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VIETNAM

TECH PLANTER in Vietnam 2026

Discovering and nurturing Deep Tech seeds
and entrepreneurs in Vietnam
ABOUT
Purpose
At universities, research institutes, and corporate laboratories, the "seeds" of science and technology are being born, and it takes a lot of time and effort before they sprout into practical applications. The "TECH PLANTER" organized by Leave a Nest with its partner companies is an ecosystem that aims to discover these seeds and serve as a planter to turn them into businesses. Our program in VIETNAM aimed at discovering and nurturing Deep Tech seeds and entrepreneurs.
Target
  • Early stage startups and pre-startup researchers’ team or individual in Deep Tech Field
  • Mature startups or SMEs seeking collaborators are also welcome, even if they are close to mass production or PMF establishment.
  • Visionaries that aim to change the world and/or their own country to a better place based on the science and tech based seeds
  • Those who are interested in the Japanese market or collaboration with Japanese corporations.
Categories of the TECH
Manufacturing, robotics, IoT, AI, agri-tech, bio-tech, healthcare, med-tech, food-tech, care-tech, marine-tech, ecotech, and etc.
Application Period
2025/12/1(Mon)-2026/5/22(Fri)
Judging Criteria
A panel of judges consisting of Leave a Nest and its partners will evaluate each of the following items.
  1. 01NOVELTY
  2. 02PRACTICABILITY
  3. 03IMPACT TO
    THE WORLD
  4. 04PASSION
Awards
Grand Winner: 18.000.000 VND & Invitation to Present at TECH PLANTER Asia Final 2026
Leave a Nest Award: Invitation to Present at TECH PLANTER Asia Final 2026
Corporate Awards: 12.000.000 VND (Several of them)
SCHEDULE
12/1[MON]

Entry open

Please register from here and fill out the web form to apply.
We also hold information sessions at each university and on an individual to encourage your full registration to tell you how to prepare documents. Please feel free to contact us for more information.

5/8[FRI]

Application deadline & 1st selection

After our closing the application window, a panel of judges consisting of Leave a Nest and its partners will review the applications.
Applicants will be asked to submit information about their team, technology, passion, and future vision via web form.
All applicants will be notified of the results of the screening process and will receive feedback on their applications.
In addition, online individual interviews will be held for those who wish to participate in the presentation review.

6/23[MON]

Announcement of finalists

Selected Finalists will be announced in the middle of June.
For applicants who pass the selection, interviews will be held to brush up their presentations for the final DEMO DAY.
In addition, it is possible to set up interviews with partner companies for the purpose of business consultation and to develop collaboration projects.

7/11[SAT]

TECH PLAN DEMO DAY in Vietnam

The 9 finalist teams that passed our selection will be judged on their presentations.

Aug-

Supporting period

Even after the DEMO DAY, the contact point between teams and Leave a Nest remains open, allowing discussions to develop their business..
We are responding to a wide range of start-up issues, from incorporation to prototype development, financing, and R&D.
In addition, collaboration between teams and partner companies is becoming more popular in this period to support business development.

