Homebase and Persona Studios, whose founders once worked in the US and have received venture capital from Antler Fund, are starting a business in Vietnam.

Established in 2023, Persona Studios develops AI (artificial intelligence) technology which helps enterprises automate their operation, client access and recruitment. The startup is headquartered in Vung Tau City.

Asked why he chose Vietnam, Kevin Davis, co-founder and CEO of Personata Studios, said Vietnam has an outstanding technological labor force and a bustling startup ecosystem.

He also thinks that the effective investment environment in Vietnam with reasonable costs would create favorable conditions for the startup to grow rapidly. 

Kevin Davis has started a business three times, and one was bought for hundreds of million of dollars. With his many years of experience, he appreciates the cooperative spirit and work ethic of the Vietnamese technological community.

“The Vietnamese technological ecosystem now is similar to Silicon Valley in its early days. Everyone works to create a community which is ready to support each other, thus creating a momentum for startups,” he said. “The startup ecosystem would not be as bustling as it is now without the great efforts of the government of Vietnam."

Homebase, which provides solutions to people who want to buy real estate but have financial difficulties, was set up in 2019. 

Just several years after Antler invested in Homebase, the startup got capital from Y Combinator, one of the best known funds in the US which invested in Airbnb, Coinbase and Dropbox.

Homebase was also the first company with a head office in Vietnam that got funding from Y Combinator, before it successfully raised another $30 million of funds from many investors all over the globe.

Phillip An, co-founder and COO of Homebase, which has more than 70 qualified workers, said Vietnam is a dynamic and fast growing market with a tech-savvy young population and growing middle class.

Persona Studios’ Kevin Davis said Vietnamese technology engineers are qualified and industrious. They are willing to work hard to be sure that products have high quality and can be delivered to clients on schedule.

Trong Dat