On the evening of October 4th in Hanoi , the Better Choice Awards 2026 Gala honored 45 categories across four award categories, ranging from artificial intelligence solutions developed by Vietnamese people, businesses creating national platforms, to technology products and car models that change consumers' lives.
Now in its fourth season, the award, themed "Innovation Beyond Borders," celebrates innovative values that blur the lines between nations, between industries, and between familiar product forms.
In his opening remarks, Mr. Vo Xuan Hoai, Deputy Director of the National Innovation Center, stated that the Better Choice Awards is a platform where efforts are recognized and disseminated. The spirit of "Better Choice" is not just about creating a completely new product. It's about improving what already exists: a more efficient technology, a higher-quality product, a more convenient service, a more productive process, or a solution that creates more value for users and the community. Each better choice, if scaled up, can create a greater change for the economy .
Therefore, according to Mr. Vo Xuan Hoai, it is necessary to continue encouraging businesses to put users at the center, persistently invest in R&D, gradually master technology, and constantly improve.
This is also one of the key priorities that NIC is focusing on promoting: connecting the State, businesses, research institutes, universities, technology corporations, and networks of domestic and international experts; creating conditions for technology, knowledge, and innovative resources to be transformed into products, businesses, and practical value. "NIC will continue to support businesses in enhancing their innovation capacity, accessing technology, connecting internationally, and participating more deeply in global value chains," the Deputy Director of NIC emphasized.
The 2026 season will restructure the entire awards system into four pillars: Innovative Choice Awards, Smart Choice Awards, Car Choice Awards, and Nation Builder Awards. The Nation Builders Awards is a completely new pillar, honoring businesses that are shaping the nation, those that are building infrastructure, energy, and technological capabilities for the entire economy.
The Nation Builders Awards is a brand new awards category for the 2026 season, built on the spirit of Resolution 57-NQ/TW on breakthroughs in science , technology, and innovation development, and Resolution 68-NQ/TW on the development of the private economy.
While other award categories honor individual products, the Nation Builders Awards recognizes businesses that are undertaking national-level projects, value chains, and technological capabilities. The awards operate on two independent circuits: the Council circuit, evaluated by a judging panel, and the Proud Vietnam circuit, voted on by the community.
At the Council level, the honored businesses are all associated with real-world projects during the year. On January 16, 2026, Viettel Group commenced construction of the first semiconductor chip manufacturing plant in Vietnam, located in the Hoa Lac High-Tech Park. In June 2026, Viettel IDC's Hoa Lac 2 Data Center became the first digital infrastructure in Asia and the Pacific to integrate the NVIDIA H200 supercomputer.
Petrovietnam 's Nhon Trach 3 and 4 power plants, the country's first LNG gas-fired power plant project, officially commenced commercial operation on January 5, 2026. Vinamilk celebrated its 50th anniversary and was awarded the First-Class Independence Medal, while TCBS became the first securities company in Vietnam to surpass the 100,000 billion VND mark in total assets.
The Council also dedicated a category to FDI enterprises that have integrated Vietnam's manufacturing and research capabilities into the global value chain, including Samsung , LG, Intel, Amkor Technology, and Qualcomm.
Mr. Pham Xuan Ha, Head of the Organizing Committee of the Better Choice Awards 2026, shared: "The Better Choice Awards seek out choices that make life better every day, rather than just finding the best answer on paper. This year, in its fourth season, we've added the Nation Builders Awards, because Vietnam's innovation has gone beyond a single product to become a capability of both businesses and the economy. The Organizing Committee is most pleased to see many Vietnamese businesses standing alongside global brands on this year's list, from Vietnamese-language artificial intelligence models and electric motorcycles to smart charging stations. This journey will continue at TECHFEST Vietnam 2026 in November."
In addition to the 45 main categories, the Gala announced the Better List 2026 ranking, which is based on direct scoring by the tech-savvy user community and public voting.
The Gala also awarded the "Innovative Application to Install" certificate to iHanoi, the digital citizen application of Hanoi City, which helps people report incidents, look up information, and perform public services right on their phones.
Artificial intelligence developed by Vietnamese people takes center stage at the Innovative Choice Awards. FPT was honored in both the "Make in Vietnam" AI product category and the AI agent solution category, while Galaxy AI was recognized for integrating Vietnamese into everyday user features such as call screening and photo editing using voice commands.
Electric vehicles dominated the Car Choice Awards, with 7 out of 13 awards going to hybrid or all-electric models. Two startups, Dat Bike and Volterra, also won awards, demonstrating that young companies can absolutely compete with large domestic and international corporations.
List of winners of the 2026 Better Choice Awards
Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/better-choice-awards-2026-vinh-danh-doi-moi-sang-tao-vuot-qua-moi-bien-gioi-post1140004.vnp
