VCCI AI Platform Launched; Data Claims to Weigh

NEX Brain launched in Hà Nội on October 9

Vietnamnews reported on October 9, 2026, that an AI platform launched in Hà Nội that day: NEX Brain, from the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), Chicilon Group and the Vietnam Sales & Marketing Club. The platform is aimed at promoting the use of artificial intelligence in corporate brand building, management and development.

About 300 business leaders, chief executive officers and chief marketing officers attended, along with economic, marketing and communications experts, Vietnamnews said.

Nguyễn Quang Vinh, vice chairman of VCCI, said Vietnamese businesses must not only take part in production but also increase added value and gradually establish ownership of their brands. Vinh called a brand "a strategic asset that reflects competitiveness, credibility and the ability to create sustainable value", Vietnamnews reported.

Vinh said AI gives businesses new tools to use data more effectively, understand markets and customers, and improve decision-making, Vietnamnews reported.

VCCI said the launch aligns with Resolution 57-NQ/TW on promoting science, technology, innovation and digital transformation, and with the spirit of Politburo Resolution 68, according to Vietnamnews.

Officials link brand building to retained value

Dr. Luong Minh Huan, director of the Institute for Business Development under VCCI, said many exported electronics, machinery and telephone products are made under foreign brands, according to Vietnam, which published its account on October 9, 2026. Vietnamese firms take part in production and export, but the added value they retain remains limited, Huan said.

Huan suggested that businesses shift from mere production to mastering technology, markets and brands, Vietnam reported. The outlet also wrote that the change needs to start with business objectives, moving from increasing revenue to improving productivity and added value, and from competing on price to creating differentiation.

Le Quoc Vinh, chairman of CSMO Vietnam, said at the launch that when consumers use AI to search, compare and select products, part of the brand screening process takes place before businesses can interact with customers directly, Vietnam reported.

In a second article from Vietnam, also dated October 9, 2026, the outlet wrote that competitive advantage does not lie in owning the technology but in the ability to leverage data, innovate business models and create differentiated value. It added that as technology becomes more accessible, AI use is no longer an exclusive advantage of large businesses. It framed the open issue this way: "The question is whether businesses have the capacity to translate technology into business efficiency and brand value."

A Q&Me survey shows AI entering shopping research

A survey by market research firm Q&Me found that 58% of urban generative AI users in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi use tools such as ChatGPT and Gemini to research products and services before buying, Theinvestor reported on October 9, 2026.

Q&Me surveyed 200 generative AI users aged 20 to 49 in the two cities, and 96% of them had used generative AI within the previous month, Theinvestor said.

OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini account for a combined 90% of primary generative AI tool usage among the Q&Me respondents, Theinvestor reported. Pre-purchase research ranked ahead of workplace tasks, cited by 57% of respondents, and education and translation, cited by 53%, Theinvestor said.

Consumers in their 30s were the most active users for shopping research, with 67% of that age group using AI to investigate products before buying, Theinvestor reported. The findings suggest conversational AI is moving beyond general information retrieval into the consumer purchase journey, Theinvestor wrote.

Tron's take

The launch is a Vietnamese trade-body event covered by Vietnamese outlets. My reading is that it deserves little of a US owner's attention as news, and that two points in it travel. That is my reading of the news, not a reported result.

The first is the argument from Vietnam and VCCI officials that brand value depends on data and differentiation more than on owning AI tools. My reading is that most small and mid-sized businesses gain more from applying proven AI capabilities well than from reacting to each new release, and that argument points the same way. The second is the Q&Me finding. It is a 200-person sample from two Vietnamese cities, not a US measure. I would treat it as a prompt to ask how customers find and compare vendors, and to test what ChatGPT and Gemini return when asked about the business and its competitors. For timing context, see AI Adoption Outpaces EBIT Gains, TokenPost Says. For a US retail angle on AI and shopping, see Google Pitches AI Holiday Prep to Retailers.

I would not act on NEX Brain itself until VCCI or Chicilon Group publish results. Vietnamnews and Vietnam reported speeches and stated aims from the October 9 event.