CES 2025: Hong Kong start-ups out in force as city strives to become Asian tech hub The 2025 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) has seen a record number of Hong Kong tech companies showcase their innovations in Las Vegas, in a sign of the city’s commitment to become a key player in the global tech landscape. Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) organised a pavilion featuring 51 exhibitors, from tech companies to local institutes. The delegation, supported by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and the Hong Kong Electronics Industries Association, is presenting a range of innovations from green technology to health sciences. Nearly 100 Hong Kong-registered companies are exhibiting at CES, according to the show’s website, compared to around 30 from Singapore. In total, CES attracted over 4,500 exhibitors from more than 160 countries and regions, including around 1,400 start-ups. “Hong Kong’s innovation and entrepreneurship environment is getting stronger,” said HKSTP CEO Albert Wong Hak-keung. “We welcome all Science Park companies to showcase their products on the world stage.” He hopes that the participation in CES will help Hong Kong companies secure new business, attract users, and draw potential investment. This year’s CES, running from January 7 to 10 in Las Vegas, was expected to draw 150,000 attendees. The Hong Kong Pavilion, situated among pavilions from other countries, including Korea, Japan, Italy, and France, has seen a steady stream of visitors during the week. Three HKSTP-supported companies saw their products receive recognition at the CES Innovation Awards 2025: the Rocket 2.0 smart irrigation system from Full Nature Farms, a wearable for the visually impaired from Vidi Labs called Seekr, and the world’s smallest three-axis micro gimbal stabiliser developed by Vista InnoTech. Established in 2001, HKSTP has cultivated a robust technology ecosystem, encompassing around 400,000 square metres of research and development and lab space across different locations in Hong Kong, with a 94 per cent occupancy rate. A 31,000-square metre facility in Shenzhen was launched in 2023. The HKSTP network supports more than 2,000 technology companies from 25 countries and regions, employing more than 15,000 research professionals. To date, 13 HKSTP-backed companies have grown into unicorns. It provides comprehensive support, ranging from financing support and direct investment – through a HK$1 billion (US$128.5 million) venture fund – to R&D infrastructure, enterprise services, partnership networks and talent acquisition. Several exhibitors at CES secured preliminary orders during the show. “We have visitors from US universities and research institutions who have strong interest in collaboration,” said Ray Lok, founder of Full Nature Farms. Separately, Vista InnoTech founder Edward Mak said he was in discussions with consumer electronics brands to establish new partnerships. Hong Kong is well positioned as a gateway to mainland China and broader global markets, a role that has become more significant amid the intensifying US-China tech rivalry. In the 2024 policy address by Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu, the government unveiled several investment plans, including a HK$1.5 billion Research Matching Grant Scheme, a HK$10 billion I&T Industry-Oriented Fund, and a HK$1.5 billion injection into the Innovation and Technology Venture Fund for co-investments. “Hong Kong is striving to become an international innovation and technology centre by promoting the upgrading and transformation of traditional industries while actively nurturing emerging ones,” Lee said in his policy address. “Our current scale is not big enough,” HKSTP’s Wong said in an interview with the South China Morning Post. Hong Kong currently has about four to five thousand tech companies, with about 30,000 people working in the sector. “Future development must grow exponentially, to the scale of 100,000 or 200,000 [people],” Wong added. https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3294182/ces-2025-hong-kong-start-ups-out-force-city-strives-become-asian-tech-hub (ICE HONG KONG)

Fonte notizia: South China Morning Post