The archive · AI & Models · Product decision · 2020–2025
Filum AI bets Vietnamese SMEs want local AI agents over Western CX tools
Base.vn co-founder's AI CXM platform raises $1M from Nextrans, VinVentures, TheVentures; Hoang Ha Mobile +30% revenue
Filum AI
What the business is
An AI-native customer experience management platform: a unified inbox for WhatsApp, Facebook, Shopee, and Lazada chats plus AI agents that sell, support, and follow up.
Starting capital：US$1M (TheVentures, VinVentures, Nextrans, and angel founders)
How it started
Vien and a team of AI and digital experts from Silicon Valley and Vietnam founded Filum in 2020, betting that understanding and serving customers is where Vietnamese enterprises would first adopt generative AI.
What happened
Customers including convenience chain GS25, phone retailer Hoang Ha Mobile, and beauty brands BeautyBox and The Face Shop adopted the platform; the company claims Hoang Ha Mobile saw +30% revenue after rollout. In March 2025 it raised a $1M round led by Korean fund TheVentures with VinVentures and Nextrans, targeting completion of its AI-agent technology through 2025.
How it ended up
Live and expanding: the platform now markets a multi-agent 'AI workforce' across sales, support, and success, and lists ZUS Coffee (1,000+ stores in Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines) as a coming customer.
Background
Filum AI, founded in 2020 by Tran Van Vien — co-founder of Base.vn, the SaaS company acquired by FPT in 2021 — builds an AI-native customer experience management platform for Vietnamese businesses. Its bet: Vietnamese-language AI agents, not Western CX suites, will win the customer-service market in Vietnam and Southeast Asia.
The platform unifies chats from WhatsApp, Facebook, Shopee, Lazada, and 50-plus channels into one inbox, and layers on AI agents that respond in Vietnamese, spot buying signals, close sales, and follow up. Early customers included convenience store chain GS25, phone retailer Hoang Ha Mobile, and beauty brands BeautyBox and The Face Shop; the company says Hoang Ha Mobile lifted revenue 30% after the rollout.
In March 2025, Filum raised a US$1M round led by Korea's TheVentures with VinVentures, Nextrans, and angel founders including Truong Anh Dung, aiming to finish its AI-agent technology during 2025. As of 2026 the company markets a multi-agent 'AI workforce' for sales, support, and success, and lists ZUS Coffee — 1,000+ stores across Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines — as an onboarding customer.
What has to be true
- Vietnamese consumers chat on local channels like Zalo, Facebook, and Shopee, so a CX tool must speak Vietnamese natively.
- SMEs cannot staff 24/7 support, making AI agents a cheaper, always-on alternative to hiring.
- The founding team's Base.vn track record gave investors confidence in selling SaaS to Vietnamese enterprises.
- Global CX vendors are weakly localized, leaving room for a Vietnamese-first platform to lead domestically and expand regionally.
What can be applied
A local-language AI agent is a product wedge that global platforms cannot easily copy: Filum made Vietnamese-language sales and support its moat instead of competing on generic automation.
Aftermath
As of September 2026, Filum AI continues to operate its unified-inbox platform with a named roster of AI agents (Hana, Alex, Dieu, Quan) for care, success, sales, and tech support, plus workflow automation and ISO 27001 enterprise features. It positions itself as the local replacement for tools like Salesforce Agentforce and Qualtrics, with ZUS Coffee's regional stores as a flagship expansion customer.
Sources
- Vietnam's rising tech stars secure significant foreign investment
- Filum AI huy dong mot trieu do la My tu The Ventures va VinVentures
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