Famous Vietnamese inventor uses technology for shrimp farming, cutting electricity-water use by 75%

Traditional shrimp farming consumes massive resources - about 8,000 kWh of electricity to produce just one ton of shrimp - but with the integration of modern technology, both electricity and water usage can be reduced by three-quarters, said Dr Nguyen Thanh My, chairman of Mylan Group and a renowned inventor.

My shared his story at the Sustainability Leaders Summit 2025 held by Forbes Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City on Thursday. He recalled that in 2020, discussions around digital transformation in the shrimp industry were gaining momentum. At that time, producing one kg of shrimp emitted more than double the carbon emissions of one kg of beef.

Witnessing traditional shrimp farming for the first time, he observed many inefficiencies and resource misuses.

"To address this, we applied technology to make shrimp farming more efficient - reducing electricity usage by 75%, cutting water use by 80%, and increasing the productive area within the same land footprint. We even repurpose shrimp shells as plant disinfectants and convert fermented shrimp waste into organic fertilizer," he explained.

My also emphasized the role of technology in rice farming. "We now have tools to measure and reduce CO2 emissions in rice production."

My believes that technological implementation should begin with government support through infrastructure investment or through adoption by large enterprises.

"Farmers benefit from the infrastructure. Our tech companies can sustain themselves by collaborating with the government and big businesses - we don’t take money from farmers," he stated.

When discussing AI in agriculture, My highlighted that his group's AI system can identify 130 types of insects - harmful, beneficial, and neutral. With satellite and remote sensing data, they can now track agricultural developments across the Mekong Delta, such as newly planted fields, upcoming harvests, and tillering stages. This data helps fertilizer companies and harvesting service providers make better decisions.

"Modern AI tools are highly practical. They don’t cost as much as people think and have now evolved into AIoT - Artificial Intelligence of Things. I focus on agriculture because introducing new technology is challenging but extremely promising, especially in a country like ours with a strong agricultural base.

"Vietnamese people are fully capable of building AI and digital solutions. We’re not lacking in talent or data. What we need is a more open and supportive regulatory environment. Decrees 57 and 193 are promising steps that could help bring Vietnamese technology into agriculture and beyond," said My.

Dr. Nguyen Thanh My graduated from the Faculty of Chemistry at HCMC University of Technology in 1978. He immigrated to Canada in 1979 and spent 25 years working in Canada and the U.S. before returning to his hometown of Tra Vinh, where he founded the first high-tech company in the province. Today, he has co-founded eight companies.

He earned his Ph.D. in energy and materials science in 1990 from the Canadian National Center for Energy, Materials and Telecommunications. He also holds an M.Sc. in heterogeneous catalysis (1988) and a B.Sc. in analytical chemistry (1986), both from Concordia University in Canada.

My previously worked as a research scientist at IBM’s Almaden Research Center in San Jose, California, and as a research associate at INRS–Energy and Materials in Canada. He also served as a technical manager at Kodak Polychrome Graphics in Carlstadt, New Jersey.

He is the inventor or co-inventor of hundreds of patents recognized in the United States, Canada, and several other countries.