On March 14 in Hanoi, Meta, in collaboration with the National Innovation Center (NIC) under the Ministry of Finance, launched the 2025 Vietnam Innovation Challenge. This marks the third consecutive year of the program, which is dedicated to advancing artificial intelligence (AI) in Vietnam.

The 2025 edition highlights a significant milestone by focusing on the ViGen project, which seeks to build a large-scale, high-quality open-source Vietnamese dataset specifically for training and developing large language models (LLMs).

ViGen aims to enhance AI models’ comprehension of Vietnamese culture, context, and linguistic nuances, paving the way for groundbreaking AI applications in Vietnam’s digital economy.

NIC plays a leading role in overseeing, coordinating, and aligning the project with national development strategies. AI for Vietnam, supported technically and financially by Meta, is responsible for executing specific components of the initiative.

Additionally, strategic partners such as NVIDIA, Viettel, and the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology are also making contributions and fostering a sustainable cooperative ecosystem.

The core mission of ViGen is to develop high-quality, open-source Vietnamese datasets of sufficient scale to support the training and evaluation of modern AI models. This not only enables AI systems to process Vietnamese naturally but also ensures that Vietnam’s ethical standards and cultural values are embedded in AI development.

Vo Xuan Hoai, deputy director of NIC said, "AI is transforming the world every day. For Vietnam, developing high-quality, open-source Vietnamese datasets is a key priority to drive technological breakthroughs, innovation, and national digital transformation."

According to Professor Yann LeCun, vice president and Chief AI Scientist at Meta, ViGen and the Vietnam Innovation Challenge hold significance beyond technology. They affirm Vietnam’s role in the global AI landscape while preserving and promoting Vietnamese language and culture in the AI era.

“We are not just creating technology; we are building an inclusive AI future that stays true to local values,” Yann LeCun highlighted.

Meta will further contribute to the ViGen project through open datasets under the AI and Data for Community Benefit program.. These datasets, which include information on mobility, social connections, and AI-powered population maps, will drive AI research and applications across various fields.

Tran Viet Hung, CEO of AI for Vietnam, stated that ViGen will significantly improve Vietnamese representation in global AI datasets. Furthermore, ViGen will contribute to the Open & Trusted Data Initiative (OTDI) under the Global Partnership on AI, of which AI for Vietnam is a key member.

Beyond ViGen, Meta and Deloitte have chosen Vietnam as the first country in the Asia-Pacific region to launch the handbook "Public Sector Innovation in Asia-Pacific with Open-Source AI: Unlocking Transformational Potential with Llama."

The handbook is expected to provide valuable support for public agencies in effectively adopting open-source AI, serving as a practical guide for implementing AI models tailored to local conditions and needs.

Sarim Aziz, Public Policy Director at Meta, stressed that through open-source models like Llama, Meta hope to help Vietnamese organizations and businesses tap into AI’s full potential.

According to a report released at the event, two notable applications of the Llama model have been successfully implemented in Vietnam. The Ministry of Science and Technology, in collaboration with MISA, has developed a virtual assistant that reduces information lookup time for officials by 98%, significantly improving work efficiency. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Justice and Viettel have applied Llama to build a legal assistant, cutting document research time by 30%.

Chris Lewin, head of AI and Data Capabilities for Asia-Pacific at Deloitte, stressed that open-source AI is a key driver of digital transformation in the public sector. Through this report, Deloitte aims to help management bodies and organizations in Vietnam gain a deeper understanding of next-generation AI applications based on principles of transparency and trustworthiness.

Vietnam reaffirms commitment to AI development cooperation

Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Bui Hoang Phuong led a Vietnamese delegation to the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Summit in Paris from February 10-11, reaffirming Vietnam’s commitment to AI application to socio-economic development and international collaboration in this field.