Vietnam’s major technology hubs, particularly Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, continue to attract investment from global technology companies. Senior AI engineers, data scientists, and machine learning specialists are therefore becoming increasingly sought-after professionals.

Encouragingly, several developments are gradually addressing these challenges and strengthening the country’s AI development ecosystem.

Universities are expanding AI-focused programs

Many leading universities in Vietnam have introduced specialized courses in artificial intelligence, data science, and machine learning. These programs aim to equip students with intelligence, data science, and machine learning. These programs aim to equip the next generation of engineers with practical knowledge that aligns more closely with industry demand.

Technology companies are investing in internal AI training

To bridge the talent gap, many software firms are building internal AI academies, mentorship programs, and research initiatives. These programs allow software engineers to transition into machine learning roles and gain hands-on experience in real AI development projects.

International collaboration is accelerating knowledge transfer

Partnerships with global technology companies, research institutions, and multinational clients are exposing Vietnamese engineers to more advanced AI systems and development practices.

Taken together, these efforts indicate that Vietnam’s AI development capabilities are still evolving, but the direction of that evolution is clear: the ecosystem is gradually moving from traditional outsourcing toward more sophisticated AI-driven product development.

The Future of AI Development in Vietnam

AI Adoption is Steadily Increasing across Industries

A first signal comes from the rapid expansion of the AI market itself. According to industry estimates, Vietnam’s AI market was valued at around $470 million in 2022 and is projected to reach approximately $1.52 billion by 2030, growing at roughly 16% annually. Such growth reflects the accelerating adoption of AI technologies across industries, including finance, manufacturing, education, and healthcare. (Source: Vietnam Plus)

The Local AI Ecosystem is Expanding

Vietnam has seen a rise in AI startups, research labs, and innovation centers focused on machine learning, computer vision, and data intelligence. Companies such as VinAI, Trusting Social, and Aimesoft are building AI-driven products, while large technology groups including FPT, Viettel, and Vingroup have established dedicated AI research initiatives to accelerate development.

Global Technology Companies are Increasing Their Presence

International firms are beginning to invest more actively in Vietnam’s technology ecosystem. For example, Qualcomm launched an AI research and development center in Vietnam in 2025, focusing on generative AI and advanced AI technologies. Such initiatives help strengthen local expertise while connecting Vietnamese engineers to global AI development projects.

Conclusion

So, is Vietnam a good destination for AI development? In many cases, the answer becomes clear during the building phase. AI projects rarely stay small for long. A prototype turns into a feature, a feature becomes part of the product roadmap, and suddenly the team needs more engineers who can design models, manage data pipelines, and ship production-ready systems.

Vietnam is increasingly appearing on that map of possibilities. With a growing pool of engineers experienced in machine learning and data-driven platforms, the country is gaining attention from companies that want to expand their AI development capacity without slowing down product innovation.

If you are exploring the next step for your AI development roadmap, a conversation might be a good place to start. Contact our team to discuss your ideas or upcoming projects, we’d be glad to explore how they can be built and scaled together.

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