Corporate News-VNG and Social Responsibility

“Developing Technology and People, for a better life”

At VNG , we believe that technology should be a positive force, contributing to improving the quality of life and empowering the community. As a leading technology enterprise, VNG does not stop at constantly innovating technology but also aims to create tangible and different impacts. VNG's commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR) is demonstrated through three core pillars:

1. Internet development changes Vietnamese people's lives

Pioneering the development of Vietnam's AI community through comprehensive initiatives

With the vision of “AI-First”, Zalo has made great strides in 2024, promoting research and development of AI products specifically for Vietnamese people. Identifying AI as the spearhead, Zalo is committed to building a large AI community through meaningful programs such as Zalo AI Summit, Zalo AI Challenge and innovative products.

Kiki Auto, the "Make in Vietnam" smart assistant for cars, has reached 1 million installations - marking an important milestone in 2024. Launched in 2020 in the global AI wave, Kiki Auto demonstrates Zalo's dedication to applying AI in practice. Built entirely by a team of domestic engineers, Kiki Auto stands out thanks to its ability to understand local communication culture and process Vietnamese accurately, providing a smooth voice interaction experience. Kiki Auto's efforts have been recognized with the proud award: "Excellent Vietnamese Virtual Assistant" at VnExpress Tech Awards 2024.

Zalo also made its mark with VMLU (Vietnamese Multitask Language Understanding Benchmark Suite for Large Language Models), launched at the end of 2023, which is considered a turning point in the AI community in Vietnam. VMLU provides a comprehensive assessment dataset with 10,880 questions on 58 topics, including natural sciences , social sciences, humanities and many other topics. This is the most rigorous standard for assessing large language models (LLM) from elementary to postgraduate levels. Not only stopping at measurement, VMLU also promotes the development of LLM in Vietnam: In 2024, 45 new Vietnamese LLM models joined the VMLU rankings, with contributions from more than 155 organizations and individuals, 3,729 assessments and 691 data downloads.

Zalo AI Summit and Zalo AI Challenge continue to accelerate development efforts, bringing together experts, researchers and the AI enthusiast community to explore AI potential and solve real-world problems for Vietnamese people. These events create a vibrant, connected and inspiring space, promoting breakthrough ideas with far-reaching impact.

The Kiki ecosystem, including Kiki Auto, Kiki Info, and AI models such as KiLM (currently equivalent to ChatGPT-4 on the VLMU scale for models trained from scratch), is a testament to Zalo's commitment to bringing AI into everyday life. Kiki Info, the latest "Make in Vietnam" AI Q&A platform, supports many tasks such as looking up traffic laws, answering social questions, and creating creative AI cards. Trained on a huge data warehouse, Kiki Info provides natural, insightful answers, an important step in shaping the position of Vietnamese AI on the world map.

Through its tireless efforts over the years, Zalo has not only pioneered AI development but also actively built an open and vibrant AI community, contributing to making Vietnam an important link in the global AI revolution, in line with the spirit of "mastering technology" and taking AI as the spearhead of Resolution NQ-57/TW.

Zalo accompanies National Digital Transformation

Over the years, Zalo has gradually become an important factor in Vietnam's digital transformation, working closely with government agencies to promote this process nationwide. By the end of 2024, there were 17,273 Zalo Official Accounts (OA) of state agencies and public utilities, helping to connect people across the country. In addition, 468 Mini Apps are operating on the platform, reaching more than 5.7 million users in just over a year; of which, 173 Mini Apps are operated by state agencies.

Administrative procedure reform: Help people carry out administrative procedures right on their phones. State agencies can also proactively send notifications or request additional documents from people, creating a transparent, convenient and time-saving process.

Enhance public safety and order: Connect citizens with local police forces, helping to report incidents quickly and effectively. With multimedia sharing, users can send photos, videos or locations to support authorities in handling situations promptly, ensuring community safety.

Raise public awareness: Communicate important information to millions of people through text, images or video, ensuring content is clear and accessible.

Promoting transparency in state management: Through feedback and survey tools, Zalo helps the government listen to people's opinions, evaluate service quality and respond promptly. This not only enhances trust and responsibility but also strengthens the relationship between the community and public administrative units.

