Vbee CEO Ho Minh Duc

As a startup which has been operational for five years, specializing in conversational artificial intelligence (AI), Vbee is a pioneer in providing services such as artificial voice (vbee.vn) and chatbot in Vietnam. However, the path to bringing AI to reality is still tough. 

First, businesses must be persuaded to apply new technological solutions to improve productivity and reduce costs.

Vnee has many solutions such as KYC (Know Your Customer), artificial switchboard, artificial voice, artificial MC, OCR (optical character recognition), voice biometrics, chatbot, call bot and artificial virtual assistant, packaged and ready to be used. 

But businesses are hesitant to use them.

Even large private businesses have to spend time getting ready to use tech solutions, because contracts for former solutions have not expired yet, or the amortization period has not finished yet. 

Very few businesses have long-term vision and determination to try and accept risks to use AI solutions.

To win bids to provide AI solutions to businesses, technology firms have to satisfy requirements on operation duration, experience, profits and similar projects. However, requirements cannot be met because most AI startups are newly established.

Moreover, businesses still prefer traditional methods – making investments themselves and using new products, but it is timely and costly, while solutions quickly become outdated. 

This doesn’t fit digital transformation, which means using leased services, not making investment themselves.

AI solutions are provided on the Cloud and service users ‘pay as they go’. This is the most reasonable model, which allows users to choose the best services.

AI popularization

There should be solutions to apply AI in the national digital transformation process. This can only be done with the cooperation of different parties.

First, it is necessary to re-design regulations on new technological solution bidding.

Second, appropriate agencies, especially the Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC), need to have policies to encourage agencies and businesses to use Make-in-Vietnam AI solutions.

Third, there should be communication programs to popularize AI.

And training is also an important factor for the AI-application market to develop in Vietnam.

Ho Minh Duc