Hanoi, July 17 -- The final round of the Vietnam AI Innovation Challenge 2026 kicked off in Hanoi on July 17, featuring a 48-hour hackathon in which finalists develop AI-native solutions to real-world problems proposed by businesses and public-sector organisations. The challenge, running through July 19, is organised under the Vietnam Innovation Challenge 2026 by the National Innovation Centre (NIC) under the Ministry of Finance, Meta, AI for Vietnam Foundation, FPT and Duy Tan University. Challenge tracks cover finance - banking, health care, education - training, agriculture, smart public services, innovation, SME operations, and disaster management. NIC said this year's event attracts a record of nearly 2,500 registrations and more tha...