Empowering Vietnam’s business with autonomous Agentic AI for innovation.

By Dr. Duong Van Thinh

Chairman, AI & Data Center Club - Vietnam

VP, AI Technology at Veron Group

Current Assessment of Vietnam's Business AI Landscape

Vietnam stands at a pivotal moment in its digital transformation journey. The country's rapid economic growth, averaging 6.8% annually over the past decade, has created unprecedented opportunities for AI integration across business sectors. However, current adoption rates remain fragmented, with only 23% of Vietnamese enterprises implementing any form of AI technology as of 2024.

The disparity is stark across different business segments. While major conglomerates like Vingroup and FPT Corporation have invested heavily in AI infrastructure, over 70% of Vietnam's 800,000 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) still rely on manual processes for core business functions. This digital divide threatens Vietnam's competitive positioning as ASEAN's manufacturing hub shifts toward Industry 4.0 standards.

Concrete evidence emerges from recent enterprise surveys. Vietcombank reports that 85% of customer service inquiries still require human intervention, leading to average response times of 4.2 hours. Similarly, Vinatex—Vietnam's largest textile manufacturer—experiences production line inefficiencies costing approximately $2.3 million annually due to reactive maintenance approaches rather than predictive analytics.

The logistics sector presents another telling example. Vietnam's e-commerce market, valued at $13.7 billion in 2024, struggles with last-mile delivery optimization. Companies like Grab Vietnam reports 15-20% route inefficiencies during peak periods, directly impacting customer satisfaction and operational margins.

Most critically, Vietnam's manufacturing sector—contributing 20.3% to GDP—faces mounting pressure from rising labor costs and competition from neighboring countries with lower production expenses. Traditional approaches to quality control and supply chain management are no longer sufficient to maintain Vietnam's export competitiveness in global markets.

The Agentic AI Revolution for Vietnamese Business

Agentic AI represents a paradigm shift from reactive to proactive business operations, enabling Vietnamese companies to orchestrate complex workflows with unprecedented intelligence and autonomy:

Green Innovation at Scale: AI agents are revolutionizing Vietnam's sustainability initiatives by optimizing energy consumption across industrial complexes. At Samsung's Bac Ninh facility, agentic AI systems have reduced power consumption by 18% while maintaining production output, saving $4.2 million annually. These agents continuously monitor equipment performance, environmental conditions, and renewable energy availability to minimize carbon footprint—directly supporting Vietnam's commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050.

Smart Workforce Augmentation: Vietnamese businesses are deploying agentic AI as intelligent collaborators rather than replacements. VietJet Air's customer service AI agents now handle 78% of routine inquiries in Vietnamese, English, and regional dialects, reducing response times from hours to seconds. These systems don't just automate—they learn from each interaction, improving service quality while allowing human agents to focus on complex problem-solving and relationship building.

Manufacturing Intelligence: Vietnam's industrial backbone is being transformed through predictive manufacturing agents. At Thaco's automotive assembly lines in Quang Nam, AI agents analyze vibration patterns, temperature fluctuations, and production metrics to predict equipment failures up to 72 hours in advance. This proactive approach has reduced unplanned downtime by 34% and increased overall equipment effectiveness to 87%—surpassing international benchmarks.

Localized Market Insights: Vietnamese-trained AI agents provide unprecedented market intelligence by processing local news sources, social media sentiment, and regulatory changes in real-time. Mobile World Investment Corporation leverages these insights to optimize inventory across 3,000+ retail locations, reducing stock-outs by 25% while minimizing excess inventory costs. These agents understand cultural nuances and local market dynamics that generic AI systems miss.

Start-up Acceleration & Export Growth: Vietnam's entrepreneurial ecosystem is being supercharged by agentic AI capabilities. Fintech start-up Momo uses AI agents to automate compliance reporting across multiple Southeast Asian markets, reducing regulatory preparation time by 60%. Similarly, agricultural technology company Green Dragon Water Company employs AI agents to optimize export documentation and identify new market opportunities, contributing to their 140% revenue growth in 2024.

Impact on Vietnam's Economy Transformative Growth Projections

Vietnam's AI-enabled business transformation is projected to contribute $62 billion to GDP by 2030, representing 12% of the economy. This growth stems from productivity improvements, new service capabilities, and enhanced global competitiveness across key sectors.

Economic Opportunities:

• Manufacturing productivity gains of 25-35% through predictive maintenance and quality optimization

• Service sector expansion creating 450,000 new jobs in AI-augmented roles by 2028

• Export competitiveness improvement worth $8.3 billion annually in retained market share

• SME digitalization accelerating revenue growth by 40% for early adopters

• Foreign direct investment attraction of $15 billion in AI-focused industries

Strategic Risks:

• Skills gap requiring retraining of 2.1 million workers for AI-collaboration roles

• Cybersecurity vulnerabilities increasing with expanded AI integration

• Technology dependency potentially affecting economic sovereignty

• Unequal adoption creating competitive disparities between regions and company sizes

• Initial implementation costs straining SME capital resources

Expert Assessment from Regional Leaders

Leading economists and AI specialists from Japan's AI Strategy Council note that Vietnam's agentic AI adoption trajectory mirrors Japan's early robotics integration in the 1980s. Japanese experts project that Vietnam's lower labor costs combined with advanced AI capabilities could create a "productivity sandwich" effect, capturing both cost-sensitive and innovation-driven manufacturing contracts.

Dr. Hiroshi Yamamoto from Tokyo's Institute for AI and Society observes that Vietnam's unique position—bridging Western technological standards with Asian market understanding—positions the country as an ideal testbed for agentic AI applications. His analysis suggests Vietnam could become Southeast Asia's AI services hub within five years if current adoption rates accelerate.

The Japanese assessment emphasizes that Vietnam's success with agentic AI integration could establish new benchmarks for emerging economies seeking to leapfrog traditional development stages through intelligent automation.

Strategic Recommendations for Vietnam's Business Community

Vietnamese businesses should prioritize pilot implementations in customer-facing operations and supply chain optimization—areas with immediate ROI and measurable impact. Strategic partnerships with local universities and international AI providers will be essential for building sustainable capabilities while maintaining competitive advantages.

The agentic AI revolution isn't approaching—it's here. Vietnam's business community must act decisively to orchestrate this transformation, ensuring the country remains competitive in an increasingly AI-driven global economy while preserving the human-centered values that define Vietnamese business culture.

Ready to orchestrate your business's AI transformation? Our elite global team of domain experts specializes in AI, Data Center Digital Transformation, and next-generation solutions. Let's connect to discuss how agentic AI can accelerate your company's growth in Vietnam's dynamic market.