PARTNER
Global Partners
Local Partners
Strategic Partners
ASSET
  1. ASSET01Leave a Nest Communicator
  2. ASSET02Japanese Partner Companies
  3. ASSET03Local Partners
  4. ASSET04Super Factory Group
SUPPORT
  1. SUPPORT01Organizing the vision your business
  2. SUPPORT02Brushing up your presentation
  3. SUPPORT03Opportunities for collaboration with Japanese corporates
  4. SUPPORT04Support for R&D and prototype development
  5. SUPPORT05Support for Knowledge and IP Strategies
  6. SUPPORT06Investment and support for finance
DEMO DAY
Name of the DEMO DAY
TECH PLANTER in Vietnam 2026
Place
The Sentry C, 3A-3B, 15 Lê Thánh Tôn, Sài Gòn, Hồ Chí Minh 70000, Vietnam
Date & Time
2026/7/11 (Sat)13:00-18:00 in Vietnam Time
Application Period
2025/12/1(Mon)-2026/5/22(Fri)
Eligible Participants
Deep Tech Startups and Research Teams
Organizer
Leave a Nest Japan & Malaysia
Timeline
@Vietnam Time
11:30～12:30
Dry Run : Finalist & Lightning Talk Teams
12:30～13:00
Registration
13:00～13:15
Opening Remarks : Dr. Dr. Shuichiro Takahashi, Leave a Nest
13:15～13:30
Keynote Speaker : Dr. Tung Le, Seamorny
13:30～14:20
Round 1: Future Energy & Digital Infrastructure
3 teams (7 Minutes presentation + 5 Minutes Q&A)
1. Rustech
2. Shio-Ion
3. VoxCool
14:20～14:30
Break
14:30～15:20
Round 2: Circular Economy & Resource Recovery
3 teams (7 Minutes presentation + 5 Minutes Q&A)
1. 3-in-1
2. ByoMax Pty Ltd
3. RENOVA
15:20～15:30
Break
15:30～16:20
Round 3: Cultivating the Future of Agriculture
3 teams (7 Minutes presentation + 5 Minutes Q&A)
1. CAS Farm
2. enfarm Agritech
3. SHW
16:20～17:30
Judging Time
Lightning Talk (6 teams/ 3 mins presentation)
1. Praxis Labs
2. Peannut.studio
3. Ravina Bleue
4. Team 3-Pass
5. AquaGuardian
Partner Presentation
1. SDEC
2. UntroD Capital Asia
17:30～17:50
Award Ceremony
17:50～18:00
Closing Remarks : Dr. Takumi Jindo, Leave a Nest
JUDGE
  • Dr. Shuichiro Takahashi
    Chief judge
    Representative Director COO, Leave a Nest
    Dr. Shuichiro Takahashi
    Dr. Shuichiro Takahashi received a Ph.D. in Life Science from the Graduate School of Frontier Sciences at the University of Tokyo. He is a founding member of Leave a Nest and has been building a foundation for R&D projects as the core of Knowledge Manufacturing. He has initiated unique business models such as the “LNest Grant” which is a research grant system with private corporate partners, and has led numerous projects involving industry, academia, and the education sector. He has been the Representative Director and COO since 2010. In addition, he is supporting a Japanese expansion project of a venture company from South East Asia. He is also involved in investment in seed stage deep-tech startups as a Representative Director of Leave a Nest Capital.
  • Ms. Tu Bui
    Community Manager, InnoEx
    Ms. Tu Bui
    Regional Ecosystem Leader, Entrepreneurship Lecturer, Executive Mentor, and International Fellow with over 17 years of experience spanning corporate, startup, and higher education ecosystems across Southeast Asia. Her career has evolved from scaling FMCG and retail brands as a Marketing Supervisor to co-founding the retail SME InFashion as Chief Marketing Officer, where she gained firsthand experience in cash flow optimization, supply chain management, and building resilient SMEs. This entrepreneurial foundation inspired her transition into ecosystem development, where she has spent the past seven years fostering high-impact public-private-academic partnerships through the Business Startup Support Centre (BSSC) and InnoEx. She currently leads strategic sustainable development initiatives with UNDP, SNV, and the Rabo Foundation, focusing on startup-corporate matchmaking, plastics circular economy, and green financing mechanisms for agribusiness SMEs. Ms. Bui also co-leads major corporate innovation programmes, including the Qualcomm Vietnam Innovation Challenge (2020–Present) and the SK Startup Fellowship (2020–2023), while supporting Vietnam's global startup ecosystem positioning through collaboration with StartupBlink and the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Science and Technology. Committed to inclusive innovation and social impact, she serves as an Atlantic Fellow for Health Equity (Equity Initiative 2026–2027) and an IATSS Forum Fellow (Japan, 2024). She is an active industry expert, keynote speaker, mentor, and grand judge for organizations including USAID, Swiss SECO, UNIDO, UNICEF, Sunwah Innovation Center, New Energy Nexus, KOSME, and leading universities across Asia, Europe, and the United States. Leveraging her leadership experience as a former Area Director of Toastmasters International, she continues to champion cross-cultural communication, entrepreneurship, and innovation leadership throughout the region.
  • Ms. Bui Thanh Hang
    Project Director, SOIHUB
    Ms. Bui Thanh Hang
    Ms. Bui Thanh Hang is currently working at the Technology Incubation Center – National Agency for Technology Entrepreneurship and Commercialization (NATEC) under the Ministry of Science and Technology of Vietnam, Expert in HCMC C4IR’s Policy and Strategy Department and also serves as the Project Director of SoiHub. She has over five years of experience in developing Vietnam’s startup and innovation ecosystem under the Ministry, alongside ten years in communications and public relations management for development organizations such as Winrock International, DAI Global, and the United Nations. She is also the Vice Chairwoman of the Scientific Council of the Open Innovation and Technopreneur Institute (OITI).
    Ms. Hang plays a leading role in promoting open innovation models and strategies based on the triple helix model of collaboration between enterprises – government – academia, and is spearheading the pilot implementation of the Open Innovation Hub (SoiHub) in Ho Chi Minh City to advance Vietnam’s innovation-driven entrepreneurship ecosystem.
