According to Reuters, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, following the signing of an agreement with the government to establish two AI centers on December 5th, announced that they have acquired VinBrain, a healthcare startup and a member company of Vingroup (VIC), to develop a major design center in Vietnam. However, the financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
As of September 30th, Vingroup had invested over $126 million in VinBrain and recognized it as an associated company with a ownership stake of over 49.7%. Both the voting rights and the interest ratio stood at 49.74%.
Back in October, Tech in Asia reported that Vingroup was looking to sell its stakes in two AI subsidiaries, VinBrain and VinAI. Three sources with knowledge on the matter shared this information with The Business Times on the condition of anonymity.
“Nvidia is currently arranging for its CEO, Jensen Huang, to visit Vietnam in November. The deal with VinBrain could be one of the highlights of Jensen Huang’s trip,” said two sources involved in planning the visit.
When contacted by the Business Times, both Vingroup and Nvidia declined to comment.
In November, VinBrain’s website announced that the company had become a part of NVIDIA. VinBrain was acquired by NVIDIA Corporation in Santa Clara, California, USA, in December 2024, according to the announcement.
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The company’s registered capital at this time has increased from 622 billion VND to 627.7 billion VND. There are four foreign shareholders, but they only hold 0.938% of the charter capital.
VinBrain is a pioneer in developing AI-powered healthcare products and is currently prominent in the field of tuberculosis and cancer treatment.
The company has implemented these solutions in over 182 hospitals in Vietnam, the US, India, Australia, and more, helping medical experts improve their work efficiency.
During a visit to Hanoi a year ago, Jensen Huang stated that NVIDIA aims to expand partnerships with leading Vietnamese tech companies and support the country in talent development for AI and digital infrastructure.
In an interview earlier this year, Dr. Truong Quoc Hung, CEO of VinBrain, shared the story of “closing the deal” with billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong to establish a healthcare AI startup.
“In the summer of 2018, my mother suffered a stroke, and I returned to Vietnam to take care of her. When I went to the hospital, I saw how difficult it was for many people. They had to travel from rural areas to the city, queueing from 3 am to get a number, and then wait until noon to see a doctor for just five minutes. After that, they would return to their villages, some even with their children in tow. It broke my heart,” Dr. Hung recalled.
The expert felt that he needed to use his technological knowledge to serve people and his nation first and foremost, and he also hoped to bring Vietnamese intellectual values to the world in the future.
“So, I thought about the AI equation for healthcare. Some friends introduced me to the Vingroup Chairman. In our first meeting, as soon as I mentioned the equation to save people, Mr. Vuong closed the deal right there and told me to leave Microsoft and join Vingroup the following month.” – Dr. Hung revealed.
Even though he didn’t know much about Vietnam at the time, and had never heard of Vingroup or Chairman Vuong, the doctor saw a great national spirit in them, which created a sense of empathy between the two.
“Ultimately, this was a great opportunity, as Mr. Vuong had given me a platform to bring useful values to society. So, I took it.”
