More than a month after its launch, the Lion Rock Core, named after a Hong Kong landmark, continues to hold strong appeal and attract sustained attention from the industry.
“Market response has been highly positive so far; nearly all OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers), ODMs (Original Design Manufacturers) and cloud service providers have established close partnerships with us,” said Xu Tao, Chief Executive Officer of the chip design firm SiFive Technology.
As the world’s first data center management chip based on the RISC-V architecture, the Lion Rock Core was incubated by local Hong Kong entrepreneurs, making it a genuine “Hong Kong-developed chip”. Its birth marks a major breakthrough for Hong Kong in the field of independent chip research and development.
From the launch of the “Hong Kong-developed chip”, to the Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou innovation cluster topping global rankings for the first time, and the opening of the Hong Kong Park of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone (referred to as “Hetao Hong Kong Park”)… Over the past year, Hong Kong’s innovation and technology sector has unleashed even greater vitality, delivered remarkable achievements, and steadily accumulated new momentum for economic development.
A Fertile Ecosystem for “Hong Kong-developed Chips” to Emerge
Fusheng Capital is a founding shareholder of SiFive Technology. Seven years ago, Fusheng Capital foresaw the promising prospects of the chip industry, placed a strategic bet on the RISC-V architecture track, and planted the seed of SiFive Technology in Hong Kong. At that time, SiFive Technology was one of the few companies focusing on RISC-V architecture development. Today, it has grown into a leading enterprise in the software and hardware ecosystem of this field.
With precise foresight and an early start, SiFive Technology had a solid foundation for development, but chip research and production have never been an overnight success.
“Chip development from design to mass production is an extremely complex systematic project, involving numerous links and highly refined division of labor,” Xu Tao noted. The process is fraught with significant uncertainties. “Any misunderstanding in a single link, collaboration error or oversight in verification could result in defective chips that are unusable after tape-out.”
Fortunately, SiFive Technology achieved tape-out and trial production success on the first attempt. Xu Tao attributed this success mainly to the team’s in-depth technical expertise, close collaboration, and rigorous quality and process control.
“The resilient Lion Rock Spirit embodied by Hong Kong’s innovation and technology talents is the underlying driving force behind Hong Kong’s I&T development,” said Chen Yinglong, Managing Partner of Fusheng Capital. “They remain diligent and down-to-earth amid fierce competition, working quietly until they achieve success.”
When asked about the reasons for choosing Hong Kong as the R&D base, Xu Tao explained that chip design is a knowledge-intensive industry, highly dependent on intellectual property and talent — a perfect match for Hong Kong’s strengths as an international knowledge hub. Meanwhile, chip innovation is characterized by high investment and long cycles, requiring sustained support from strong capital. As an international financial center, Hong Kong is well-positioned to provide abundant funding for such continuous R&D efforts.
Chen Yinglong believes that Hong Kong’s common law system, strict intellectual property protection and low tax regime together foster a stable, credible and predictable business environment — a solid foundation for innovation to take root.
SiFive Technology established its Innovation Center in Hong Kong to maximize the use of the city’s advantages in scientific research policies, talent pool and internationalization, thereby accelerating technological innovation and commercial application, Chen Yinglong added.
Policy Support Fuels Growth
When recalling the early days of his company, Weixing Hui, Founder of Biotech firm Know-How Biotechnology, still remembers the hardships and joys he experienced. What he remains grateful for to this day is the “helping hand” he received during difficult times.
“Back then, my company received support from the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, including one year of rent-free space and subsidies for consumables,” Weixing Hui said. This lifeline allowed the company to survive, relieved the burden of daily operational costs, and enabled it to recruit a small team dedicated to scientific research.
In recent years, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has actively invested in innovation and technology, attracted enterprises to set up operations in the city, and driven the vigorous development of the I&T ecosystem. Data shows that Hong Kong’s total local R&D expenditure has maintained a steady upward trend, increasing by 8.4% year-on-year to HK$35.772 billion in 2024. Its ratio to the city’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) also rose further from 1.11% in 2023 to 1.13% in 2024.