    She has been instrumental in the early-stage development of SoiHub, turning it into a practical platform for fostering collaboration among startups, businesses, and public sector stakeholders. Currently, she is leading the development of a new SME Support Program for Hanoi City for the period 2026–2030.
    In addition, Ms. Hang actively participates in regional forums on innovation and human capital development, organized by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and its partners, serving as an expert contributor. Notable engagements include:
    AI-Powered Innovation in Vietnam’s Educational Landscape:
    https://events.development.asia/materials/20240926/ai-powered-innovation-viet-nams-educational-landscape
    Scaling Private Sector Investment in Education and Training:
    https://events.development.asia/materials/20231019/scaling-private-sector-investment-education-and-training
    Vietnam’s Digital Gen Z Workforce:
    https://events.development.asia/materials/20230511/viet-nams-digital-gen-z-workforce
  • Dr. Le Chi Thanh
    Startup Advisor, Van Lang University
    Dr. Le Chi Thanh
    Dr. Thanh Le is a student startup coach at Van Lang University. He is also representing Center for Social Initiative Promotion in Ho Chi Minh city as an investment fellow. Previously, he was an investment officer at VinaCapital and an assistant to COO at Hoan My Medical Group. He is interested in supporting startups in edtech, medtech and agritech.
  • Mr. Toyohisa Yamada
    Chairman, YS Design
    Mr. Toyohisa Yamada
    Born in October 1979, he earned a Master of Engineering from the Department of Chemical System Engineering at the Graduate School of Engineering, the University of Tokyo. Having developed a strong interest in energy issues from an early age, he conducted research on fuel cells and combustion during his university years. He joined Yamada Shokai Co., Ltd., a gas engineering and construction company, in 2004. He became President and Representative Director in May 2020, and has also served as President and Representative Director of Yamada Shokai Holdings Co., Ltd. since May 2022. Leveraging the power of engineering, he is committed to enhancing resilience across four key sectors: energy, infrastructure, agriculture, forestry and fisheries, and the living environment.
  • Mr. Shojiro Kobashi
    President & CEO, KOBASHI HOLDINGS Co., Ltd.
    Mr. Shojiro Kobashi
    Shojiro Kobashi is the fourth-generation successor of a family-run agricultural machinery manufacturer founded in 1910. He officially took over the business in 2016. KOBASHI has long contributed to the mechanization of Japanese agriculture as an agricultural machinery manufacturer. In 2017, in line with a group restructuring, he established KOBASHI HOLDINGS Co., Ltd., assuming the role of President and CEO. Under the corporate philosophy of “Cultivating the Earth (make the world better)“, he has worked to address global challenges by leveraging the company’s century-long heritage of experience, knowledge, and technology. In 2020, he founded KOBASHI ROBOTICS Co., Ltd., and launched the “Manufacturing Booster” program to comprehensively support startups engaged in product development and manufacturing. Through this initiative, he has actively built partnerships with deep-tech startups in Southeast Asia. He sees it as his mission to accelerate the real-world deployment of technologies that tackle the most pressing global issues through the power of manufacturing. He holds an MBA from Waseda University Graduate School of Business Administration.
  • Ms. Nur Hartini binti Mardan
    Manager Tech & Talent Transfer, Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation Berhad
    Ms. Nur Hartini binti Mardan
    Hartini is a Sarawak-born woman in technology and innovation who is actively shaping the state’s digital economy through her role as Manager, Tech & Talent Transfer at Sarawak Digital Economy Corporation (SDEC). Her work focuses on advancing technology adoption, research commercialisation, and digital talent development across academia, industry, and government, supporting Sarawak’s transition towards a knowledge-driven economy. She plays a pivotal role in designing and executing structured, outcome-oriented programmes that translate digital research and innovation into tangible economic value, while strengthening Sarawak’s positioning within the national and global digital ecosystem.
  • Mr. Takumi Tanaka
    New Business Exploration Section, TERAL Inc.
    Mr. Takumi Tanaka
    Joined Teral Inc. in 2020 and has since been engaged in technical proposal work for air-related equipment, including facility design and construction cost estimation. Assumed the current position in 2025. Currently promotes internal and external collaboration to create new businesses and expand into emerging markets beyond the industrial and building sectors in which Teral has traditionally been strong.
  • Mr. Daiki Kumamoto
    Executive Director, UntroD Capital Asia Pte. Ltd.
    Mr. Daiki Kumamoto
    Daiki Kumamoto is Director of UntroD Capital Asia, where he leads deep-tech investments across Southeast Asia and the firm’s second Global Fund. Since joining UntroD in 2019, he has played a key role in building the firm’s regional investment platform and expanding its presence across Southeast Asia. He has been involved in approximately 20 deep-tech investments across Japan and Southeast Asia, primarily in healthcare, energy, and advanced materials. In addition to investment execution, he supports portfolio companies through strategic partnerships, research collaborations, and market expansion initiatives connecting Southeast Asia and Japan. Beyond his investment activities, he has served as a non-executive director and startup founder in the healthcare and social welfare sectors. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Policy Management from Keio University, is a former President of AIESEC in Japan, and a Fund Management Representative recognized by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).
FINALIST
  •  
    RUSTECH
    Nguyen Ha Yen Vy
    RUSTACK: Smart UAV software system solving BVLOS blind spots and data security risks.

