Open Innovation Day 2026 recap: Talent at the heart of the next-gen industrial city

On 26 October 2026, Open Innovation Day 2026 (OID 2026) opened the activities of the Autumn Economic Forum (AEF) 2026 in Ho Chi Minh City. BlockchainWork attended, represented by CEO Ms. Le Ngoc My Tien, to get updated on the city’s direction for next-generation industry and to connect with startups, investors and organising partners at the event.

Open Innovation Day 2026: “Power the Next-Gen Industrial City”

OID is an annual series of in-depth discussions and business matching, led by the SoiHub Open Innovation Centre and the Open Innovation and Tech Entrepreneurship Institute (OITI). It is co-organised by the National Innovation Center (NACENTECH, Ministry of Science and Technology), Saigon Telecommunication & Technologies Corporation (SAIGONTEL), the Technology Incubation Center (TIC, NATEC, Ministry of Science and Technology) and the Posts and Telecommunications Institute of Technology (PTIT), with the support of the Ho Chi Minh City Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (HCMC C4IR). According to the organisers, the 2025 edition recorded more than 3,000 participants, more than 200 startups, SMEs, corporations and organisations, and more than 200 founders, CEOs and C-level executives.

OID 2026 carried the theme “Power the Next-Gen Industrial City” (Kiến tạo Thành phố công nghiệp thế hệ mới) and took place at Thiskyhall Sala, 10 Mai Chi Tho, An Khanh Ward, Ho Chi Minh City. The programme focused on energy, smart manufacturing, AI, investment attraction, talent development and the innovation ecosystem.

According to the organisers’ agenda, the event ran in two sessions. The morning covered the foundations of next-generation industry in the AI era, including attracting capital into AI data centres, the future workforce in the AI era and green energy infrastructure. The afternoon focused on the low-altitude economy (UAVs, autonomous testing zones, satellite connectivity) and closed with the NWoS Accelerator 2026 Final Round.

Opening message: “What matters most is the ecosystem”

In his opening remarks, Mr. Truong Minh Huy Vu, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, said the city’s growth drivers in the coming period must be based on innovation, tied to economic, industrial and urban development. Next-generation industry, he noted, is not just about infrastructure or industrial parks. “What matters most is the ecosystem”, one that links human resources, universities, research institutes, incubators, businesses, investors and policy. The city now has more than 40 incubators, innovation centres and technology incubation facilities.

Ms. Bui Thanh Hang, Director of the SoiHub Open Innovation Centre, said that since its founding in 2023, SoiHub has connected with or developed 50 domestic and international technologies, handled 15 market-driven requests and signed 20 strategic cooperation agreements. She stressed that Vietnam needs to master technology step by step, build production capacity and develop a highly skilled workforce.

The opening session also featured strategic partnership announcements. Saigontel and Pickaxe Technologies (US) announced a partnership on research, manufacturing, testing and training for unmanned and autonomous systems, witnessed by the Vietnam Aviation-Space Association (VASA). Mr. Joe Felter, CEO of Pickaxe Technologies, said the initiative rests on three pillars: dedicated testing facilities, shared infrastructure, and an integrated ecosystem that connects research, testing, training and manufacturing. He named “an intelligent generation of engineers” among Vietnam’s strengths.

This was followed by a strategic alliance to address the challenges of building a next-generation industrial city, with SoiHub, MobiFone, Moby, Chau Giang, Ryvid, TADI Global, NACENTECH and CITARES. The partnerships cover smart cities, deep-sea robotics, unmanned technology, technology transfer and high-quality talent development, including a SoiHub-CITARES partnership on training and developing talent for next-generation industries.

AI talent in Vietnam’s innovation roadmap

In the presentation “Building a Next-Generation Industrial City: Vietnam’s Tech Innovation Roadmap 2026-2030”, delivered by Mr. Nguyen Khac Lich, General Director of the Department of Digital Technology and Artificial Intelligence (Ministry of Science and Technology), talent was placed alongside R&D as the fuel of the AI engine. The slides set out a target of 10,000 high-level AI experts and 10 million workers trained in fundamental AI skills through real-world, project-based training. They also highlighted a 200% R&D deduction on taxable corporate income, plus support for training, hiring top talent and shared infrastructure.

Afternoon session: BlockchainWork meets startups and investors at NWoS Accelerator 2026

In the afternoon, BlockchainWork joined the NWoS Accelerator 2026 Final Round of the Next Wave of Startups (NWoS) programme. NWoS is organised by WorkFlow, OITI and TIC, co-organised by NACENTECH, C4IR Vietnam, TADI Global and SoiHub, and focuses on startups in AI, Blockchain and Climate Tech. According to the organisers, the programme runs a five-month acceleration track with more than 30 experts and mentors, a prize pool of up to USD 1 million and investment commitments of up to USD 500,000.

The session opened with Investment Matching, where startups rotated between three funds: 2080 Ventures, Cailan Ventures and Edgewater Investments. Two keynotes on fundraising followed.

In “Riding the Capital Currents: Where Global Capital Is Flowing, and How Vietnamese Startups Can Catch It”, Mr. Zach Zhang, co-founder of EWI Investments, Edgewater Innovation Fund and Edgewater Capital Group, compared global capital to ocean currents: money flows into warm water and stays away from cold water. His question was whether Vietnam sits inside the global capital current or at its edge. He pointed to two strengths: Vietnam is part of some of the largest supply chains, with the Apple, Samsung and Nvidia ecosystems already present, and it has a consumer market of more than 100 million people.

Mr. Kevin Junker, Founder & CEO of SmartSolar, shared his own fundraising story in “From First Cheque to Next Round: A Founder’s Fundraising Journey, Past, Present and Future”. Since launching in 2024, SmartSolar has raised more than USD 3 million, first through equity and then through debt. In his words, equity helped build the platform and debt is what allows the company to scale. He advised founders to keep their pitch ready even for investors who will not invest directly, because you never know who they can introduce you to. For his seed round alone, he spoke with 220 investors.

From the Top 20 semi-finalists, five teams reached the final: Flying Chalks, Scabo, AeriTerrie, PixelML and Easy AI. They pitched to a judging panel with representatives from funds and companies including 2080 Ventures, Edgewater, WorkOptional.ai, TADI Global and SmartSolar.

There, Ms. Le Ngoc My Tien spoke with startups and investors about the market potential of blockchain and the digital economy in Vietnam, and about connecting with experts and digital talent and finding the right partners to expand into new markets.

BlockchainWork’s view: talent is the soft infrastructure of the digital economy

Reflecting on the discussions at OID 2026, Ms. Le Ngoc My Tien, CEO of BlockchainWork, shared:

“Vietnam is at an important stage to capture international capital, engineering and technology to grow fast. For projects to move into practice and scale, what matters is finding the right people to lead them. Modern digital talent are people who use AI well and can take responsibility for the results of their projects. BlockchainWork aims to be a trusted bridge between companies, startups and that kind of talent.”

With 25,000+ candidates, 350+ hiring companies and 12+ educational institution MOUs, BlockchainWork continues to connect companies, startups and investors with tech talent in blockchain, AI and the digital economy. Companies and startups looking to discuss their hiring needs can reach BlockchainWork at contact@blockchainwork.net.

Thank you to the SoiHub Open Innovation Centre, OITI, the co-organisers and the Next Wave of Startups team for hosting the event, and to the startups and investors who took the time to talk with BlockchainWork at OID 2026.

BlockchainWork

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