What do a durian waste solution, a localized AI chatbot, and a smart farming platform have in common?
They all came from Vietnam, and made waves at Asia’s biggest tech and startup stages.
From April 23–25, 2025, GITEX Asia x Ai Everything Singapore launched its first edition, drawing 700+ exhibitors, 250 investors, and thousands of visitors across AI, robotics, climate tech, and more. But for startups, all eyes were on the Supernova Challenge — a high-stakes, $100,000 pitch competition hosted under North Star Asia, GITEX’s dedicated platform for startups and early-stage innovation.
Out of 40 semi-finalists from more than 30 countries, several Vietnamese teams advanced further than expected. One reached the final round, which featured 9 other standout startups from Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, India, Korea, Serbia, and Singapore. Another earned a category award. Quietly but clearly, they signaled Vietnam’s growing ambition in deep tech, agritech, and sustainable innovation.
Here’s a closer look at what they pitched, and why it resonated.
1. Nomi by ADT Global: Conversational AI for Customer Experience
Nomi is an AI-driven chatbot and customer service platform developed by ADT Global, designed to empower businesses with hyper-intelligent virtual agents. It leverages Vietnamese NLP capabilities and multilingual support to provide seamless customer interactions across channels.
At GITEX Asia, Nomi’s strength lay in its homegrown AI engine tailored to Southeast Asian languages and use cases, a contrast to many generic Western tools. In the Supernova Challenge, Nomi earned a finalist position in the AI category and was honored with the GITEX Europe Award — an important recognition of its ability to scale and serve practical business needs.
In a field of heavily-funded global players, Nomi’s localization focus, proven scalability, and customer feedback analytics gave it a real-world traction edge, a key criterion for Supernova judges.
2. enfarm Agritech: Connecting Farmers with Smart Decisions
enfarm is transforming agriculture in Vietnam by using AI and IoT to offer real-time crop monitoring, smart irrigation, and predictive analytics for rural farmers. Collaborating with cooperatives, enfarm helps digitize farm data and optimize yields, bringing technology closer to Vietnam’s agricultural backbone.
enfarm’s pitch in the sustainability and food security categories earned praise for addressing SDGs like Zero Hunger and Responsible Consumption. They were the only Vietnamese team to reach the final round and were acknowledged for their practical, boots-on-the-ground innovation.
Before GITEX Asia, enfarm had already gained international recognition:
- Market Readiness Award at Agri-food Tech World Championship 2024: Held in Singapore, featuring participants from over 60 countries.
- Showcased at the Global AI Summit in Paris (2025): Selected from nearly 800 global projects, enfarm was one of four Asian representatives to present.
In a sea of agritech startups focusing on drones and big data, enfarm’s hybrid model of community-based adoption and education-first UX made it an outliner.
3. LifesupAI: Scalable AI for Enterprise Transformation
LifesupAI offers a suite of enterprise-grade AI solutions aimed at streamlining operations, automating workflows, and enhancing decision-making. Its flagship platform, DxSuite 2.0, includes tools like DxConnect (for intelligent enterprise search) and DxInsight (for real-time data analytics).
At GITEX Asia 2025, LifesupAI showcased how its platform assists large organizations, from logistics to retail, in breaking down data silos and acting on insights more efficiently.
The company also announced a strategic partnership with ITS to deliver tailored AI solutions across Vietnam and globally. This collaboration focuses on leveraging combined strengths in AI and industry expertise to develop solutions that address the unique challenges businesses face today.
Their emphasis on full-stack AI adoption, rather than standalone tools, underscores Vietnam's ambition to build, not just borrow AI capabilities.
4. Green Choice by Green Agrtech: Circular Economy for Durian
Green Choice is arguably one of the most unexpected and inspiring stories of GITEX Asia 2025. Unlike many other traditional startups, this project is a collaboration between students and faculty members from Nguyen Tat Thanh University.
Green Choice tackles the problem of durian waste, which comprises up to 40% of the fruit's mass — by converting husks into organic substrates, biofertilizers, and freeze-dried durian products for both local consumption and export. Their “Durian Circular Product Set” includes DurioBio (a biological compost accelerator) and premium-grade freeze-dried durian, using advanced drying technology to preserve flavor and nutrition.
Prior to GITEX, Green Choice had already earned national and regional acclaim, with prizes at competitions hosted by VINASA, VCCI, UNIV.STAR,... Most notably, they were awarded a sponsorship slot to join Expand North Star 2025.
At GITEX Asia, despite having a small booth tucked beside many international exhibitors, Green Choice became a magnet for visitors. Business professionals and international buyers were stunned that Vietnam not only grows durians but also pioneers circular economy models using them. Their surprise was audible: “Vietnam makes this? With student founders?”
It was a heartening moment that validated Green Choice as a grassroots example of how sustainability, education, and innovation can intertwine.
A Signal for Vietnam’s Global Ascent
In total, six Vietnamese startups offered a snapshot of the country’s expanding innovation ecosystem. Four of them (Nomi, enfarm, LifesupAI, and Green Choice) competed in the Supernova Challenge, with one winning a category award and another reaching the finals.
Outside the pitch arena, two other startups made their mark at the Vietnam Pavilion:
- Stormbird: A cybersecurity startup delivering AI-powered bot detection and DDoS protection without intrusive CAPTCHAs. Stormbird’s cross-platform compatibility and lightweight implementation are earning it clients across Vietnam and Australia in sectors like finance, e-commerce, and enterprise IT.
- MedCAT: Focused on AI for insurance and healthcare, MedCAT’s flagship product automates data extraction from medical records using OCR and machine learning. Recognized among the top 5 AI applications at the 2024 AI Awards, MedCAT is a key player in Vietnam’s digital transformation strategy.
Reflecting on Vietnam’s growing presence, Trixie LohMirmand, CEO of KAOUN International, noted:
“There are only 6 companies here. It's hardly representative of the vast potential of Vietnam’s 4,000+ startups. But this is a great preview of what an economy with a population of over 100 million has to offer. If given the right engine like GITEX, we could accelerate and empower Vietnam’s startup ecosystem to do even more.
Vietnam has over 170 universities and institutions involved in innovation. That talent base is crucial for building AI, not just using it. It’s no surprise that global investors are beginning to take serious interest in what’s emerging from this market.”
Vietnam’s showing didn’t dominate headlines by scale, but it sent a clear signal. Innovation is no longer confined to traditional tech hubs. With energy, talent, and momentum, Vietnam is carving out its place in the global startup map.
It’s early, but it’s promising. And it’s just the beginning.