In 2022, many startup projects in Da Nang successfully raised millions of dollars in capital, affirming the potential of startups in the central coastal city.

Nguyen Ba Canh Son, Director of the Dat Bike Vietnam Co., Ltd based in Son Tra District: ‘Made-in-Viet Nam’ electric motorcycles

In late November 2022, the Vietnamese startup community in general and the Dat Bike Vietnam Co., Ltd in particular received happy news when the company successfully raised an additional US$8 million in capital - an impressive figure for a startup project. The investment fund came from the Singapore - based Jungle Ventures, the GSR Ventures, Delivery Hero Ventures, Wavemaker Partners and Innoven Capital.

Mr. Nguyen Ba Canh Son, Director of the Dat Bike Vietnam Co., Ltd, and the company's electric motorcycle product. Photo: M.Q

Previously, in April 2021, the Dat Bike company raised US$2.6 million in a Pre-Series A funding round, led by Jungle Ventures. This is also the first time an investment fund from Singapore has poured money into the field of green transport.

One year later, in April 2022, Jungle Ventures and Wavemaker Partners continued to invest US$5.3 million in the Series A round. Thus, a total of US$16.5 million  has been raised by the Dat Bike so far.

According to investment funds, they poured the large investment into Dat Bike because of their optimism about the potential of this startup as well as the Vietnamese electric vehicle industry which is expected to lead the transition to green means of transport not only in the region but also in a global scale.

Da Nang-born Nguyen Ba Canh Son, 33, was the pride of the central coastal city when he won the silver medal in the 20^th International Informatics Olympiad held in Egypt in 2008. That achievement opened the way for Son to study abroad 2 years later at the University of Illinois in the USA.

Despite his desirable job in the Silicon Valley in Northern California, the USA, Son decided to return to Da Nang to do his own business in late 2017.

The former pupil of the Da Nang-based Le Quy Don Senior High School for the Gifted said that, after learning and accumulating experience, he wanted to return to his homeland to do his own business. Due to his great concern about the increasingly polluted environment, Son developed the Dat Bike electric motorcycle brand with the desire to create electric vehicles designed and manufactured by Vietnamese engineers.

Starting from a small-scale factory in Da Nang in 2019, Dat Bike now owns a high-tech factory with a capacity of over 1,000 vehicles per month in Ho Chi Minh City.

In the first year of start-up, Dat Bike Weaver electric motorbike passed the inspection of the Ministry of Transport, and was recognized as the first "Made in Viet Nam" electric motorcycle with a capacity and speed comparable to gasoline motorbikes.

Son said proudly that, in the past year, Dat Bike has recorded a 10-fold increase in revenue and a three-fold increase in staff since the launch of the Weaver 200 product in November 2021. The number of orders also tripled compared to the expected and set targets.

Although there are many plans and goals in the distant future, Mr. Son affirmed, Da Nang is a potential market that Dat Bike is targeting.

“The opening of the Dat Bike official store in Da Nang last October is an important milestone for us. The beginning of Dat Bike is from Da Nang, so the city will be a key market and a bridge connecting transport trade for all three regions across the country”, he added.

Son informed that Dat Bike plans to organize direct customer-oriented activities such as test-drive and sports events to stimulate the experience as well as create more cultural, sports and entertainment activities in order to help its customers have more options while considering their means of transportation.

Sharing the experience of successfully raising capital, Son expressed his belief that the core factor for survival and sustainable development was product. Products must be really quality and meet the needs of consumers to be able to survive and upgrade over time.

It is fortunate for Dat Bike to have investors who realize the potential of the market and believe in the potential of the business. The company is also the first to pioneer in installing standard fast charging stations for two-wheelers not only in Viet Nam but also throughout Southeast Asia. Thanks to the regular improvement of products and grasping the needs of the market, Dat Bike has successfully raised capital many times in recent years.

Mr. Le Ngoc Tri (right), CEO of the EM&AI JSC, was the runner-up of the national TECHFEST 2020 competition organized by the Ministry of Science and Technology. Photo: V.HOANG

Le Ngoc Tri, Executive Director of the EM&AI JSC based in Hai Chau District: Ready to apply new technology

In 2017, the EM&AI JSC started with the idea of ​​creating an artificial intelligence (AI) virtual assistant that recommended personalized places to eat.

With the desire to help individuals and businesses to create conversational virtual assistants without programming skills, the company develops a platform to build Voicebot AI in 2019.

In early 2021, the company continued to launch the Virtual Quality Controller (Virtual QC) applying speech analysis technology to evaluate call content to help businesses manage the quality of customer services.

“Currently, our solutions are provided for nearly 120 customers who are small and medium-sized enterprises across the country, including 10 in Da Nang. In addition, the company provides a trial version for the 1022 Switchboard, as well as trial solutions and commercialization for many financial institutions, banks and foreign businesses”, Mr. Le Ngoc Tri added.

Mr. Tri also explained difficulties in starting a business in the field of AI, including very few good and high-quality human resources in this field in Da Nang. In addition, businesses in Da Nang in particular, and in Central Viet Nam in general, are reluctant to change and adapt to new technology solutions.

He expressed “We and other technology startups urgently need the business community to be ready to apply new technologies, thereby, solving the problems facing businesses and integrating technology in business management and operation. On the other hand, in the period of digital transformation, AI will help businesses and management units solve human resource-related problems and common tasks with artificial intelligence application solutions”.

After 5 years of operation, the EM&AI JSC has won more than 15 national and international awards.

Prominent among them are the Vecom Best Solution 2021 Award, being runner-up at TECHFEST 2020, first prize at AUS4Innovation-hosted AI Accelerator Challenge, top 5 finalists at AI For Good in Viet Nam - Thailand region organized by the United Nations, and representing Viet Nam at the Microsoft-organized “Highway to 100 Unicorn Startup” competition.

Up to now, the company has raised US$ 3 million in investment capital. It is expected that in 2023, EM&AI will launch a Real-Time Call Management - REAL solution to bring the control of customer experience over the phone to a new level, as well as analyze the emotions and attitudes of agents and customer.

Reporting by M.QUE, V.HOANG - Translating by M.DUNG