Silicon Valley talent is helping grow Vietnam’s startup hub

A person uses a laptop computer at Sentry, a co-working space, in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Industry insiders say Ho Chi Minh City has the makings of the next Silicon Valley-lite: a heavy math and science educational system, a decades-old software outsourcing industry that’s created an abundance of inexpensive and talented engineers and the benefits of Vietnam’s economic expansion, which last year was one of the fastest across Asia. — Photos: Bloomberg

On a recent morning, Vinnie Lauria found himself weaving through the clogged, narrow streets of Ho Chi Minh City on a motorbike with his three-year-old son as they navigated the morning rush to school.

Had he still been living in Silicon Valley the commute would have been less adventurous, but this was where the action was.