Who Will Judge the USD 1 Million AI Award?

Beyond drawing attention for awarding only a single cash prize worth USD 1 million, the Âu Lạc Grand Prize also brings together a highly experienced and diverse Judging Council, capable of conducting multi-dimensional evaluations of AI products and solutions—from technology and academic merit to economic value and long-term sustainability.

 

 

The Âu Lạc Grand Prize will officially open for registration in March, exclusively for artificial intelligence (AI) products and solutions developed and owned by Vietnamese innovators.

 

According to the plan, the Organizing Committee will begin accepting submissions in March. Competing AI products and solutions will go through two evaluation rounds:

• Preliminary Round in August

• Final Round in October

The award ceremony is scheduled to take place in November.

 

The most outstanding AI product or solution will receive a USD 1 million cash prize, along with strategic and technical mentorship, long-term accompaniment, and international market access support from the Âu Lạc AI Alliance, FPT Corporation, and the Award’s partners. The Award is also supported by two leading media organizations: the Government Electronic Information Portal and VnExpress.

 

To ensure independence, objectivity, global standards, and comprehensive evaluation across technology, academia, and economic value, the Âu Lạc Grand Prize has assembled a Judging Council comprising leading AI experts, scientists, technology business leaders, investment funds, universities, and representatives of innovation communities in Vietnam and internationally.

 

The Organizing Committee is continuing to invite top global experts and scientists to join the Judging Council, ensuring professional excellence while also inspiring young Vietnamese innovators by giving them opportunities to engage directly with some of the world’s leading minds.

 

Final Round Judging Council

 

In the Final Round, the Chair of the Judging Council is Mr. Truong Gia Binh, Chairman of the Âu Lạc AI Alliance and Chairman of FPT Corporation—a leader closely associated for many years with long-term investment decisions in research and development and a persistent commitment to emerging technologies.

 

The first two confirmed members of the Final Round Judging Council are:

• Dr. Luong Minh Thang, Senior Research Scientist and Research Director at Google DeepMind

• Mr. Don Lam, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of VinaCapital

 

 

Dr. Luong Minh Thang brings the perspective of a scientist working at the forefront of global AI research. At Google DeepMind, he has developed cutting-edge models in both language (QANet, ELECTRA) and computer vision (UDA, NoisyStudent). He is also a co-founder of the Meena project, recognized as the world’s best chatbot in 2020, which later evolved into Google LaMDA, Bard, and now Gemini, Google’s flagship AI product. In addition, Dr. Thang is the author of an open-source codebase released to encourage developers worldwide to build their own machine translation systems.

 

With experience managing a USD 1.5 billion investment fund and more than 20 years of engagement with the Vietnamese market, Mr. Don Lam will contribute a critical perspective ensuring that AI products and solutions are evaluated not only for technological excellence, but also for commercial viability and sustainable growth potential.

 

Preliminary Round Judging Council

 

For the Preliminary Round, the Chair of the Judging Council is Mr. Nguyen Van Khoa, CEO of FPT Corporation. The direct involvement of a technology CEO in overseeing the preliminary evaluation underscores the Award’s focus on real-world applicability and deployment capability, rather than ideas or technical demonstrations alone.

 

Alongside the Chair, Preliminary Round judges come from diverse backgrounds, including professors, associate professors, and PhD holders from leading institutions such as Hanoi University of Science and Technology, University of Engineering and Technology – Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City University of Law, Ton Duc Thang University, among others. The Council also includes leaders from major technology enterprises such as BKAV, CMC, and MoMo. This structure ensures academic rigor while maintaining strong alignment with market realities.

 

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Khoa, the entire evaluation process will be governed by four core principles:

transparency, avoidance of conflicts of interest, multi-perspective assessment, and independent review prior to final decisions.

 

 

Mr. Nguyen Van Khoa emphasized that, to ensure transparency, all submitted dossiers will be assessed under these four principles: transparency – conflict-of-interest prevention – diversity of perspectives – independent oversight.

 

The Âu Lạc Grand Prize honors AI products and solutions developed and mastered by Vietnamese innovators that create strong and sustainable socio-economic impact. The Award aims to foster technological sovereignty and affirm Vietnamese intellectual capability on the global technology map. The Âu Lạc Grand Prize is planned to be awarded over three consecutive years, beginning in 2026.