HK Tech 300 – First Cohort of Seed Fund Teams
Following the launch of HK Tech 300, a large flagship innovation and entrepreneurship programme, with investment of HK$500 million to support students, alumni, and researchers to transform their ideas into start-ups, the first cohort of seed fund-winning teams were announced earlier. An orientation day was held on 20 May 2021 for the teams to share their ideas and experience.
The response to HK Tech 300 has been enthusiastic since the launch of the programme. Nineteen teams from four categories – (1) Biotech & Health, (2) Fintech / Business, (3) Information and Communications Technology / Artifical Intelligence (ICT / AI), and (4) Deep Tech – were selected to receive a seed fund of HK$100,000 each.
Nineteen Seed Fund teams in the biotech, fintech, artificial intelligence and deep tech categories attend Orientation Day. Each team will receive HK$100,000 as a seed fund to support them to develop their innovative ideas into a start-up.
Professor Michael Yang Mengsu, Vice-President (Research and Technology), delivered a welcome address at Orientation Day. He encouraged the winning teams not to fear failure during their entrepreneurship journey, but to keep trying with the support of the University. He said he hoped that all the particpants would learn and gain some valuable experience from the HK Tech 300 programme and wished all the participants success in their journey.
Professor Michael Yang Mengsu, Vice-President (Research and Technology), delivers the welcome address at the Orientation Day and wishes all participants success in their journey.
Dr Laura Lo, Associate Vice-President (Chinese Mainland Affairs Office) and Chairman of the HK Tech 300 Incubation Sub-committee, introduced the details of the HK Tech 300 Seed Fund guidelines. External guests were invited to introduce issues related to opening corporate bank accounts and financial management. Representatives from the University provided information about upcoming events organised by HK Tech 300 collaborating partners. Orientation Day concluded with the selected teams visiting the co-working space dedicated to HK Tech 300.
Dr Laura Lo, Associate Vice-President (Chinese Mainland Affairs Office) and Chairman of the HK Tech 300 Incubation Sub-committee, introduces the details of the HK Tech 300 seed funding.
| Category | Project Title |
|---|---|
| Biotech & Health | A small molecule‐based therapeutic intervention for nervous system repair |
| BING – A novel antimicrobial drug to reverse antibiotic resistance in bacteria | |
| CombCure – Intelligent cancer clinical platform | |
| An artificial intelligence-based EEG platform for pre‐clinical testing of new drug with improved selection efficiency | |
| An agglutinate magnetic spray transforms inanimate objects into millirobots for biomedical applications | |
| Fintech / Business | BusinessPsyche – A psychological information platform to offer emotional support, and to enhance career competitiveness and atmosphere in workplace |
| DataLouder – An one-stop, all-round global investment ecosystem for investors to make good investment decisions through digital learning, social interaction and data analysis | |
| Trendsetter – A for-hire platform through mobile application for different kinds of services and products offering | |
| Merchport – An online marketplace to connect buyers with local designers and entrepreneurs directly | |
| ICT/ AI | OLLA – An app to provide personalized recommendations on diet recommendations and one-click ordering |
| Orderlo – To digitally organise and display all short-term receipts with order numbers and receipts that were traditionally printed and discarded in the fast food industry | |
| Deep Tech | i2Cool – A novel energy‐free and environment‐friendly passive radiative cooling paint |
| Bioinspired Topological Skin – multifunctional, eco-friendly “artificial skin” for buildings with self-cleaning, anti-wetting, anti-icing, anti-corrosion and other functional properties | |
| Open Ocean Camera – A turn-key solution packed with integrated sensors and AI to collect ocean data and images at lower operational cost and higher image post-processing time for climate and marine research applications | |
| Hong Kong Carful Group Limited – An intelligent-based car rental service platform | |
| Freeness – A “contract-free” O2O Fitness platform | |
| Wheel Real Experience – To provide tailor-made corporate training workshops through wheelchair experience with an apps that integrates image recognition, augmented reality and BLE-beacon technology | |
| A new non‐invasive transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) device prevents postoperative ileus (POI) | |
| Non‐invasive transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve atimulation (taVNS) for mental health, sleep quality, and cognitive ability based on artificial intelligence techniques |
A CityU representative provides information about upcoming events organised by HK Tech 300 collaborating partners.
HK Tech 300 Seed Fund teams exchange ideas at Orientation.
Team members engage in a group discussion.
HK Tech 300 Seed Fund gives participants a chance to open their minds to endless possibilities and turn their creative ideas into reality. At the end of the 6–12-month funding period, eligible teams will be recommended to compete for the HK Tech 300 Angel Fund of up to HK$1 million.
Through the network established with the industrial and commercial sector, HK Tech 300 will provide support for co-working space, patent use, connections with chambers of commerce, bank account opening, and accounting and auditing services, to nurture start-ups into technology companies. HK Tech 300 aspires to be the No. 1 university-based entrepreneurship platform, creating 300 start-ups in three years.
Seed fund team representatives.
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