Pioneering in AI Transformation

CMC Technology Corporation: Pioneer in artificial intelligence transformation

CMC Corporation is leading the way in the transformation of artificial intelligence (AI) in Vietnam, with the ambition of becoming a global digital company. In an exclusive interview with Dau Tu Newspaper, Mr. Nguyen Trung Chinh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of CMC, shared about the Corporation's strategic priorities and vision for the future.

Mr. Nguyen Trung Chinh, Chairman of CMC Board of Directors

CMC has just been honored in the list of Top 50 best listed companies by Forbes Vietnam. What are the main factors contributing to this success after 14 years of listing, sir?

CMC is one of two information technology companies in Vietnam honored in the list of Top 50 best listed companies in Vietnam in 2024, by Forbes Vietnam. This is the first time CMC has received this prestigious award, marking an important milestone, demonstrating the trust and appreciation from investors.

In addition to impressive business results, an important reason why Forbes Vietnam honored CMC is its proactiveness in catching up with the AI ​​transformation wave - providing AI consulting services and technology solutions not only in Vietnam, but also globally.

CMC has been operating for 31 years and has been growing steadily, especially in recent years. We have been at the forefront of new technology waves, such as AI, microchip design, cloud computing, and cybersecurity. In 2017, CMC officially announced its digital transformation strategy and today, we are moving towards the next phase, which is AI transformation.

CMC achieved impressive financial results in 2023. Although net revenue decreased slightly compared to the previous year, to VND8,058 billion, pre-tax profit soared to VND548 billion - the highest level since listing on the stock exchange.

After more than 3 decades of development, CMC has become a leading technology corporation, with about 10 member units focusing on 4 strategic business areas: Digital Infrastructure, Solutions & Technology, International Business, Research & Education. Currently, CMC has more than 5,000 employees and is operating on a regional scale with estimated revenue and company value of about 400 million USD.

CMC currently owns more than 20 core technologies, including facial recognition technology (FaceID) ranked 12th in the world according to the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). This capability allows us to meet the cooperation needs of thousands of partners and customers. This is a great pride of CMC.

Our goal is to make CMC a global digital corporation by 2028, with a billion-dollar scale and a workforce of 10,000 - 15,000 employees.

What is the current trend of AI transformation in the region and the world and how will it impact Vietnam?

AI is not a new technology, as research on AI began in the 1960s. However, in recent years, generative AI models have had profound impacts on all aspects of society. In early 2024, when I attended the Davos Conference, I noticed that AI had become a major topic in discussions among leaders of countries, scholars, and the global business community.

The EU and the US are pushing for new AI regulations to deal with its far-reaching implications, as well as the potential risks it poses. This requires a balanced and responsible approach to AI development.

AI transformation is also being vigorously promoted in many countries in the region. For example, South Korea has launched a national AI transformation program from 2022, affirming its position as one of the leading countries in e-government, digital government and now AI transformation.

Service providers are increasingly integrating AI into their products and services to improve business productivity, better understand customer needs, and create new value for service providers.

Looking ahead, AI will continue to evolve and make new strides in supporting human life. To reduce the novelty and surprise of adoption, individuals, organizations, and businesses need to grasp the future AI trends that will likely emerge in 2024.

CMC is embarking on a comprehensive transformation with AI technology, starting with CMC University, moving from a digital university model to an AI university model. Will this transformation be carried out simultaneously across all four core business areas of CMC?

For more than 31 years since its establishment, CMC Technology Group has actively invested, researched, developed and applied new technologies. When establishing CMC University, the board of directors decided to take advantage of the Group's technological strengths to build the school according to the digital university model.

In July 2024, the school transformed from a digital university model to an AI university, committed to applying AI technology to operations, teaching and improving student experience. CMC will become a modern, innovative learning environment, enhancing AI application capacity for students, staff, lecturers and researchers.

I want to emphasize that the AI ​​university model is not just about training in AI or having AI majors, but more importantly, using AI technology to comprehensively transform the operations of a university, from teaching, learning to administration and operations.

Similarly, in core business areas, we have begun to transform all operations to AI platforms. We have established specialized units for AI-X transformation (formerly CX/DX digital transformation), and integrated AI applications into financial management, human resources and business operations. In parallel with internal AI transformation, CMC technology experts in all four blocks are ready to provide consulting services as well as AI technology solutions "made by CMC" and from partners to customers. Some typical products include:

- C-OCR: Successfully deployed for Vietnam Social Security. This project uses AI technology combined with optical character recognition (OCR) to extract information from documents and forms used in the insurance system in 63 provinces and cities.

- C-HR: In April 2024, CMC successfully launched a smart management solution and extracted candidate profile information for TH Group. At the same time, we are deploying a candidate search and suggestion system, AI chatbot for TH Group's human resources and legal affairs.

- C-LS: Designed to detect overlaps and conflicts in authority and effectiveness in legal documents, helping to improve efficiency in the law-making process.

- C-OCR for the Automotive Industry: Developed at the request of a leading Japanese automaker, allowing the extraction and linking of vehicle component information from technical documents and drawings to a central data warehouse, helping businesses optimize information search, manage spare parts inventory, and save operating costs.

- AI infrastructure platform: CMC is proud to be one of the first telecommunications units in Vietnam to provide AI infrastructure platforms for many famous domestic and foreign corporations.

CMC promotes international cooperation to develop AI technologies and solutions

In the next development journey, with the technology landscape constantly evolving and AI continuing to shape the way businesses operate, what are CMC's strategic priorities? What role will AI play in this journey, sir?

CMC is proud to be one of the leading corporations in Vietnam in embracing the AI ​​wave, accompanying the mission of national digital transformation.

At CMC, we recognize that AI is not just a trend, but also a core factor driving sustainable development and innovation in businesses. Our strategy starts with promoting an internal AI transformation culture, building a modern working environment within the company itself, and training high-quality human resources capable of accepting and applying AI technology in daily work.

This orientation demonstrates CMC Corporation's commitment to continuously learning, improving and applying the most advanced technologies. This allows us to bring breakthrough solutions, helping to improve performance, optimize business processes and meet the needs and expectations of customers.

CMC is steadfast in this revolutionary transformation, not only domestically, but also globally. From 2024 onwards, CMC's focus will be on supporting businesses to maximize the benefits from applying and transforming digitally with AI technology.

The highlight of CMC's products and services is the application of AI technology to increase efficiency, creativity, ensure quality, while still saving time and costs in the long term.

According to the strategic direction, the AI-supported management platforms developed by CMC ATI Institute will be increasingly improved, providing the ability to monitor and respond quickly to increasing cybersecurity and data security risks.

Compared to companies in Vietnam, CMC is recognized as one of the leading technology enterprises. However, compared to large companies in the world, we are still at an average level. My biggest concern is how to make CMC reach international standards. That requires us to develop the company to a large enough scale (10,000 - 15,000 people), have global influence (providing products and services that the whole world uses) and increase our presence in more countries with products and services based on Vietnamese intelligence. AI technology is a field that suits the capacity of Vietnamese people and CMC, and this is also the focus that CMC will focus on in the coming time.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/tap-doan-cong-nghe-cmc-tien-phong-trong-chuyen-doi-tri-tue-nhan-tao-d222694.html