The Consulate General of Vietnam in San Francisco is actively fostering knowledge exchange and technological cooperation between Vietnam and Silicon Valley.

In the context of Vietnam's goal of transforming its growth model to be based on knowledge, technology, and innovation, connecting Vietnam's technology ecosystem with Silicon Valley – the driving force behind technology trends in the United States and globally – is considered a strategic requirement.

Dr. Hoang Anh Tuan, Consul General of Vietnam in San Francisco, delivered the opening remarks at the Vietnam-San Francisco Bay Area Innovation Connection event on December 7th. (Source: Consulate General of Vietnam in San Francisco)

On December 7th, in Silicon Valley, the Vietnam – San Francisco Bay Area Innovation Connection 2025 event brought together a large number of technology experts, scientists , startup entrepreneurs, leaders of Vietnamese innovation organizations, and representatives from many technology companies operating in Silicon Valley, concentrated in the San Francisco Bay Area.

This event, organized by the Consulate General of Vietnam in San Francisco (USA), is an annual activity connecting Vietnamese intellectuals and experts in the United States, especially in Silicon Valley, with the country's science and technology development needs in the new era.

In the context of Vietnam's goal of transforming its growth model to be based on knowledge, technology, and innovation, the connection between Vietnam's technology ecosystem and Silicon Valley – the driving force behind technology trends in the United States and globally – is considered a strategic requirement, contributing to creating new drivers of Vietnam's economic development by 2030, with a vision to 2045.

The central foundation for sustainable development.

In his opening remarks, the Consul General of Vietnam in San Francisco, Dr. Hoang Anh Tuan, emphasized that the Vietnamese Party and State leaders highly value the core role of science, technology, and innovation in the national development strategy; in which five strategic goals have been identified: improving labor productivity and competitiveness; promoting the digital economy; developing the knowledge economy; ensuring sustainable economic restructuring; and creating an innovation foundation for Vietnam to rise to the group of high-income countries by 2045.

The Consul General affirmed that the major policies of the Party and State – centered on Resolution 57-NQ/TW on breakthroughs in science and technology, the national strategy on AI, digital technology , semiconductors, biotechnology, and many other fields – have created a strong policy framework for Vietnam to upgrade its technological capabilities. He also emphasized that these policies pave the way for enhanced connections and deeper cooperation with the global Vietnamese intellectual community, especially the intellectuals working in Silicon Valley.

Consul General Hoang Anh Tuan emphasized: "Connecting engineers, scientists, entrepreneurs, and technology networks in Silicon Valley with Vietnam is expected to make a strategically important contribution to Vietnam's entry into a higher development trajectory in line with its grand goals."

Dr. Tran Viet Hung, a computer science expert and founder of the Silicon Valley technology company GotIt, speaks at the event (Source: Consulate General of Vietnam in San Francisco).

Bridging the gap between global knowledge strategies and Vietnam.

During the discussion, Consul General Hoang Anh Tuan shared the reasons why Vietnam needs to expand its deeper connections with the Silicon Valley technology ecosystem – the leading center in the United States and globally for the development of contemporary technologies such as artificial intelligence, high-performance computing, semiconductors, data science, robotics, new energy, cybersecurity, and other strategic technologies.

The Consul General emphasized that Silicon Valley is a hub of global intellectual excellence, including Vietnamese intelligence, combining abundant venture capital, a strong entrepreneurial spirit, and an ecosystem that facilitates growth based on continuous innovation.

This is an environment where innovative ideas can quickly become products, models can become businesses, and talents can maximize their value. Therefore, stronger connections between Vietnam and the Silicon Valley ecosystem will help shorten research and development time, expand technology applications, and effectively utilize resources from the Vietnamese intellectual community and experts in the United States.

From sharing ideas to recommending policies.

This year's event featured in-depth and substantive exchanges from four keynote speakers, as well as numerous discussions among Vietnamese intellectuals, experts, and businesspeople in attendance.

Dr. Tran Viet Hung, a computer science expert and founder of GotIt, shared his views on cooperation in strategic technologies, emphasizing that Vietnam has a golden opportunity to make a breakthrough if it builds and implements the right policies and measures to support research and development. He analyzed that Vietnam has the advantage of a young and large workforce, but needs mechanisms to allow Vietnamese experts working abroad to participate more deeply in large-scale science and technology projects.

Mr. Hung also emphasized the crucial role of the technology application market: "If Vietnam expands the testing space and creates an environment for businesses to innovate, we can develop technology products that are globally competitive."

Ms. To Dieu Lien, a member of the AI ​​for Vietnam initiative in Silicon Valley, emphasized the need for increased cooperation at both the central and provincial/city levels. She noted that many localities in Vietnam, despite having a great need for digital transformation, data governance, cybersecurity, digital healthcare, and digital education, lack sufficiently strong connections with Vietnamese experts in the United States or other countries.

Ms. Dieu Lien recommended expanding cooperation not only at the central ministerial and departmental levels but also to provinces and cities – where the need for digital transformation is most direct and strong.

"Connections must be implemented in depth, extending to the local level, and with clear mechanisms for receiving initiatives," she emphasized.