Zalo contributes to disaster prevention

Zalo cooperates with state agencies from provincial to central levels in preventing natural disasters for people. In particular, Zalo has close cooperation with the Department of Dyke Management and Natural Disaster Prevention and Control (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) to optimize features such as the Mini App "Vietnam Natural Disaster Prevention and Control" and the Zalo OA page "National Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control".

In 2024, Zalo coordinated with relevant agencies to send more than 214 million disaster warning messages. In particular, Zalo closely cooperated with the National Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control, sending more than 183 million messages. Other important partners include the Hanoi Department of Information and Communications (more than 22 million messages), Quang Ninh e-Government (nearly 4 million messages) and many other local units. During super typhoon Yagi in September 2024, Zalo sent 141 million messages to affected areas in the North. At the same time, Zalo launched the Zalo SOS feature, allowing people to directly contact local authorities for emergency support and safety updates. In just 10 days, 1 million people in the northern provinces used Zalo SOS to report their safety status, bringing peace of mind to their families and communities.

With the above efforts, Zalo commits to accompany Vietnam in disaster prevention, ensuring timely connection and support in the face of all challenges.

Zalopay promotes cashless payments in Vietnam

Operating in the field of electronic payments, Zalopay is making an important contribution to the goal of a “cashless society” in Vietnam. Currently, Zalopay provides convenient payment solutions such as online shopping, bill payment, QR code scanning at stores and many other utilities, making spending simple for millions of users. Through strategic cooperation with large platforms, retail systems, along with features such as instant money transfer and incentive programs, Zalopay is strongly promoting the popularity of digital payments.

Committed to ensuring transaction security, Zalopay applies advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) to detect fraud and end-to-end encryption, helping to strengthen the trust of businesses and customers in digital payment methods. Cooperating with organizations such as Visa and banks, Zalopay is gradually contributing to the development of Vietnam's digital economy.

Zalopay: Connecting charity through digital platforms

In addition to upgrading the cashless payment experience, Zalopay also integrates a community mission into its platform through the Donate feature, making it easy for users to contribute to meaningful activities. Acting as a bridge between individuals, businesses and charitable organizations, Zalopay promotes corporate social responsibility and increases access to funding for these organizations. At the same time, when using the application, users are also aware of the value they bring to society.

In 2024, Zalopay's Donation feature called for 125,378 donations, 5.2 billion VND to fund nearly 100 charity projects. One of the outstanding campaigns was "Supporting compatriots affected by super typhoon Yagi", coordinated by Zalopay and Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper. Within three days, this campaign raised more than 2 billion VND with more than 25,000 donations, demonstrating the power of the platform in calling for quick support for difficult circumstances.

In December 2024, Zalopay joined the Ho Chi Minh City Labor Federation, the Lao Dong Newspaper and the Crescent Moon Fund to launch the program "Helping each other go home". Through the donation portal on the Zalopay application, the program received more than 600 million VND from donors before January 16, 2025. The entire amount was used to bring more than 400 union members and disadvantaged workers from grassroots unions in Ho Chi Minh City; and 100 lonely elderly people, children, and pregnant women being cared for by the Crescent Moon Fund, back to their hometowns to celebrate Tet safely.

2. Collaborate to spread value

VNGGames: Actively accompanying the Vietnamese gaming industry and eSports community

In May 2024, VNGGames continues to accompany and participate in Vietnam Game Festival - Vietnam GameVerse 2024, bringing more than 19 famous game titles, attracting more than 10,000 gamers to participate in experience and exchange activities.

In addition, with its long-standing operating capacity in the market, VNGGames also actively participates in sharing experiences at major forums, discussing issues on policy mechanisms between state management agencies and enterprises, with the goal of promoting the development and shaping the future of the Vietnamese gaming industry, a field that has great room for developing the digital economy.

On the journey of 20 years of continuous development, VNGGames has always played an active role in supporting and accompanying the Vietnamese gaming industry, especially in activities promoting the eSports industry.

Specifically, VNGGames continuously supports and accompanies Vietnamese eSports teams to participate in international tournaments; coordinates and organizes domestic and international tournaments to select national players; connects the fan community through exchanges and large-scale live TV viewing sessions (Viewing Parties) for key eSports tournaments. These activities of VNGGames have contributed to building the community as well as creating a diverse and comprehensive eSports ecosystem.

