June 10, 2024
Hong Kong AI Venture Capital, a government-owned investment vehicle established in 2022, is set to sign a strategic agreement with an industrial artificial intelligence “unicorn” — a private startup valued at more than $1 billion — on June 12.
Financial Secretary Chen Mao-bo wrote in a blog on Sunday that the sporadic application of AI in domestic industries makes it difficult to copy technologies from different industries, posing a core issue for industrial development.
Last week, HKIC announced it had signed an agreement with SmartMore, an AI startup founded by Hong Kong university graduates and focusing on industrial AI large-scale language models and intelligent manufacturing.
SmartMore's advanced AI large-scale language model is designed to promote the adoption of AI technology in various industries in the SAR, and the model's self-tuning capability allows it to be customized for different applications.
The AI systems developed by the company are expected to take over routine, repetitive production processes, enabling AI workers to provide high-volume manufacturing with a high degree of precision that exceeds the capabilities of human labor.
The agreement aims to promote the application of AI technology in Hong Kong's industries, increase investment and education in the local AI industry, and accelerate the strengthening of AI large-scale models to promote digitalization and intelligentization in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government is attracting a diverse range of “unicorn” technology companies across fields including life and health, artificial intelligence, smart driving and logistics to Hong Kong Science Park and Cyberport.
The cumulative market capitalization of Hong Kong-based “unicorn” companies has now surpassed $10 billion.
Chan said the government hopes to see more local technology companies achieve “unicorn” status and will encourage start-ups to operate in the special administrative region and young talent to launch ventures in the city.
According to the 2023 Startup Statistical Survey conducted by Invest Hong Kong, the Hong Kong government's investment promotion agency, the number of startups in Hong Kong has exceeded 4,250, up 7 percent from the previous year, of which about a fifth were founded by Western entrepreneurs.
“The diverse backgrounds and beliefs of these talented people will inject new impetus into Hong Kong's innovation ecosystem and drive its continued development,” Chan said.
“As the number of HKIC's partners continues to grow, more technology companies will take root in Hong Kong and the level of investment in the market will also increase. This trend will undoubtedly make our innovation and technology ecosystem more vibrant and active.”
