City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) held the HK Tech 300 National Start-up Competition (National Competition) 2nd Award Ceremony and the Launch of the 3rd Competition on 1 September at CityUHK (Dongguan). Twelve start-ups from Hong Kong and the nine mainland cities out of 400 participating teams were awarded for their innovative solutions for a wide range of industries, including digital healthcare, energy sustainability and artificial intelligence applications. The 3rd Competition expands to 12 mainland cities including Dongguan, Hangzhou and Xi’an for a more robust and wider area innovation development.

Together with angel funding of up to HK$1 million each, the winning start-ups will receive extensive support, including professional training, business networking and investment matching from the HK Tech 300 ecosystem. The 12 winning start-ups delivered their final pitches at the ceremony. Receiving the Gold Award was Beijing Rising IC Co., Ltd., which focuses on the R&D of chip-level micro-actuators. The judges also unveiled the awards of Silver, Bronze, “Technology Innovation” and “Best Social Impact” (see the winners’ list below).

Presiding over the 2nd Competition Award Ceremony and the Launch of the 3rd Competition was Professor Michael Yang Mengsu, Senior Vice-President (Innovation and Enterprise) of CityUHK. Officiating at the ceremony included Ms Li Jun, Deputy Mayor of the Dongguan Municipal People’s Government. Guests from the 12 mainland cities in the 3rd Competition joined the ceremony, including Mr Chen Xu, Deputy Director of the Chengdu Science and Technology Bureau, and Ms Yang Chan, Deputy Director of the Changsha Science and Technology Bureau and more.    

Professor Yang congratulated the award winners, saying, “Technology should be used by people and should be able to contribute to social development. 

CityUHK will continue to synergise the strengths and resources of Hong Kong and the mainland through HK Tech 300, translating the University’s research achievements into innovative solutions to tackle pressing challenges in Hong Kong, the mainland and the rest of the world,” said Professor Yang. “We aim to build a more robust start-up ecosystem on both sides to further bolster the development of Hong Kong as an international I&T hub and inject new impetus into the country’s ‘new quality productive forces’.” 
CityUHK organised its first National Competition in June 2022 and launched the second one in mid-July 2023, covering nine clusters in the mainland: Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Shenzhen Chengdu, Changsha, Qingdao, Suzhou and Wuxi. The third competition will be expanded to 12 cities, including Dongguan, Hangzhou and Xi’an, and allow start-ups from Hong Kong to join the competition, further promoting innovation and talent collaboration. 

At the same event, CityUHK co-hosted the plaque-unveiling ceremony of the “City University of Hong Kong (Dongguan) Technology and Innovation Center” (the Center). The Center will take advantage of CityUHK’s world-class research capabilities and Dongguan’s industrial superiority to establish a university–industry integrated innovation system. The Center will form a bridge between Dongguan and Hong Kong to support HK Tech 300 start-ups to set up and develop in Dongguan, attracting outstanding start-ups from at home and abroad. This will foster the innovation, entrepreneurship and industrial development of the two cities, thereby enhancing the international competitiveness of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
“CityUHK is a bridge to synergise the innovative resources of Dongguan and Hong Kong.  It enhances the collaboration of Hong Kong’s scientific research achievements with Dongguan’s strengths in research, industry support and costs. This fosters a more robust environment for technological collaboration, nurtures and supports more innovative talent and projects, and encourages cultural exchanges between Hong Kong and the mainland.” Ms Li said.

The HK Tech 300 National Start-up Competition 2nd Award Ceremony and the Launch of the 3rd Competition was one of celebratory events of the Grand opening of CityUHK (Dongguan). 

The 12 winning start-ups (in alphabetical order):

Gold Award, Technology Innovation Award:
?    Beijing Rising IC Co., Ltd.
Silver Award:
?    Zhuhai MOORE TECH Co., Ltd.
Bronze Award, Best Social Impact Award:
?    LMBO Medical Technology Development (Suzhou) Co., Ltd.
Other winning start-ups (in alphabetical order): 
?    Deephytec Co., Ltd.
?    Fresnel Instrumentation (Shenzhen) Limited
?    Hunan Hefu Culture Technology Co., Ltd
?    Shanghai Fuelture Energy Co., Ltd.
?    Shenzhen Hua Han Biotechnology Co., Ltd.
?    Sino Thermal Control Technology (Suzhou) Co., Ltd.
?    Suzhou Qiguang Shenghuo Technology Co., Ltd.
?    Taikangnuo Biotechnology Limited 
?    Wuxi BEWIS Microelectronics LLC

Visit here to learn more about the winning start-ups’ innovative solutions.

About HK Tech 300
Under the theme “Venture Beyond Boundaries”, HK Tech 300 is a large-scale flagship innovation and entrepreneurship programme launched by CityUHK for aspiring entrepreneurs among the CityUHK students, alumni, research staff and others to establish start-ups and ignite their entrepreneurship journey. With an allocation of HK$600 million, the programme offers comprehensive support for entrepreneurship training, a seed fund, an angel fund, co-working space, and networking opportunities in the industrial and commercial communities.

HK Tech 300 aims to provide educational and growth opportunities for young entrepreneurs and to translate CityUHK’s research results and intellectual property into practical applications. Since its launch in March 2021, over 1,700 people have participated in entrepreneurship training, and more than 700 teams have been cultivated; of these, over 150 start-ups have been awarded angel fund investment of up to $1 million each to develop and validate their business models. Over 180 experienced industrialists and successful entrepreneurs have accepted our invitation to serve as mentors, and more than 90 public and private institutions have served as strategic partners, co-investment partners or supporting organisations. CityUHK has also established co-investment partnerships with 15 innovation and technology investment companies and funds in Hong Kong and the mainland, which provide angel fund investment to selected HK Tech 300 start-up companies. 

For more information, please visit: http://www.jvrhmfr.xyz/hktech300/

Media enquiries:
City University of Hong Kong
Office of the Senior Vice-President (Innovation and Enterprise)
Ms Vykie Chin
Tel: 3442 8916 / 5917 7332
Email: wkchin@cityu.edu.hk

Communications and Institutional Research Office 
Miss Poying Hung
Tel: 3442 4218 / 6034 3830
Email: poying.hung@cityu.edu.hk

AsiaNet Communications Limited
Ms Hui Wai-yin
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Email: wyhui@asianet-sprg.com.hk