Published
AI Economy
Restructuring the economy in the AI era
How AI is restructuring the economy, what advantages Vietnam has, and what it must do to secure a place in the new value chain before 2035.
View bookVietnam stands before its second window of opportunity. This time, it is AI.
Thirty years ago, Vietnam caught the manufacturing FDI wave and changed the trajectory of an entire generation. The AI wave opens an even bigger opportunity: growth driven by productivity and knowledge. Provinces, industrial parks and enterprises that prepare today will capture the capital, technology and markets of the coming decade.
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The opportunity is already measurable.
Vietnam is not starting from zero. Vietnamese users and businesses are adopting AI faster than the regional and global averages.
Four figures on Vietnam's AI opportunity
- USD 120–130 billionProjected contribution of the AI economy to Vietnam's GDP in 2040, more than half from productivity gains
- 80%Vietnamese businesses used AI at work in the past year, above the 69% Asia-Pacific average
- 88%Vietnamese office workers use generative AI regularly; the global average is 75%
- Rank 15Vietnam's Finance component in UNCTAD's frontier technology readiness index (170 economies); Industry component ranks 23rd
Sources: NIC, JICA, BCG (GDP contribution); Microsoft and Ipsos (AI usage); UNCTAD, Technology and Innovation Report 2025, 2024 data. Compiled in the book AI Economy, Chapter 7.
What needs to be done is also clear: skills (rank 120/170, the weakest component), domestic computing infrastructure and the speed of investment procedures. These gaps can be closed through action, and the window to act remains open until around 2035.
Seven advantages Vietnam already holds.
Thirty years of attracting FDI have left a foundation in manufacturing, logistics and integration that many developing economies take decades to build. In the AI race, that is a launch pad.
- Advantage 1
Renewable energy, the “green gold” of the AI economy
More than 3,200 km of coastline suited to offshore wind, high solar irradiation and a developed hydropower system. Together with the direct power purchase agreement (DPPA) mechanism, this is a clean power source for AI Campuses and large-scale data centers.
- Advantage 2
Political stability
Investor confidence in strategic infrastructure projects with 20- to 30-year life cycles.
- Advantage 3
At the heart of Asia's technology supply chain
A few hours' flight from the electronics and semiconductor hubs of China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore.
- Advantage 4
Ample room to grow
Land for industrial parks, high-tech parks and AI Campuses is still plentiful, while many countries in the region have run out.
- Advantage 5
A young, fast-learning workforce
More than a hundred universities train in information technology, with tens of thousands of graduates every year.
- Advantage 6
An existing industrial base
Industrial parks, engineering, construction, telecommunications and thousands of supporting enterprises shorten project implementation time.
- Advantage 7
National political commitment
Resolution 57-NQ/TW, the National AI Strategy, the Law on Artificial Intelligence and the Law on Data create a clear framework for investment.
Source: AI Economy, Chapter 7, section 7.4 “Vietnam's seven potential advantages”.
Turning advantages into productivity: leading companies do four things differently.
Anyone can buy AI tools. The difference lies in how they are used.
Start from business goals
Every AI initiative is tied to a specific metric and to one person accountable for the number.
Redesign processes around AI
Fix the process first, automate second, so that AI does the right things faster.
Measure before, measure after, then scale
Set a baseline and stopping criteria; scale only once value has been proven.
Control data from the start
Know which data goes into AI and which data must stay inside the company.
Start from where you are.
Four tools, four levels. Online, instant results, free of charge.
- Provincial leaders
Which pillars make your province strong enough to attract AI capital, technology and talent, and what should it invest in first?
ARI assessment - Developers and industrial park management boards
What does an industrial park need to upgrade to make the shortlist of AI Factory and data center investors?
ARI-IP™ assessment - Business leaders
Where is your company strong across the 8 pillars of AI readiness, and which two things should it do first in the next 90 days?
EAR Index™ assessment - Heads of operations
Is the process you want to automate ready, or does something need fixing first?
Check with the Traffic Light
Four books: from the economy to the leader.
The two published books examine the AI transformation at the national and enterprise level. Two books on leadership, published in Q1/2027, return to where every transformation begins: the leader.
Published
AI First Business
Rebuilding the enterprise in the AI era
How enterprises rebuild strategy, organization and processes around AI: where to start, what to invest in first, how to measure results.
View book
Published Q1/2027
Lead Yourself First
Before leading others
You cannot lead others while you are still ruled by yourself. The book helps you master your ego, energy, habits and mindset, so you stay steady in the AI era.
View introduction
Published Q1/2027
BodhiMind Leadership
When the tea leaves settle
Wisdom to decide, inner strength to stay grounded, compassion to lead. The book brings Buddhist wisdom into management decisions amid growth pressure and the turbulence of the AI era.
View introduction
From understanding to results: the people we work with.
GoAI
AI transformation consulting and deployment of AI agent teams that work on the systems a business already uses, with human approval at decision points and a log of every action.
Go to go-ai.vnDCS
Data security software based on encryption. Documents are encrypted the moment they are created; rights to open, edit, print and share travel with each file, even after it leaves the company.
Learn about DCS at aisa.vn
Written from the investment negotiating table, not from a research lab.
Trần Tấn Sỹ, founder of IEP — Intelligent Ecosystem Partners. Nearly thirty years of experience in business management, consulting and international investment promotion; since 2020 he has been directly involved in many deals bringing high-tech investors to Vietnam.
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What we are working on and what we are seeing: investment promotion, international dialogue, and analysis of the AI economy and business.
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