VinFuture Prize is a annual academic recognizing excellence in Science. Organized by VinFuture Foundation, it covers the Global region. Established in 2020.
The VinFuture Prize is a global science and technology award from the VinFuture Foundation, established in 2020 by Vingroup founder Pham Nhat Vuong and his wife Pham Thu Huong as a deliberate signal of Vietnam's ambitions in global science. It honors breakthrough research and technological innovations that make a tangible difference to the daily lives of millions of people, framed around the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Nominations pass through a Pre-Screening Committee before an international Prize Council of senior scientists selects the laureates.
The headline award is a US$3 million Grand Prize, open to candidates of any nationality, age, gender or background — putting it in the same financial league as the Breakthrough Prize. Three further US$500,000 Special Prizes go to innovators from developing countries, women innovators, and innovators with outstanding achievements in emerging fields. Laureates are honored at a high-profile December award ceremony in Hanoi, and the prize's nomination network has grown quickly, drawing more than 1,800 nominations in the 2026 season.
Nomination is free but self-nominations are not accepted: both institutional nominators (universities, research institutes, academies, corporations, incubators) and individual nominators can register through the online portal and must submit in English. The call opens each January and closes in mid-April — the 2026 deadline was 2:00 PM on 17 April, Vietnam time — with pre-screening and review running May through November ahead of the December ceremony. Because the prize privileges demonstrated societal impact over pure discovery, winning nominations quantify who benefits and at what scale, tied explicitly to at least one SDG.