HKSTP confident of Hong Kong innovation and technology ecosystem's potential as home-grown SenseTime joins "unicorn" league

HONG KONG, Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) is very proud that a home-grown Hong Kong company that has made great strides in groundbreaking artificial intelligence technologies has become the very first "unicorn" in Hong Kong Science Park. SenseTime Group Ltd, which boasts market valuation exceeding HK$10 billion following the completion of its US$410 million B-round funding in July, underscores the potential of Hong Kong's innovation and technology ecosystem for tech companies to grow into internationally successful enterprises of significant market value.  

SenseTime was jointly founded by Hong Kong bred academics including a group of researchers and students from research lab led by Prof. Xiaoou Tang, who is the Outstanding Fellow of the Faculty of Engineering of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). Co-founder and founding CEO Dr. Xu Li, also received his Ph.D. degree from CUHK in 2010. They founded the company in Science Park in 2014 to leverage the diverse support services offered by HKSTP and the top-notch talent pool in the ecosystem to refine its artificial intelligence technologies that are now widely adopted by blue-chip companies in Hong Kong and Mainland China. Having its technologies certified in Hong Kong also helps to enhance global recognition and facilitate international propagation.

HKSTP Chief Executive Officer Albert Wong hails SenseTime's achievements as exemplary. "Hong Kong is blessed with a number of world-class universities nurturing top technology minds in the world. The open and multicultural environment of our ecosystem is drawing in rich talent, as they see the value of Science Park as an ideal base for spearheading cutting-edge work and gaining international recognition. The success of SenseTime's co-founders in turning their Science Park-based company into a unicorn is very encouraging. They inspire other self-starters in our technology ecosystem to aim high."

About Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation

Comprising Science Park, InnoCentre and Industrial Estates, Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) is a statutory body dedicated to building a vibrant innovation and technology ecosystem to connect stakeholders, nurture technology talents, facilitate collaboration, and catalyse innovations to deliver social and economic benefits to Hong Kong and the region.

Established in May 2001, HKSTP has been driving the development of Hong Kong into a regional hub for innovation and growth in several focused clusters including Electronics, Information & Communications Technology, Green Technology, Biomedical Technology, Materials and Precision Engineering. We enable science and technology companies to nurture ideas, innovate and grow, supported by our R&D facilities, infrastructure, and market-led laboratories and technical centres with professional support services. We also offer value added services and comprehensive incubation programmes for technology start-ups to accelerate their growth.

Technology businesses benefit from our specialised services and infrastructure at Science Park for applied research and product development; enterprises can find creative design support at InnoCentre; while skill- intensive businesses are served by our three industrial estates at Tai Po, Tseung Kwan O and Yuen Long. More information about HKSTP is available at www.hkstp.org.

SOURCE Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation