Vietnam needs spry tech 'coyotes' from abroad, not lumbering giants

It was one of the few times when his village had electricity.

Growing up in a poor northern rural area, he excelled academically, studied in Hanoi, and earned a scholarship to study in the U.S.

In his early years in Illinois State, he juggled studying and selling used books on Amazon to get by. His wife worked as a nail technician, and together they raised their first son.

Now, 20 years later, he is a senior technology manager at Meta, overseeing nearly 200 professionals of various ethnicities.

His son has entered an Ivy League school, and is poised to follow in his footsteps.

Their family has grown by two more children.

Within just one generation, his family has journeyed from a village without electricity to the forefront of global technology.

Yet, he did not share this story to highlight his success but to reflect on Vietnam.

"We were so busy with our lives that we did not realize how much the country had changed," he said.

In those words, I sensed the nostalgia of someone far from home and the anxiety about what more could be done for the homeland.

Recently I had lunch with a Vietnamese expert deeply involved in the AI race among global tech giants. He told me of days and nights spent working relentlessly, even sleeping in parking lots while waiting for his wife to bring fresh clothes.

Despite his demanding schedule, he volunteers as a visiting professor in Vietnam. I did not need to ask why: He simply spoke of his "fatherland."

A person works at a semiconductor lab at HCMC High-tech zone, December 2024. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran

Many Vietnamese have journeyed far to chase their dreams, but our conversations inevitably turn to our roots.

The government and enterprises at home are eager to attract overseas Vietnamese brainpower. Yet, why have not many top tech experts returned?

Two major barriers stand out.

First is the scale and quality of opportunities only available in Silicon Valley. Standing on my porch, gazing toward Mountain View or San Francisco, I am overwhelmed by the concentration of capital and technology—just a stone's throw away lie billion-dollar companies.

It feels like living in the future, with innovations like self-driving cars already on the streets and global trends emerging instantly.

No wonder the best want to be here.

Second, and more critical, is financial disparity. Apple's 2024 revenues exceeded US$390 billion or over 80% of Vietnam's GDP.

Such giants can offer engineers salaries in the millions, while in Vietnam, even top executive roles rarely approach that level.

Exhortations to "not care about salary" are unrealistic. Relationships thrive on mutual benefit, and sacrifice inevitably wears thin.

Family also weighs heavily. During one conversation, when joking that a famous AI expert might return to Vietnam for three months, his wife immediately exclaimed, "Three months?!" Everyone laughed and quickly changed the topic.

Vietnam needs talent to grow rich, but is not yet wealthy enough to attract talent.

Some Vietnamese companies have made strides but the return of experts remains modest. Economic growth will increase opportunities, but the pressing question is how to accelerate this process.

Vietnam's greatest advantage is its people.

While financial resources are limited, the country has a young, enthusiastic generation of engineers with solid fundamentals and an insatiable hunger for knowledge and global reach.

But this immense resource remains underutilized.

For years Vietnam has pursued a "welcome eagles" policy, calling overseas talent eagles.

But maybe we have called them by the wrong name. These "eagles" often behave like "hippos": large, strong but lumbering and difficult to steer.

When such tech "hippos" come to Vietnam, they follow a predetermined global roadmap with little room for change.

Having worked for Google for nearly 12 years, I know the bigger the company, the slower it moves. That is why agile startups like OpenAI lead the AI race.

This sluggishness hinders "hippos" from truly building a local tech industry.

Intel's factory is an example: after two decades it still mainly handles packaging and testing.

Vietnamese companies mainly supply ancillary parts to giants like Samsung.

The technological gap is another challenge. Developing economies cannot absorb trillion-dollar corporations' processes overnight – it is like an elementary student learning directly from a university professor. Learning from smaller, slightly more advanced companies is more practical.

The "hippo" path is not futile - Samsung has developed a $220 million R&D center in Hanoi from its assembly roots - but progress is slow.

If Vietnam waits passively for a long roadmap, opportunities will slip away. To advance faster, a second path is needed.

I think of North American coyotes. Not kings of the jungle, but survival masters - small, agile, moving in packs, and strong in numbers.

Like startups, they do not wait to be fed; they hunt.

"Raising coyotes" offers a way to attract brainpower without competing with Silicon Valley on salaries. Instead of hiring for fixed salaries, create conditions for talents to come to Vietnam, launch companies and hire local engineers.

Equally importantly, it addresses the opportunity barrier.

Ambitious founders do not need to leave Silicon Valley but can establish strategic bases in Vietnam, leveraging top engineering teams as their secret weapon in global competition.

Let us be clear about one thing: this is not cheap outsourcing.

The goal is for Vietnamese engineers to be full members of global startups - gaining knowledge, solving complex problems and receiving competitive salaries, equity and benefits.

From my experience, Vietnam ranks among the world's best for quality talent relative to cost. It is time to dream beyond outsourcing.

This is not a new idea.

Many Vietnamese startups in the U.S. already have engineering teams in Vietnam. A "prairie wolf" pack is slowly forming.

As someone running such a startup, I see Vietnam's great potential for this model but also the need for stronger, consistent policies.

Development strategy demands focus on strengths. If Vietnam invests in nurturing these "prairie wolves," or "coyotes", it can build a dynamic business force, driving innovation and sustainable growth.

The message to founders worldwide should be clear: "Come to Vietnam to build your empire. Hire Vietnamese as founding engineers. We have the best and most eager engineers to fight alongside you."

This invitation should be open to all, not just those of Vietnamese descent.

As these coyotes grow and expand globally, they will create economic value, forge leaders, and cultivate a winning culture for future generations.

Then my friends will not have to choose between a Silicon Valley career or sacrificing to return home; they can lead a Saigon- or Hanoi-based startup from Palo Alto.

At that point, the question "Can I do something?" won't be so difficult. The answer will be simple: Vietnamese talent can build fulfilling lives and create "eagles" right here at home.

*Duong Ngoc Thai is a cybersecurity expert now managing a business in Californina.