As the year of 2024 comes to an end, we sought insights from prominent figures across the Southeast Asian tech landscape. These leaders reflected on their triumphs throughout the year, sharing valuable perspectives on their achievements and the challenges they overcame. Furthermore, they unveiled their ambitious aspirations, meticulously outlined their strategic plans for 2025, and offered insightful predictions on the trajectory of the tech industry in the coming year.
We talked to Eric Chan, Chief Public Mission Officer at Cyberport, to learn more about the Cyberport’s achievements in 2024, its plans and priorities in 2025. He also shared his views on the outlook of the tech ecosystem in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia for the new year.
Cyberport is Hong Kong’s digital technology flagship and incubator for entrepreneurship with over 2,100 members including over 900 onsite and over 1,200 offsite start-ups and technology companies. It is managed by Hong Kong Cyberport Management Co Ltd, wholly owned by the Hong Kong government.

How was Cyberport’s 2024?

During the past year, we have been at the forefront of driving Hong Kong towards a new era of “AI+”, aligning with the Central Government’s new initiative to foster the innovative development of the digital economy.

In 2024, Cyberport’s Artificial Intelligence Supercomputing Centre (AISC), the first of its kind in Hong Kong, officially commenced operations.

The AISC, set to achieve a computing power of 3,000 PFLOPS by 2025, signifies a key milestone in promoting local artificial intelligence (AI) development.

Throughout 2024, we dedicated our efforts to cultivating our community members and forging global connections. Our community now encompasses over 2,200 companies, including two new listed entities on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

In total, we now have eight unicorns and 4 listed companies. Cyberport has actively expanded our networks in Mainland China and overseas, collaborating with key regional organizations to strengthen I&T exchanges. In Mainland China, we forged deeper collaborations with the Qianhai Authority, made new ties with Shanghai Lingang Group, the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Union for Promoting Science and Technology, and 10 more organisations. We also established partnerships with Saudi Arabian national technology park KACST, Korea’s largest start-up accelerator d.camp, and others to provide our start-ups with opportunities to shine on a global stage.

At the same time, close to 80 companies from the Cyberport community have successfully established a presence in the ASEAN market, such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Additionally, Cyberport orchestrated flagship events including the Digital Entertainment Leadership Forum and Cyberport Venture Capital Forum to broaden business horizons for start-ups and facilitate investment matching. These initiatives further solidify our role as Hong Kong’s digital technology flagship and AI accelerator.

What’s your expectation/aspirations for 2025?

In 2025, one of our primary objectives is to build a robust I&T ecosystem empowered by our four key technology clusters: AI, Blockchain, Data Science, and Cybersecurity. We aim to drive the intelligent transformation of Smart City/Government, Finance, Healthcare, Education, Manufacturing, Arts & Tourism, Construction, Transportation industries, with the ultimate goal of establishing Hong Kong as a leading international hub for AI, innovation, and technology.
Cyberport will continue to support start-ups in realising their entrepreneurial dreams and create new technological momentum for Hong Kong Cyberport provides a series of entrepreneurial support to our community members. Our Entrepreneurship Programs offer up to $141,025 (HK$1.1 million) in funding and two years of free office space tailored to the needs of start-ups in different stages of development. We support start-ups through talent nurturing in universities, seed funding, professional consultation, collaboration fostering, go-to-market support, business expansion and investment matching. Notably, our Cyberport Incubation Program (CIP) has admitted over 1,300 start-ups, with 84 percent of graduates sustaining their business for 3 years or more after graduation.

Cyberport has also established partnership programs to collaborate with local and global partners in joint accelerator programs, aiming to co-nurture and accelerate the growth of start-ups by leveraging resources, networks, and industry expertise. In particular, the Cyberport Investors Network (CIN) has brought together over 200 global investors, leading to nearly 100 project matchings totaling over $332 million (HK$2.59 billion) in funding.

Looking ahead, we are focused on extending our reach into the Mainland China and other high-potential, high-growth overseas markets, such as those within the Belt and Road Initiative, ASEAN countries, and the Middle East. By leveraging these connections, we aspire to attract more professionals and leading technology enterprises from the Mainland Chinese and overseas markets to bolster Hong Kong’s I&T development. Our goal is to create more opportunities for our community members to enhance their business expansion, fostering a community that champions innovation, research and development, and the practical application of AI, reinforcing our role as a “super-connector” and “super value-adder”.

What are the plans of Cyberport in 2025? What is the focus in the new year?

As we look forward to the upcoming year, we anticipate a dynamic tech ecosystem in Hong Kong, driving us to proactively expand our infrastructure to support this growth. The Cyberport expansion is expected to be completed by the end of 2025. The new
infrastructure, Cyberport 5, will offer approximately 66,000 square meters of gross floor area, featuring offices and co-working spaces with stunning full sea views, a cutting-edge data service platform, a versatile multifunction hall of hosting 800 pax capacity, and a picturesque promenade waterfront park. This expansion is designed not only to attract more innovation and technology enterprises to land in Hong Kong but also to provide the public with opportunities to enjoy a high-quality and inclusive living environment.

In the era of “AI+”, we will continue to actively promote the application of AI with the AISC as our core engine. As Hong Kong’s digital technology flagship and AI accelerator, Cyberport is committed to creating a comprehensive AI ecosystem that not only covers computing power building, large language model construction, industry application support, but also deepens the study of governance, ethics and risk assessment. This includes the development of benchmarks for AI quality and safety, and research on governance and risk management for AI applications.

How is the outlook for 2025 for tech ecosystem in Hong Kong? Cyberport has been bringing Hong Kong startups expanding to new markets. What’s your view about Southeast Asia?

I firmly believe that the outlook for the tech ecosystem in Hong Kong is incredibly promising. AI, undoubtedly, will act as the core driver of innovation, shaping the future landscape of various industries.

At Cyberport, we have been actively supporting our start-ups in their expansion into new markets. We view Southeast Asia as a pivotal market with immense possibilities for start- ups to scale their operations, access a larger consumer base, and tap into diverse markets.

The region’s dynamic and rapidly evolving tech environment presents a wealth of opportunities for partnerships, market expansion, and the exchange of knowledge and expertise. Recently, we led a delegation of 14 startups to Indonesia and facilitated three Cyberport start-ups in signing MOUs with four Indonesian companies in January 2025. By fostering these strategic collaborations, our aim to empower our start-ups to explore collaborations and cultivate synergies within the tech ecosystems, and forge a mutually beneficial ecosystem that drives innovation, growth, and technological advancement across borders.

Cyberport remains dedicated to establishing Hong Kong as a “super-connector” and “super value-adder”, bridging our city with ASEAN and the rest of the world. We extend a warm invitation to companies and enterprises from Southeast Asia to consider establishing their footprint in Hong Kong.

By leveraging Hong Kong’s advantages in internationalization, Cyberport offers our community members invaluable opportunities to set a foothold in the vibrant Hong Kong market and seamlessly expand into the dynamic Mainland Chinese markets. Through our thriving ecosystems, networks, innovation resources and strong foundation in relationships with official entities, large commercial enterprises and academic organizations in the Greater Bay Area, Mainland China and other emerging markets such as the Middle East, companies can accelerate their growth and success on a global scale. Cyberport serves as the springboard for innovators, assisting them in grasping opportunities arising from Mainland China’s development of new quality productive forces and the evolving regional landscape.

An interview with Hong Kong’s Cyberport Chief Public Mission Officer Eric Chan – Part I