Dr. Le Ba Tiep, an expert working at Oracle Corporation, suggested that Vietnam needs to build a strategic website for attracting talent, transparently publishing resource needs, cooperation programs, working conditions, recruitment roadmap, and compensation packages.

According to him, a synchronized database helps Vietnamese experts abroad understand how they can contribute, thereby increasing the effectiveness of the connection between the State and the intellectual community.

Ms. Nguyen Hanh from AutSmartAI shared insights on global transformation trends in applied AI and offered her perspective on how Vietnam can leverage its software engineering, data, and AI capabilities to participate more deeply in the value chain. She suggested that Vietnamese startups can gain a competitive advantage by combining domestic resources and international expertise in a "decentralized R&D" model.

Dr. Tran Viet Hung, a computer science expert and founder of the Silicon Valley technology company GotIt, speaks at the event (Source: Consulate General of Vietnam in San Francisco).

Artificial intelligence (AI) for Vietnam: A prime example of effective collaboration.

One of the highlights of the program was the presentation by Dr. Tran Viet Hung, one of the founders of the AI ​​for Vietnam initiative ( AIV - a non-profit organization in Silicon Valley, with the participation of a group of Vietnamese experts working at leading technology corporations and universities worldwide), and in collaboration with the Vietnamese Ministry of Education and Training to provide free training to hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese teachers on AI in general education. This initiative was highly praised and is a prime example of an effective connection model between overseas Vietnamese experts and domestic agencies.

Reportedly, the goal of this initiative is to bring AI closer to the Vietnamese people, as a tool to accelerate learning, work, business, and innovation; and to build a comprehensive AI ecosystem for Vietnam, from education and research to practical applications. AIV's first project is ViGen, a collaborative initiative with Meta to build the largest open-source Vietnamese language dataset to date.

Mr. Hung said that the team implementing this initiative is expanding the program to many fields, from education to businesses and communities, thereby making a practical contribution to Vietnam's national strategy on AI popularization.

Deeper connections, more concrete actions.

The discussions and exchanges at this year's event show that the connection between Vietnam and Silicon Valley is deepening, yielding tangible results.

In his closing remarks, Consul General Hoang Anh Tuan outlined three directions for future action: Firstly, the Consul General proposed that all recommendations and initiatives raised at this event be further discussed, concretized, and implemented in work groups.

Secondly, in January of the upcoming year 2026, the Consul General will chair a private meeting with the Visemi, Viet Spark, Viet AI Star groups and a number of pioneering Vietnamese technology experts in the Silicon Valley area to discuss a detailed action plan for the coming year.

Thirdly, the Consul General welcomed Viettel Group's announcement that it will sponsor two networking events next year. Along with the annual event organized by the Consulate General, the Silicon Valley-Vietnam networking ecosystem will have at least three major activities next year, contributing to the continuous maintenance and deepening of the ties between the two sides.

"Every idea today, if nurtured and supported, can become a substantial contribution to the country," Consul General Hoang Anh Tuan affirmed.

Building a long-term foundation for technology cooperation.

The Vietnam-San Francisco Bay Area Innovation Networking Event 2025 not only provides a forum for professional exchange but also lays the foundation for many strategic cooperation components in the coming period, such as: Connecting the global network of Vietnamese intellectuals; Strengthening direct dialogue with Vietnamese experts in the United States; Identifying priority areas of cooperation including AI, semiconductors, digital technology, cybersecurity, clean energy, and educational technology (EdTech); Creating a mechanism for large Vietnamese technology companies - such as Viettel Group - to connect and collaborate long-term with Vietnamese knowledge and technology experts in Silicon Valley.

In particular, linking the discussions at the event with national policies on science and technology, innovation, and attracting Vietnamese talent globally clearly demonstrates Vietnam's clear strategic vision and strong determination to leverage global intellectual resources to contribute to the country's new phase of development.

A group of delegates pose for a commemorative photo after the closing ceremony on December 7th. (Source: Consulate General of Vietnam in San Francisco)

Moving towards a deeper and more substantive phase of cooperation.

The lively exchanges and discussions at the Vietnam-San Francisco Bay Area Innovation Connection event affirmed the consensus and determination of Vietnamese intellectuals in this region to continue accompanying their homeland in making science and technology a true pillar for promoting sustainable development, while expanding the bridge of cooperation between Vietnam and Silicon Valley – the leading innovation center of the United States and the world.

With the support of the Vietnamese Consulate General in San Francisco, the Vietnamese intellectual and expert community in the San Francisco Bay Area, and Vietnamese technology companies such as Viettel Group, the connection and cooperation between Vietnam and Silicon Valley are expected to continue to deepen, become more substantive and effective, making practical contributions to further developing the comprehensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and the United States, and actively contributing to promoting innovation, accelerating development, and bringing Vietnam to a higher and more sustainable level in the new era.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/tong-lanh-su-quan-viet-nam-tai-san-francisco-tich-cuc-ket-noi-tri-thuc-hop-tac-cong-nghe-giua-viet-nam-thung-lung-silicon-337262.html