Investing HK$400 million to Build a 150-member Team and Leading AI and Medical AI Development in Hong Kong

HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach Newswire - 19 July 2024 - iFLYTEK Co., Ltd., renowned in the Asia-Pacific region and a leading listed company specialising in intelligent speech and Artificial Intelligence (AI), along with its subsidiary Xunfei Healthcare Technology Co., Ltd., is establishing an international headquarters at Cyberport through the "Easy Landing Scheme". The signing ceremony for the landing was held today (July 19) at Cyberport. Witnessed by Prof. Sun Dong, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry; Lillian Cheong, Under Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry; Simon Chan, Chairman of Cyberport; Dawei Duan, Senior Vice President of iFLYTEK; and Dr Tao Xiaodong, CEO of Xunfei Healthcare, the agreement was signed by Dr Rocky Cheng, CEO of Cyberport and Chen Cheng, Strategic Development Department General Manager of iFLYTEK. iFLYTEK and Xunfei Healthcare plan to invest HK$400 million in Hong Kong over the next five years to establish international headquarters, including an international business headquarters, an international Research and Development (R&D) centre, an international trade and capital management platform, as well as a 150-member team to drive R&D and overseas market expansion, to establish an AI ecosystem with tens of thousands of developers. The R&D projects include the in-depth development of intelligent speech and building large models, and AI infrastructure that covers intelligent education, intelligent speech technologies in Cantonese, data processing training, etc., thereby empowering Hong Kong's AI industry ecosystem. Meanwhile, Xunfei Healthcare will set up an international research institute at Cyberport focusing on cutting-edge technology research that integrates medical health and AI. Prof. Sun Dong, Secretary for Innovation,Technology, and Industry stated: "The HKSAR Government has been actively supporting the development of innovation and technology in Hong Kong, focusing on AI and life and health technologies as technology industries with an edge to develop. iFLYTEK and Xunfei Healthcare are exemplary leaders in these two important fields. iFLYTEK is establishing its presence in Hong Kong by setting up its international headquarters, which includes an international R&D centre, an international business headquarters, and an international trade and capital management platform. Additionally, Xunfei Healthcare will establish an international research institute at Cyberport. Their presence will contribute to the development of Hong Kong's AI industry ecosystem. AI is a very important industry development direction for Hong Kong. Currently, Hong Kong has gathered a large number of leading enterprises locally and from overseas, as well as hundreds of outstanding AI companies, forming an AI ecosystem in Hong Kong." Simon Chan, Chairman of Cyberport, said, "The AI ecosystem that Cyberport is focusing on developing has become the engine for the development of the related industry. The first phase of the AI Supercomputing Centre facilities will be put into service within the year, enhancing Hong Kong's fundamental R&D capabilities. At the same time, Cyberport has already housed 200 companies focusing on R&D, application, and infrastructure in AI and data science, linking up a vast partner network to drive AI innovation and industry development. With their established Xunfei Healthcare presence at Cyberport, iFLYTEK and Xunfei Healthcare can leverage their comprehensive advantages in AI to upgrade the structure of Cyberport's AI ecosystem in all aspects, helping to drive innovative R&D, results transformation, and industrialisation of AI in the city. This will not only ignite the potential of AI's diverse applications to fuel the development of the digital economy and smart city but also set a benchmark to attract more leading AI companies from the Mainland and overseas to Hong Kong. Cyberport will continue to work hard to introduce more flagship I&T companies through various programmes, strengthening the city's advantages in innovative R&D and...