Hong Kong investment arm HKIC makes milestone move in deal with AI unicorn SmartMore
- Partnership ensures the company will use Hong Kong as base of development and make city’s stock market its first choice for a future listing
The government-owned Hong Kong Investment Corporation (HKIC), which manages HK$62 billion (US$8 billion) in funds, has formed its first partnership in an effort to promote the city as an innovation and technology hub.
“Today, we have a perfect example and story of a company born and raised in Hong Kong, which expanded into the Greater Bay Area and now has a very successful global footprint,” Chan said during a panel discussion after the signing.
“The network and experience of HKIC combined with the AI knowledge and capability of SmartMore will bring Hong Kong’s technology to the next level,” Lee said in a pre-recorded video on Wednesday. “I have high hopes that HKIC will use the local reserves to benefit Hong Kong’s technology and economy as a whole.”
Founded in 2019 by Jia Jiaya, SmartMore produces visual inspection machines for production and assembly lines. It has more than 300 clients all over the world and in multiple industries, including Apple, Tesla and BYD.