FPT's CTO: 'AI is the helm that enables FPT to keep up with the global tide'

Numerous renowned companies have poured billions of dollars into artificial intelligence (AI). This technology has created a global frenzy with applications that surpass human imagination, such as ChatGPT and Midjourney. Where does Vietnam stand in this current? A journalist recently had a discussion with Mr. Vu Anh Tu, the Chief Technology Officer of FPT, regarding the related topic.

AI is currently a trending technology globally. How do you assess its potential in Vietnam?

According to a report by Gartner, 2023 will be the stage where businesses invest heavily in AI. By 2025, the core technology will be widely applied. Recently, many large companies have announced significant investments in this technology. Accenture and PwC, for example, plan to invest 3 billion USD and 1 billion USD, relatively. By turn, Salesforce Venture and AWS are investing 500 million USD and 100 million USD in AI startups. Dropbox has also launched a venture fund to invest in startups building AI applications that shape future work.

Although there is no official data on AI investments in Vietnam, we can see that most major technology corporations are heavily investing in this technology. Vietnam has been following the AI trend for the past ten years. Currently, we are just a bit behind other countries in the region in terms of both AI research and application.

AI has entered various sectors, enabling business model innovations and enhancing end-user experiences. Banks have been using AI assistants to provide financial advice, implementing electronic identification (eKYC), and using machine learning to build accurate and fast prediction models. In healthcare, AI assistants have handled millions of calls, supporting the medical industry in controlling, screening, and tracing Covid infections.

A noteworthy aspect is that most of the AI products and solutions available are developed by Vietnamese technology companies. It is a great result thanks to the efforts and investments of these companies in AI.

Generative AI, an outstanding advancement in AI, has sparked a technological revolution with popular applications such as ChatGPT, which has attracted significant investments from major businesses. So, how does FPT differentiate itself?

I believe that generating AI will bring about a tremendous revolution, completely transforming the delivery of services and customers' behaviors. FPT, aligned with this trend, conducts R&D activities based on this technology.

As we know, every technology company is investing billions of dollars in AI technology. Therefore, FPT faces competition not only from large companies in Vietnam but also on a global scale. As a result, we have to find different areas and directions to stay ahead in the game.

FPT has chosen to integrate AI deeply into every aspect of life. Have you ever purchased items from FPT Long Chau Pharmacy, an affiliate of FPT in the retail pharmaceutical sector? Our FPT AI Chat and FPT AI Engage solutions have provided an experience similar to buying directly at the pharmacy to online shoppers. Throughout the virtual assistant's journey with the patient, it reminds them of medication schedules and guides what to do before and after taking the medicine.

In the household, with AI technology, FPT Smart Home solutions can make suggestions to help users save on electricity and water consumption.

FPT's AI products have helped business owners improve employee productivity and operational efficiency in the business sector. We recently launched FPT.AI Mentor, a product that revolutionizes business training processes. With an AI training assistant, the learning path becomes personalized and promotes employee proactivity. As a result, companies can reduce training time by 50% with unlimited participants, optimizing training operations, especially in industries with continuous employee turnover.

We also apply artificial intelligence in supporting intelligent data management for businesses. AI is integrated into data management systems such as Data Lake and FPT CFS consolidated financial reporting, enhancing predictive power and identifying operation anomalies.

There are 20 million users in 15 countries, with over 200 million monthly interactions with more than 20 AI-based solutions and services in FPT's AI technology ecosystem.

FPT's CTO: 'AI is the helm that enables FPT to keep up with the global tide'

You mentioned that FPT has made comprehensive and massive investments in all aspects of this technology. Please specify, sir.

We consider AI a core technology, the primary helm that enables FPT to keep up with the global tide and aims to make Vietnam a center of AI in the region and the world.

In order to fulfill this ambition, we have made substantial and comprehensive investments in this technology for over a decade. Each year, FPT invests around 100 billion VND (Vietnamese Dong), and starting from 2021, we have allocated an additional 300 billion VND for this technology over five years.

With these investments, in 2017, we launched the first comprehensive AI platform in Vietnam - FPT.AI, which laid the foundation for establishing a specialized AI company, FPT Smart Cloud, in 2020. Within two years of its establishment, this company has generated over 30 million USD in revenue and become a partner of numerous clients in various sectors, including finance, banking, insurance, retail, and manufacturing.

We are actively incorporating AI into Made by FPT products to increase efficiency and bring breakthroughs in management, operations, and customer experience for businesses. Revenue from products and solutions within the Made by FPT ecosystem has maintained an average growth rate of about 50%.

Regarding human resources development, FPT gathers over 500 experts, including 50 PhDs/Masters, who research and develop AI applications. We also supplement our workforce with resources from FPT University, which has 1,300 students, and more than 300 students who undergo practical AI training provided by FPT every year.

In the research field, FPT scientists are focused on developing AI brains that possess perception, thinking, and information analysis abilities similar to humans, receiving input from senses such as hearing, vision, and reading. Simultaneously, we are researching and building AI computing infrastructure, registering patents, and continuously expanding relationships with leading global partners such as Mila AI Research Institute and Landing AI, a pioneering company in computer vision and AI in Silicon Valley. Our research team is led by world-renowned AI minds such as Professor Yoshua Bengio - the pioneer of deep learning and artificial neural networks and founder of the Mila AI Research Institute - and Mr. Andrew Ng - the CEO of Landing AI.

With the advisory partnership of Mila, FPT is constructing an AI Center in Quy Nhon, covering an area of approximately 94 hectares with a total investment of over 4,362 billion VND. With this center, I believe that FPT's dream of establishing a "Regional AI Center" will become a reality shortly.

Source: Cafebiz