The signing ceremony of an MoU on the roles and responsibilities of cooperation in building and implementing the Artificial Intelligence Centre of Excellence (AI COE) in Ho Chi Minh City (Photo: VNA)
 

The Startup and Innovation Hub of Ho Chi Minh City (SIHUB), the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City (UEH) and Plug and Play Singapore Pte. Ltd. on September 30 signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the roles and responsibilities of cooperation in building and implementing the Artificial Intelligence Centre of Excellence (AI COE) in Ho Chi Minh City.

Plug and Play is a global innovation platform founded in 2006 and headquartered in Silicon Valley, the US. It connects startups with corporations, investors, universities and government agencies, while operating corporate innovation, startup acceleration and venture capital programmes. Its network currently includes more than 100,000 startups and over 550 corporate partners, with a presence in more than 60 locations worldwide.

Under the MoU, the AI COE is envisioned as a platform bringing together the State, academia and businesses to promote research, incubation, startup acceleration and the practical application of AI in Ho Chi Minh City.

The cooperation will focus on three key pillars - the Capability Centre; the Acceleration Track; and the Venture Client Track/Proof of Concept (PoC) programme.

The partners also plan to organise ecosystem development activities, including thematic workshops, dialogues, exhibitions, and investor and international expert networking events. They will also facilitate access for Vietnamese startups and experts to Plug and Play’s international network and events.

Under the roadmap currently being discussed, following the signing of the MoU, SIHUB, UEH and Plug and Play will work on a detailed implementation agreement setting out the organisational model, operating mechanism, responsibilities of each party, resources, funding, key performance indicators (KPIs) and the roadmap for implementing the AI COE.

The parties aim to complete the implementation agreement within around 30 days and unveil the programme at the Plug and Play Silicon Valley November Summit, scheduled for November 3-5, 2026, in Sunnyvale, California, the US.

Introducing the AI COE in Silicon Valley will provide an opportunity to bring Ho Chi Minh City and Vietnam’s innovation story directly to the international technology, startup, corporate and investment communities, while opening up greater opportunities to attract partners, resources and technology solutions for the city’s innovation ecosystem.

Speaking at the programme, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Truong Minh Huy Vu said the cooperation could open up new opportunities for startups, businesses, researchers and other ecosystem stakeholders to access international experts, technologies, networks and markets. He expressed his hope that the commitments would gradually translate into concrete cooperation programmes, projects and outcomes.

According to Vu, the city is focusing on promoting the process from identifying needs and defining problems to finding appropriate technologies and solutions, mobilising resources, conducting real-world trials, and applying and scaling up successful solutions.

This process should be implemented not only at the city level but also gradually extended to wards, communes and special administrative zones, he said.

The signing ceremony was part of a programme marking National Innovation Day 2026. The programme also saw the official launch of the 2026 Ho Chi Minh City Innovation and Startup Award (I-Star).

A competition to create the brand identity logo for “Ho Chi Minh City Startup University” was also launched at the programme.

VNA