Broadcast live on the Government Portal, the gala was a key activity in response to the National Innovation Day 2026.
The fourth edition of the awards featured a complete restructuring into four award tracks: Innovative Choice Awards, Smart Choice Awards, Car Choice Awards and the newly introduced Nation Builders Awards. The latter honours businesses contributing to national development by building infrastructure, energy systems and technological capacity for the national economy.
Winners were selected based on scores from a panel of domestic and international experts and community votes through VCCorp’s digital media system.
Pham Xuan Ha, Senior Events Director at VCCorp and Head of the Better Choice Awards 2026’s organising board, said the awards seek choices that make life better every day rather than a single “best” answer that works only on paper.
He noted that the new Nation Builders Awards track reflected the expansion of Vietnamese innovation beyond individual products to the capabilities of businesses and the economy. This year’s winners include Vietnamese businesses alongside global brands, with innovations ranging from Vietnamese-language AI models and electric motorcycles to smart charging stations.
Vo Xuan Hoai, Deputy Director of the National Innovation Centre (NIC), said the Better Choice Awards provide a space for such efforts to be recognised and spread. He stressed that “Better Choice” means not only creating entirely new products, but also improving existing ones through more effective technologies, higher-quality products, more convenient services, more productive processes and solutions that deliver greater value to users and the community.
It is necessary to continue encouraging businesses to adopt a user-centred approach, remain committed to investment in research and development, gradually master technologies, and continuously improve, he said.
In addition to the 45 main categories, the gala announced the Better List 2026 rankings, based on scores and votes from a community of technology-savvy users.
The 2026 edition was organised by VCCorp in coordination with NIC and the State Agency for Technology and Innovation (SATI) under the Ministry of Science and Technology.
