CityUHK’s Nine Highlights in Innovation and Entrepreneurship – A 2025 Review Advancing Research, Nurturing Start-ups and Boosting Investment

City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK) is dedicated to enhancing global development through innovation and nurturing future leaders with an international perspective. In 2025, CityUHK ranked among the world’s top 100 universities in four major rankings, achieving 1st globally in “Industry” and 1st in Hong Kong in “International Outlook” in the newly released THE World Rankings 2026.This recognition underscores its excellence in industry collaboration and global partnerships.

In September 2025, the World Intellectual Property Organisation’s (WIPO) Global Innovation Index (GII) 2025 ranked the “Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou” cluster as the top innovation hub worldwide. The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China cited CityUHK’s HK Tech 300 as an exemplary model for promoting innovation and entrepreneurship, thus driving the development of the holistic ecosystem.

 

1. Fostering the I&T Ecosystem: Launch of the First-Ever HK Tech 300 Expo

In May 2025, CityUHK held the HK Tech 300 Expo, a large-scale innovation and entrepreneurship exhibition. The two-day event brought together about 300 start-ups incubated by CityUHK with 60+ roadshows, demonstrating how the University’s world-class research achievements translate into practical applications. Participating in the Expo were over 700 attendees, including government officials, Consuls General of various countries in Hong Kong, university presidents from abroad, collaboration and investment partners, and regional leaders. The event showcased collaboraton among the government, industry, academia, research, investment and application sectors.

 

 

2. Nurturing Talent: Incubating Top Talent and Entrepreneurs

  • Since 2024, the CityUHK Academy of Innovation (CAI) has offered a range of innovation and entrepreneurship programmes to equip young tech talent with the skills to become successful entrepreneurs.
  • The CAI has engaged seasoned experts from business and industry, appointing 20+ Academy Advisors and 40+ Adjunct Professors.
  • The inaugural Master of Science in Venture Creation (MSVC) graduated 70 students, with 130+ students selected for enrolment in the second year.
  • Nine start-ups formed by the inaugural MSVC graduates received seed funding of HK$100,000 each from HK Tech 300 to embark on their entrepreneurial journey.
 
 

3. Training with International Insights for Research and Commercialisation

  • Students from the inaugural “Overseas Start-up Technology Entrepreneur Programme” (STEP) interned at 7 deep-tech start-ups in London and Cambridge, UK, as well as Beijing, China. The programme will be expanded to Australia in the future.
  • To date, over 280 students have registered for the second STEP programme.
  • The “PhD by Innovation” and the fifth “Graduate Research and Innovation Trek Programme” (GRIT) are currently underway.
  • The CAI is collaborating with HK Tech 300 to provide “Innovation Workshops” for secondary schools, featuring start-up sharing, talks, and more.
 

4. Incubating Start-ups: Attracted Five Times External Investment

  • Since its inception in 2021, HK Tech 300 has nurtured 1,000+ start-up teams, with 200+ start-ups securing angel funding of up to HK$1 million each.
  • Attracted 1:5 in external funding for start-ups (for every HK dollar invested).
  • 100+ public and private institutions have partnered with HK Tech 300, including 20 venture capital firms and technology companies that have established co-investment partnerships.
 

5. Boosting Investment: 8 Start-ups Enter the Higher Funding Stage, Exceeding HK$300 Million

Eight start-ups have reached the higher funding stages, attracting a total over HK$300 million in external investment (in alphabetical order):

  • ARBELE
  • Belun Technology
  • Cellomics
  • DAYTA AI
  • E3A Healthcare
  • i2Cool
  • Locolla（Locobike）
  • MediConCen

6. Enhancing Talent Collaboration to Align with the National 14th Five-Year Plan

  • CityUHK is actively engaging with national and Greater Bay Area I&T talent incubation, contributing to Hong Kong’s development as an international I&T hub.
  • CityUHK is fostering innovation through competitions. The 3rd “HK Tech 300 National Start-up Competition” attracted 500+ start-ups from 12 cities in the Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong.
  • The 12 cities were Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Changsha, Qingdao, Suzhou, Wuxi, Dongguan, Hangzhou and Xian.
 
 

7. Seizing National Investment Opportunities and Engaging in I&T Mega Events

  • CityUHK has participated in signature events in the Chinese Mainland, such as leading start-ups to the “HICOOL Global Entrepreneur Summit” in Beijing to share their innovative achievements.
  • CityUHK has established collaboration with industry and investment partners in the Chinese Mainland, including China Taiping, Joincap Capital, Fortera Capital and Pharmaron.
 

8. Going Global: Supporting Talent Development to Accelerate Global Expansion

  • CityUHK is attracting top talent and companies to Hong Kong, while encouraging global expansion through the launch of the “HK Tech 300 International Start-up Competition”.
  • The Competition attracted 200+ participating teams from 9 countries and cities: Brunei, Hungary, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam and Hong Kong, China.
  • A notable success story is E3A Healthcare, from Singapore, which won the HK Tech 300 SEA Competition in 2024. In 2025, it entered the 4th Batch of Strategic Enterprises of the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises (OASES), organised by the Government of the HKSAR.
  • HK Tech 300 start-ups have excelled on the global stage, with at least 28 start-ups winning awards at international competitions, including the “Consumer Electronics Show” (CES) in the U.S., “VivaTech 2025” in France, and Alibaba’s “JUMSTARTER 2025”.
 

9. Excellence in Knowledge Transformation and Achieving Global Recognition

  • CityUHK has 1,800+ patented technologies. It has ranked among the top 100 universities worldwide for the most U.S. patents granted and led all local institutions for 9th consecutive year.
  • A total of 9 projects have received funding from the “RAISe+ Scheme”, covering the fields of biomedicine, materials science, big data, energy and environment, and electronic engineering. Applications for the third round of funding are already underway.
  • CityUHK applied to join the third InnoHK research cluster “SEAM@InnoHK”, which focuses on sustainable development, energy, advanced manufacturing and materials.
  • CityUHK teams excelled at the 50th International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva, winning 33 awards, and secured 12 awards at the Silicon Valley International Invention Festival 2025.