Vietnam's IT industry revenue is projected to reach $170 billion by 2025, an 11% increase compared to 2024. The industry will also have over 70,000 digital technology enterprises and a workforce of over 1.5 million people.

The figures were released by the Vietnam Software and IT Services Association (VINASA) at the "AI: Lever for Optimizing Operations & Enhancing Human Experience" workshop, held on September 26.

According to Leo Kobayashi, Global Development Director at Givery, Vietnam is transforming from a low-cost software outsourcing destination into a global hub for AI and technology products.

"Vietnam is currently in  ASEAN's top 5 countries in terms of AI adoption, with 18% of businesses regularly applying AI, and 61% of those reporting an average revenue growth of 16%. These figures show that AI is not just a new technology, but is truly becoming a driving force for innovation and growth," said Tony Nguyen, Chief Digital Transformation Officer at Savvycom.

According to Ms. Dang Thi Thanh Van, CEO of Savvycom Joint Stock Company, AI is only meaningful when it solves specific business problems, increases operational efficiency, and reduces labor time for personnel. For example, Savvycom's AI contract approval solution helps businesses reduce review time by 50%, achieve 95% accuracy, and process over 1,000 contracts per month.

At SoftBank Group, 22,000 employees have also applied AI in many areas, from customer care centers, advertising, and market research to automating financial reports, thereby reducing processing time by up to 97% and saving over 51,000 labor hours.

Although Vietnam's potential to become a leading technology hub in the region is highly valued by international business leaders, the Global Development Director  at Givery also pointed out a challenge: while Vietnam has over 57,000 IT graduates each year, only about 30% meet practical requirements, making the skill level of IT personnel a worrying issue.

Furthermore, Vietnam also faces the risk of a shortage of 150,000 to 200,000 workers in 2025. Coupled with a 111% increase in the recruitment of highly skilled Vietnamese talent by international companies in 2024, this poses a risk of brain drain.