This marks the first batch of investment that the fund is making after it opened up for applications, and the 12 projects have been chosen from a pool of more than 200.

Fund officials said the selected projects have the potential to meet practical needs.

The project aims include developing a device to keep track of and improve the quality of sleep; manufacturing infrared thermal image sensors for national security and civil defense purposes; studying a technology for herbal extraction and applying nano-emulsification using low-energy methods to make cosmetics as well as inoculants used in high-tech agriculture; and making activated carbon for use in cosmetics and medicine.

To get the funding, applicants had to prove that their projects will use competitive technologies, can be commercialized and have the research capacity to succeed.

All researchers that receive funding do not have to accept any terms and conditions from the fund except for the promise that they will persist with their projects until the end and achieve the best possible results, said Truong Ly Hoang Phi, CEO of VinTech City, the technology arm of Vingroup which focuses on AI, software and new materials and directly runs the fund.

"If it is needed, VinTech Fund will help funded researchers work with experts now working or coordinating with Vingroup," she said.

Researchers will also be allowed to access Vingroup’s facilities to test their final products before putting them on the market, Phi added.