Hong Kong Investment Corporation -- a government-owned investment vehicle established in 2022 -- will sign a strategic agreement on June 12 with an industrial artificial intelligence “unicorn”-- a private startup company worth more than $1 billion.
Writing in a Sunday blog, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said the scattered application of AI in the local industrial sector makes technologies of different industries hard to be copied – a core issue in industrial development.
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HKIC said last week it will sign the agreement with SmartMore – an AI startup founded by a Hong Kong graduate, focusing on an industrial AI large language model and intelligent manufacturing.
SmartMore’s advanced AI large language model is designed to promote the adoption of AI technologies across various industries in the special administrative region. The model’s self-adjustment capabilities will allow it to be tailored for different applications.
According to the 2023 Startup Statistics Survey conducted by InvestHK -- the government’s investment promotion agency -- the number of startups in Hong Kong had surpassed 4,250 -- a seven-percent year-on-year growth
AI systems developed by the company are expected to take over mundane repetitive production processes, and Al workers can provide high-precision, high-volume manufacturing that exceeds the capabilities of human labor.
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The pact aims to promote the adoption of AI technologies in Hong Kong industries, including increasing investment and education in the local AI industry, and speed up the enhancement of AI large models to drive digital and intelligent transformation in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
The HKSAR government has attracted a diverse array of “unicorn” tech enterprises, covering life and health, AI, smart driving and logistics and other sectors, to operate at Hong Kong Science Park and Cyberport.
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The cumulative market value of Hong Kong-based “unicorn” firms has, so far, exceeded $10 billion.
Chan said the government hopes that more locally-based tech companies can achieve “unicorn” status. It will encourage startups to operate in the SAR and young talents to launch their ventures in the city.
According to the 2023 Startup Statistics Survey conducted by InvestHK -- the government’s investment promotion agency -- the number of startups in Hong Kong had surpassed 4,250 -- a seven-percent year-on-year growth. About one-fifth of them are founded by Western entrepreneurs.
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“The diverse backgrounds and beliefs of these talents will provide a fresh impetus for Hong Kong’s innovation ecosystem, driving the ecosystem’s continued development,” Chan said.
“As the number of HKIC’s partners continues to grow, it’ll lead to more technology companies rooted in Hong Kong, as well as their investment levels in the market. This trend will, undoubtedly, make our innovation and technology ecosystem more vibrant and active.”
