Pitching Vanguard AI at Lao Digital Awards 2026
I took Vanguard AI, an AI foundation built for Laos and for Lao people, to the Digital Startup category of Lao Digital Awards 2026. We didn't win, but the stage taught me something worth keeping.
Vientiane, September 2026. Vanguard AI, an AI platform built around the Lao language, went on stage at Lao Digital Awards 2026, competing in the Digital Startup category. I presented it as the project's founder.
What is Vanguard AI?
The line on the opening slide said it plainly: an AI foundation for Laos, for Lao people.
Most AI tools today are built English-first. For people in Laos, that leaves real gaps: tools that are hard to access, and models that struggle with Lao text and Lao speech. The pitch walked through those barriers, starting with access, and then showed Vanguard AI's answer: one place to read Lao documents, transcribe Lao speech, and work with AI in Lao.
On stage
Lao Digital Awards recognizes digital work across several tracks, including the public sector, private sector, digital content, digital startup and digital innovation. This year's theme was "Driving Advanced Innovation to Promote a Resilient and Sustainable Digital Transformation in Lao PDR."
In a few minutes, I took the judges through the problem, the product, and where Vanguard AI is heading next.
The result
Vanguard AI did not take home an award this year. Even so, standing on that stage next to other Lao builders, and putting a Lao-first AI product in front of a national audience, was worth it.
What I'm taking away
The biggest lesson had less to do with the product and more to do with the room.
It doesn't matter how skilled you are or how good your product is. If you're not in someone's interest, don't expect a seat at the table. Some rooms aren't scoring your product; they're scoring how useful you are to them.
That isn't a complaint. It's a reminder to understand what a stage rewards before you walk onto it, and to choose rooms that fit what you're building.
Know which room you're walking into.
What's next
Vanguard AI keeps going. The goal hasn't changed: make AI useful for Lao people, in Lao.
Thank you to the organizers, the judges, and everyone who cheered us on, before and after the stage.