    Theme:
    RUSTACK: Smart UAV software system solving BVLOS blind spots and data security risks.

  • Grand Winner & YS Design Award
    Shio-ion
    Le Xuan Ngoc Trang
    Eco-Anode Upcycling Platform

    Theme:
    Eco-Anode Upcycling Platform

  • UntroD Award & Teral Award
    VOX Cool Joint Stock Company
    Nguyen Ha Yen Vy
    Thermal energy storage, known as “Cold Battery”

    Theme:
    Thermal energy storage, known as “Cold Battery”

  •  
    3-in-1
    Tung Trà Văn
    Coagulation–Flocculation, Adsorption, and Disinfection for Water Supply and Wastewater Treatment.

    Theme:
    Coagulation–Flocculation, Adsorption, and Disinfection for Water Supply and Wastewater Treatment.

  •  
    ByoMax Pty Ltd
    Luke van Zeller
    Quantum Diffusion Renewable Carbon Refinery

    Theme:
    Quantum Diffusion Renewable Carbon Refinery

  •  
    RENOVA
    Le Nhat Huy
    The Plastic Waste Crisis and Agricultural Waste Disposal

    Theme:
    The Plastic Waste Crisis and Agricultural Waste Disposal

  • SDEC Award
    CAS Farm
    Vien Le
    CASFarm: Circular AgriSolar Farming

    Theme:
    CASFarm: Circular AgriSolar Farming

  • Leave a Nest Award & Kobashi Award
    enfarm Agritech
    Dzung Nguyen
    enfarm AI Agronomic Intelligence Platform

    Theme:
    enfarm AI Agronomic Intelligence Platform

  •  
    SHW
    Huỳnh Nguyễn Duy Bảo
    Bio-based Hydrogel for Soil Moisture Retention and Controlled Fertilizer Release

    Theme:
    Bio-based Hydrogel for Soil Moisture Retention and Controlled Fertilizer Release

LIGHTNING TALK
Team Theme Representative
Praxis Labs We process, annotate, and reformat massive robotics raw data into training-ready datasets. Đinh Thé Minh
Peannut.studio Web AR Fashion: Solving expensive, static 2D apparel by creating 3D interactive wearable art. Peter Khang
Ravina Bleue GESPEC Matthieu Guiboud-Ribaud
Team 3-Pass Precision AI-Driven UAV System for Rapid Mine, UXO Clearance and Land Release Muhammad Zakiruddin Chowdhury
AquaGuardian AquaGuard – Smart Flood Emergency Coordination Platform for Faster SOS Rescue and Disaster Response Nguyen Minh Quan
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TECH PLAN Demo Day in Vietnam 2026 is Happening on 11 July
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  • Vietnam
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