FPT Backs $1 Million AI Prize to Encourage Young Vietnamese Entrepreneurs

On January 12, 2026, Liên minh AI Âu Lạc announced the Âu Lạc Grand Prize, a $1 million award supported by FPT Group (FPT). The prize aims to identify and honor an outstanding artificial intelligence product or solution developed and controlled by Vietnamese people. FPT Chairman Trương Gia Bình said he hopes the award will draw more young people into AI research and development.

Trương Gia Bình believes a winning product need not be large in scale. A product that solves a practical problem and shows other young people that they, too, can develop technology would be valuable. He advised startups to seek niche markets, develop applications for specific customer needs, and build on their knowledge of Vietnamese data and local market characteristics.

FPT Chairman Trương Gia Bình urged startups to achieve greater success than FPT.（VietVance）

Discussing how startups can grow, he said entrepreneurs do not necessarily have to compete directly with large corporations on foundation models. They can also explore everyday applications, AI on chips, or edge AI. He hopes a startup will one day surpass FPT and said that, since 1999, FPT has supported young talent with the message: “Be more successful than FPT.”

FPT also began as a team of researchers. On September 13, 1988, Trương Gia Bình founded Công ty Công nghệ Thực phẩm with 12 other members and served as its director. The company was renamed Công ty Phát triển và Đầu tư Công nghệ in 1990, adopted the abbreviation FPT, and gradually shifted from supplying computers to information technology and software. Its first commercial software contract was signed in late 1990 for a ticket booking and seat reservation system for Vietnam Airlines’ ticket office.

The decision document establishing FPT in 1988.（VietVance）

Source: VietVance