VietChallenge

✨ An Evening of Dialogue, Leadership, and Community at VietChallenge Boston

Last night, in the historic Old City Hall at the heart of Boston, VietChallenge gathered founders, investors, policymakers, and community leaders for an evening of dialogue, reflection, and connection.

This was not just an end-of-year celebration, but a shared pause to reflect on how far Vietnam’s innovation ecosystem has come and what it will take to move forward together. We opened the evening with welcome remarks from the VietChallenge team. Mai Zymaris, President of VietChallenge, and Jensen Vu, CEO, shared our vision for the next decade and reaffirmed our commitment to empowering Vietnamese entrepreneurs and strengthening ties across borders.

✨A Special Dialogue followed with H.E. Ambassador Do Hung Viet, Permanent Representative of Viet Nam to the United Nations, moderated by Natalie Bui. The Ambassador shared with the audience the role of the United Nations as a norm-setting platform and as a place where Vietnam’s story of transformation can be shared with the world. He also reflected on Vietnam’s new comprehensive strategic framework, including Resolution 57, and what it means for the country’s next era of growth. Most powerfully, he offered concrete ways the Vietnamese and Vietnamese diaspora can contribute, not abstractly, but in practical, meaningful ways.

✨The Keynote Conversation, “Vietnam’s Path toward Innovation and Technological Advancement,” brought together Dr. Loi Nguyen (Marvell), Thomas J. Vallely (Fulbright University Vietnam), and Tuan Pham (J.P. Morgan), moderated by VietChallenge founder, Mai Zymaris. The discussion was rich, candid, and wide-ranging. The speakers reflected on mentorship, the current capital environment, and the importance of Vietnamese professionals stepping into leadership roles, not only excelling technically but shaping institutions and systems. They explored the role of energy, infrastructure, and policy mechanisms in advancing technology, grounding big ideas in their lived experience.

✨The evening closed with a Fireside Chat, “Building Globally, Rooted Locally: Stories from Vietnamese Founders,” featuring Dimitry Tran (Harrison.ai), Christy Trang Le (Alabaster), and Jean Pham (Cellens), moderated by Jensen Vu. The conversation was energetic, encouraging, and full of humor. A common thread emerged as each founder spoke about how personal motivations, family, and a desire to help others shaped their entrepreneurial journeys. They spoke about surrounding themselves with excellence, relying on community during difficult moments, and the ongoing discipline of moving from being good to becoming great through continuous learning.

We are deeply grateful to our speakers, our guests, and everyone who made this gathering possible. Last night was a reminder that progress is not built alone, but through trust, shared values, and a community willing to show up for one another.

More to come! 🚀

⭐ Founder Spotlight: Jean Pham

We are proud to feature Jean Pham, Co-Founder and CEO of Cellens, at the VietChallenge Boston End-of-Year Gathering on December 12. This event will bring together 25 to 30 founders, investors, and leaders shaping the future of Vietnamese innovation.

Jean Pham leads Cellens with a mission to transform cancer diagnostics through the combined power of mechanobiology, single cell analysis, and machine learning. The company is developing a non-invasive diagnostic platform that detects cancer by analyzing the biophysical properties of individual cells from a simple urine sample. This approach has the potential to reduce the discomfort, cost, and frequency of invasive procedures used today to monitor cancers such as bladder cancer.

Under Jean’s leadership, Cellens has built a strong scientific foundation. The company has been supported by competitive funding from the NIH, NSF, and the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, and has earned recognition through the LabCentral Golden Ticket Ignite Award, SOSV’s Human Health 100 list, and Springboard’s Healthcare and Technology program. These milestones reflect the credibility and momentum behind Cellens as it advances toward clinical validation. In 2024, Cellens announced a collaboration with Bruker BioAFM, a global leader in atomic force microscopy instrumentation, to accelerate the translation of its mechanobiology platform into clinical settings.

Jean will join the Fireside Chat at the Boston gathering, where she will share her experiences building a deep tech biotech company, navigating translational science, and working at the intersection of engineering, biology, and patient care. Her work stands alongside the advances being made at Harrison.ai in applying machine learning to radiology, highlighting how founders of Vietnamese heritage are driving innovation across multiple fronts in diagnostic medicine.

We look forward to welcoming Jean and learning from her vision at this year’s VietChallenge Boston Gathering. Stay tuned for the final speaker spotlight!