The Vietnamese technology landscape is undergoing a remarkable shift as homegrown artificial intelligence (AI) applications make their mark on both local and international stages. In a year dominated by global AI giants like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and Deepseek, a distinctly Vietnamese name—AI Hay—has quietly but decisively surged to the forefront of user satisfaction and industry recognition, signaling a new era for the country’s tech ambitions.
According to a report from Decision Lab released in August 2025, AI Hay has achieved a stunning feat: despite capturing only 9% of the AI user base in Vietnam over the past three months, it now ranks second in user satisfaction, trailing only behind ChatGPT. This places AI Hay ahead of international heavyweights such as Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, and Deepseek AI in the eyes of Vietnamese users. The implication is clear—while technological prowess is important, local users are increasingly valuing deep localization, cultural resonance, and an empathetic understanding of Vietnamese language and habits.
So, what is fueling this meteoric rise? For starters, AI Hay stands apart as a truly homegrown product. Unlike many international platforms that rely on machine translation or superficial Vietnamese language training, AI Hay is designed, developed, and continually refined by a Vietnamese engineering team. Their mission is explicit: to serve Vietnamese users in ways that global competitors simply can’t. The system’s deep learning models aren’t just proficient in standard Vietnamese—they’re adept at catching trends, deciphering slang, understanding memes, and navigating the rich tapestry of regional dialects. As a result, AI Hay feels less like a distant chatbot and more like a knowledgeable, culturally fluent companion.
But AI Hay’s appeal doesn’t stop at language. The application integrates a suite of features tailored for Vietnamese life: contextual search, aggregation, analysis, and information summarization. In practice, this means users can employ AI Hay not just as a question-and-answer bot, but as a multifunctional assistant for learning, work, and entertainment. The platform has evolved into a social network for Q&A, where users don’t merely ask questions—they follow topics, interact with a vibrant community, and discover knowledge in ways that suit their age, profession, and interests.
The numbers behind this phenomenon are equally impressive. By late August 2025, AI Hay had surpassed 15 million downloads on the App Store and Google Play, holding the top spot in the “Education” category. Monthly, it facilitates over 100 million Q&A interactions, and its user rating stands at a stellar 4.8 out of 5 across major app stores. These milestones have not gone unnoticed by investors: the company has successfully raised $18 million from prominent funds such as Argor Capital, AppWorks, and Square Peg. AI Hay’s strategic partnerships are also expanding, with the platform now recognized as a strategic AI partner of Amazon Web Services in Southeast Asia and having received an invitation to NVIDIA’s major AI event.
Recognition has come not only from users and investors but also from prestigious institutions. On August 28, 2025, Forbes magazine published its annual “Forbes Asia 100 to Watch” list, featuring 100 notable startups and small companies across the Asia-Pacific region. For the first time, Vietnam had two representatives: Kamereo and, notably, AI Hay. As Forbes highlighted, AI Hay is the only Vietnamese technology startup to make the 2025 ranking and stands as the first and largest purely Vietnamese Q&A AI social network in the country. The list itself is highly competitive, with entries from 16 countries and territories—India led with 18 companies, followed by Singapore and Japan with 14 each, and China with 9. AI Hay’s inclusion underscores its status as a standout not just at home, but in the broader regional context.
Industry reports further bolster AI Hay’s credentials. According to Sensor Tower data from August 2025, AI Hay is the only AI application from Southeast Asia to crack the Top 10 most used AI apps in the region. This is a remarkable achievement, especially considering the fierce competition from established global platforms.
Institutional recognition within Vietnam has been equally emphatic. The Better Choice Awards 2025, officially launched in early August, has placed a spotlight on products that embody the “Make in Vietnam” ethos and prioritize high local content. As PGS.TS Lê Hoàng Sơn noted on August 25, “Better Choice Awards should prioritize 'Make in Vietnam' technology products with high local content.” The awards have become a key barometer for technological innovation and consumer trends in the country, as expert Đào Trung Thành described them as a “gatekeeper with authority.”
AI Hay has been nominated in the category “Leading AI Application Brand Serving Vietnamese People” under the Innovative Choice Awards system of Better Choice Awards 2025. This special category honors brands—Vietnamese or international—that apply AI as a core technology to improve daily life in Vietnam. To be considered, candidates must demonstrate that AI is not just an add-on, but the central engine of their operations, with measurable impacts on user experience, operational efficiency, and technology accessibility.
Beyond the accolades, the story of AI Hay points to a broader shift in Vietnamese consumer preferences. At the Better Choice Awards 2025, the message “Vietnamese people welcome Vietnamese products” was loudly echoed. The awards have also worked closely with brands to foster trends of green, smart, and suitable consumption for Vietnamese people, reflecting a growing appetite for products that are both innovative and attuned to local needs.
AI Hay’s journey from a 2022 startup founded by CEO Trần Đức to a national and regional powerhouse is a testament to the potential of Vietnamese tech entrepreneurship. The company’s rapid scaling, deep localization, and user-centric design have not only set new standards for AI in Vietnam but have also inspired a new generation of startups to think globally while building locally.
As the Vietnamese AI ecosystem continues to mature, AI Hay’s rise serves as both a blueprint and a beacon. It’s a reminder that in the race for technological dominance, understanding local culture and user needs can be just as important as cutting-edge algorithms or massive datasets. For now, all eyes are on AI Hay and the broader Vietnamese tech scene—what comes next could reshape not just Vietnam, but the entire region’s approach to AI innovation.