Bolstered by supportive policies, Hong Kong’s I&T sector has yielded a steady stream of achievements: the launch of large-scale artificial intelligence models; 15 Hong Kong laboratories being accredited as National Key Laboratories by the Ministry of Science and Technology; the blueprint for the San Tin Technopole being finalized; and the Hetao Hong Kong Park opening its doors and welcoming over 60 enterprises…
Lai Siu Bun, Chief Digital Officer of the Hong Kong Productivity Council, observed a surge in the number of Hong Kong startups in recent years. According to the HKSAR Government’s data, the number of startups has skyrocketed from around 1,000 a decade ago to nearly 4,700 in 2024. In terms of sectors, Hong Kong’s technologies in the medical and life sciences industry have reached internationally leading levels; emerging fields such as low-altitude economy, new energy and microelectronics are also gradually gaining momentum.
“This achievement is mainly attributed to the continuous policy support provided by the HKSAR Government in recent years,” Lai Siu Bun said. The government has rolled out more than 40 funding schemes to support enterprises in areas such as capital financing, technology R&D and market expansion.
Targeting Strategic Positioning: Hong Kong’s I&T Chasing Global Waves
For biotech firm Keda Biotechnology, 2025 was a year of fruitful harvests.
“We secured orders from Europe and promoted our products at a dedicated biotechnology event in Switzerland,” said Wu Zhaopeng, Founder of the company, with pride. The label-free biosensor developed by his six-member core team is being tested in Swiss laboratories in collaboration with ETH Zurich.
Looking ahead to 2026, Wu Zhaopeng said Keda Biotechnology will launch clinical trials in the Greater Bay Area through its branch office established in the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone. This initiative will pave the way for the company’s products to obtain medical certification in mainland China, achieving a leap from scientific research to real-world medical applications.
Keda Biotechnology’s development path epitomizes the growth trajectory of Hong Kong’s I&T enterprises: leveraging Hong Kong’s scientific research resources and international platforms to bring products to global markets, while using the Greater Bay Area as a strategic pivot to access the mainland market.
Chen Yinglong pointed out that due to the limitations of Hong Kong’s local industrial chain and market scale, the transformation and commercialization of scientific research outcomes must seek external support. The vast Greater Bay Area market and its comprehensive industrial chain serve as the ideal hinterland for Hong Kong’s I&T sector. With the implementation of major initiatives such as the Northern Metropolis, an integrated ecosystem featuring “Hong Kong for R&D, Greater Bay Area for commercialization, and global markets for expansion” is accelerating its formation.
He emphasized that Hong Kong’s core role is to serve as a strategic pivot that integrates international intelligence, capital and rules, while connecting with the robust industrial and market arteries of mainland China.
The Proposal for the 15th Five-Year Plan emphasizes leveraging the unique strengths and important roles of Hong Kong and Macao as regions backed by the motherland and connected to the world, supporting Hong Kong in developing into an international center for innovation and technology, and helping Hong Kong and Macao build highland for gathering international high-end talents. At the recently held Central Economic Work Conference, the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area into an international science and technology innovation center was identified as one of the key tasks for 2026.
With a sense of urgency and strategic resolve, the HKSAR Government is fully committed to accelerating the development of the innovation and technology sector. In his latest Policy Address, Chief Executive John Lee announced a series of measures to drive economic development through technological empowerment, including speeding up the construction of the third InnoHK Research Platform, advancing the development of the Hetao Hong Kong Park, promoting new-type industrialization, and launching the HK$10 billion Innovation and Technology Industry Guiding Fund.
2026 marks the first year of the country’s 15th Five-Year Plan. Paul Chan Mo-po, Financial Secretary of the HKSAR Government, stated that the government will proactively align with national development strategies, with finance, innovation and technology, and trade serving as Hong Kong’s three key engines of growth.
At the starting point of the new year, Hong Kong’s innovation and technology sector brims with surging vitality, ready to embrace new opportunities and take off.
