Singapore-founded global technology company Sea Limited (Sea) and OpenAI have announced the Vietnam edition of the Sea x OpenAI Regional Codex Hackathon Series, which will take place on Oct. 31, 2026.

Vietnam is the third stop in the Asia-Pacific series, following earlier editions in Singapore and Taiwan.

As artificial intelligence continues to advance, developers have growing opportunities to gain hands-on experience with emerging technologies and explore how they can be applied to real-world needs.

Through the hackathon, Sea and OpenAI aim to give Vietnam’s technology community greater access to advanced AI tools including Codex and OpenAI’s latest model, GPT-6 Astra, while providing opportunities to learn, experiment and turn ideas into practical solutions.

“The Vietnam edition of the Sea x OpenAI Regional Codex Hackathon reflects our growing collaboration with OpenAI to support AI talent, connect technology communities, and encourage meaningful innovation across the Asia-Pacific region,” said David Chen, co-founder of Sea and chief product officer at Shopee.

“Vietnam has a vibrant and growing technology ecosystem, and we hope the hackathon will provide a platform for local builders to exchange ideas, strengthen their skills, and explore how AI can help address real-world needs for businesses and communities. Through initiatives like this, we hope to support the broader ambitions of Vietnam’s National Strategy for artificial intelligence research, development, and application through 2030, particularly in nurturing AI talent and encouraging innovation that can benefit the digital economy,” he added.

Bringing together Vietnam’s AI builder community

The hackathon will bring together developers, students, startups and technology builders from across Vietnam, giving participants opportunities to gain hands-on experience with AI, exchange ideas and connect with others in the country’s growing AI and developer community.

Working in teams of three or four, participants will explore innovative applications of AI and develop practical solutions to real-world needs facing businesses and communities.

Projects will be evaluated by a judging panel that includes senior figures with experience at leading technology companies, including Son Le, OpenAI Codex Ambassador in Vietnam, and Kyle Tran, country product manager at Shopee Vietnam.

The judges will assess projects from different perspectives, including creativity, practical applicability and potential for growth.

Participants will also receive on-site support and guidance from OpenAI’s global experts.

Winning teams will receive up to $30,000 in OpenAI API credits, while additional prizes include ChatGPT Pro subscriptions for members of the top five teams.

Fostering creativity through AI solutions

A key focus of the Sea x OpenAI Regional Codex Hackathon Series is giving participants hands-on experience with Codex, OpenAI’s AI coding agent.

Participants will explore how emerging AI tools can help them experiment more quickly, improve development workflows and turn ideas into practical solutions for real-world needs.

Importantly, the hackathon will encourage teams to look beyond purely technical challenges and consider how AI could address meaningful needs for consumers, businesses and communities.

From improving everyday experiences to boosting productivity and accessibility through AI, participants will have an opportunity to explore and discuss the broader role of the AI ecosystem in driving innovation and contributing to Vietnam’s digital economy.

“Developers play a central role in bringing AI into the real world,” said Sidharth Sharma, head of GTM for ASEAN at OpenAI.

“Vietnam stands out for its combination of technical talent, creativity and genuine willingness to experiment. Bringing our regional hackathon series to Vietnam allows us to deepen our engagement with local developers and support them as they build with Codex and our latest model, GPT-6 Astra, learn from one another and tackle real-world challenges. We’re excited to see what Vietnam’s next generation of AI builders will create,” he added.

With upcoming editions in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, Sea and OpenAI will continue taking the hackathon series to developer communities across Asia Pacific, creating more opportunities to experiment with AI and apply it to real-world needs relevant to local contexts.