Vietnam Seeks AI Innovators at AI Awards 2026

Vietnam has launched its call for nominations for the AI Awards 2026, aiming to recognize outstanding AI products, solutions, businesses, and talent to foster the nation's artificial intelligence ecosystem. The AI Awards 2026 will accept nominations from July 15 to August 21. This year's awards are divided into three main categories: 1. AI Products and Solutions: For products, solutions, platforms, or applications directly researched and developed by individuals, groups, businesses, or organizations in Vietnam. 2. Vietnamese AI Talent: To honor experts and engineers under 35 years old with outstanding achievements in AI research and development. 3. AI Businesses: For enterprises developing AI technology, as well as units effectively applying AI into their production, business, and management activities. A key highlight of the AI Awards is its focus on practical value. According to the organizing committee, entries will be evaluated based on the value and impact they create. For the AI Products and Solutions category, the judging panel will assess creativity, implementation feasibility, applicability, and socio-economic impact. Vietnamese AI Talent will be considered based on professional capacity, research achievements, product effectiveness, contributions to the AI community, and responsible AI development. Meanwhile, outstanding AI Businesses will be evaluated on their technological capabilities, effectiveness in production and business operations, growth rate, and contributions to the Vietnamese AI ecosystem. Following the nomination period, shortlisted candidates will undergo a preliminary selection before proceeding to two rounds of voting, combining evaluations from a jury and VnExpress readers. In the final round, selected individuals or organizations will present and demonstrate their solutions before a panel of experts, and may be required to undergo practical experience to aid the scoring process. Beyond the opportunity for recognition, participants in the AI Awards will also have a chance to promote their products through media channels, connect with experts, investors, and the technology community, and expand opportunities for cooperation and development within the Vietnamese AI ecosystem. The AI Awards is one of the four main activities of the Vietnam Artificial Intelligence Day - AI4VN 2026, alongside the AI Summit, AI Workshop, and AI Expo. Organized annually since 2018 under the direction of the Ministry of Science and Technology, the event has become a forum for the research community, technology businesses, managers, and experts, both domestic and international, to promote the application of artificial intelligence in Vietnam. This year's event, themed "Agentic AI," is scheduled to take place in early November in Hanoi.