Hong Kong wealth fund, Beijing AI academy team up to hunt for global AI talent Hong Kong’s government-owned wealth fund has partnered with one of China’s leading artificial intelligence agencies to attract global talent to the city, as it strengthens its commitment to transform into a technology hub. As part of the inaugural AI Global Talents Connect initiative, the Hong Kong Investment Corporation (HKIC) would collaborate with the Beijing Academy of Artificial Intelligence (BAAI) to establish an “international hub for AI talent”, the two organisations said on Tuesday. The project aimed to “connect representatives from academic research, investment, industry and government sectors to [facilitate] cross-jurisdictional and cross-sectoral dialogue”, HKIC CEO Clara Chan Ka-chai said. “Hong Kong is really well-positioned to play a leading role in facilitating AI investment and development globally with our roles as superconnector and super-value-adder,” Chan noted. HKIC describes its investment strategy as “patient capital”, aimed at fostering innovation with a long-term perspective. It manages HK$62 billion (US$8 billion) and has invested in more than 120 projects. Two of those companies had gone public in Hong Kong, while more than 10 planned to list this year, Chan said. HKIC possesses “strong capital and commercial operation capabilities”, while BAAI brings expertise in talent development, technical knowledge and the AI ecosystem, according to BAAI head Wang Zhongyuan. The collaboration was expected to enhance Hong Kong’s “new positioning as a technology-driven city”, he said. Chan said HKIC did not have a specific investment mandate for its partnership with BAAI. She described the collaboration as “a fundamental game changer” for cultivating local tech talent and attracting international experts. During past discussions with BAAI, HKIC had identified and invested in companies incubated by the academy. That includes HKIC’s backing of Beijing-based humanoid robot maker Galbot, announced in July last year. HKIC would not commit to a specific capital amount in the Galbot partnership, as “we believe this is a very dynamic process,” Chan said. Should HKIC identify viable investment opportunities during its collaboration with BAAI, it would respond quickly to deploy capital, though it would remain “very selective”, she added. Founded in 2018, BAAI operates as a “non-governmental, non-profit research institution” backed by the Beijing municipality and the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology, along with support from institutions like Peking University and Tsinghua University, as well as tech giants Baidu, Xiaomi and ByteDance. In March, the US Commerce Department added BAAI to its entity list, alleging that the academy and another Chinese company had developed large AI models and advanced computer chips for military purposes. At the time, BAAI said the move had “seriously undermined open cooperation in global AI”. “I am personally perplexed by the move to include us on the entity list,” Wang said on Tuesday. “We really hope that the international community can maintain collaboration and an open approach.” https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3323177/hong-kong-wealth-fund-beijing-ai-academy-team-hunt-global-ai-talent (ICE HONG KONG)

Fonte notizia: South China Morning Post