Most recently, VNGGames was appointed as a member of the Executive Committee for the 4th term (2024-2029) of the Vietnam Entertainment eSports Association (VIRESA), directly contributing its rich experience and resources to the strategy of developing the Vietnamese eSports industry to become an important component of the digital economy.

The system of eSports tournaments invested in professionally and systematically by VNGGames will be a solid foundation for Vietnamese eSports to reach international level, creating huge revenue and added value, commensurate with its potential.

UpRace: Every step for the community

UpRace, the most influential community running project in Vietnam, was launched in 2018. This is the first model in Vietnam to creatively combine 3 elements: technology platform, running movement and volunteer activities. VNG has combined an energetic corporate culture with technological capabilities to mobilize community power for a large-scale fundraising project.

Thanks to the technology as the foundation, the scale of the project is maximized, overcoming the limitations of traditional races such as geography, time, size of participants or organization costs. During 6 years of development, UpRace has continuously developed and improved, becoming a perfect solution for connecting businesses and employees. We believe that a healthy, happy workforce will bring high work efficiency and contribute to creating a cohesive, sustainable corporate culture - a goal that UpRace always aims for.

Not just an event, UpRace also inspires people to enjoy the joy of exercise, while promoting sharing between the sports community, social organizations and businesses in carrying out social responsibility - We call it "Happy Runs" - Running together for good things.

Since its launch, UpRace has attracted more than 632 million participants, recorded 25 million km of running and donated nearly 32 billion VND to social partners. Although UpRace 2024 did not take place as originally planned, the online running challenge VNG UpRace Challenge 2024 was organized instead, continuing to inspire movement and connect the community towards a meaningful common goal.

Promoting Vietnamese sports to international level

On April 23, 2024, VNG held a ceremony to announce the establishment of the Vietnam Triathlon Federation (VTF), marking an important step forward for triathlon in Vietnam. The event was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, representatives of the Federation's Organizing Committee and athletes. At the ceremony, Mr. Le Hong Minh - Founder & Chairman of VNG - was appointed as Chairman of the Federation.

Over the years, VNG has played an important role in promoting the triathlon movement in Vietnam. In 2015, VNG cooperated with the World Triathlon Corporation to bring the Ironman competition model to Vietnam for the first time under the name VNG Ironman 70.3 (a shortened version of Ironman 140.6), and has also been a sponsor for this event for many consecutive years. The number of Vietnamese athletes participating in this tough tournament has also increased sharply over the years, from 20 athletes in 2015 to more than 1,200 athletes in 2023.

Not only sponsoring the event, VNG also contributed 1 billion VND to support training and competition costs for athletes and coaching staff at the 2022 SEA Games. This investment contributed to bringing home the first gold medal for Vietnam in the triathlon event, creating a strong impression in the sports community.

VNG alone has more than 200 employees who have trained and become triathletes, actively participating in Triathlon tournaments across the country. Their participation not only affirms the company’s commitment but also inspires many other large enterprises in Vietnam, contributing to the expansion of the triathlon community nationwide.

3. Empowering individuals through community activities

Dream Creation Fund (DMF), formerly known as Vietnam Internet Users Community Charity Fund (VNIF), was established in 2010 by Mr. Le Hong Minh, Founder and Chairman of VNG Corporation, to contribute to improving the quality of life of Vietnamese people.

Our journey began with a simple belief: everyone, no matter where they are, deserves access to the benefits of technology and the Internet. In 2013, VNIF initiated the “Bringing Internet to the Villages” program, providing computers and Internet connections to students and teachers in disadvantaged areas. This program has opened the door to knowledge, helping thousands of children access the wider world.

The deeper we go into the community, the more we understand the circumstances and challenges that many people face. Over the past 15 years, we have accompanied the community through a series of meaningful projects such as Donating Sovereign Boats (CQ), building schools, and awarding scholarships in Truong Sa; the “For Smiles” project - supporting surgeries for children with cleft palates; accompanying activities to reduce infant mortality; sponsoring UpRace - the most influential community running project in Vietnam... And especially “Saigon Heroes” - a project to support medical supplies and equipment for hospitals during the Covid-19 pandemic.

After more than a decade of operation, in 2023, to match further aspirations, VNIF officially changed its name to Dream Creation Fund (DMF). With key areas: Education, Health, Technology and Social Security, the Fund is committed to continuing its journey of spreading love, joining hands to create a better future.