Exclusive | Novelte and 4 HKSTP start-ups head to Silicon Valley to display Hong Kong’s innovations

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Novelte Robotics Solutions, GogoChart, OKOSIX, RaSpect Intelligence Inspection and Leadus Technology are going on a journey to the West to showcase Hong Kong

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An undated photograph of the city of San Jose, California, in the middle of Silicon Valley. Photo: AFP

Peggy Sito

Published: 8:30am, 25 Jun 2024Updated: 9:08am, 25 Jun 2024

Five Hong Kong start-ups have embarked on a six-month tour of Silicon Valley to showcase the city’s innovativeness and raise funds from venture capitalists in the world’s largest technology market, said the incubator behind the programme.

“Hong Kong’s market is small, we have to look for business opportunities overseas,” said Albert Wong, the chief executive of the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP), adding that the road show is aligned with the incubator’s “bring in and go out” strategy.

“They are there to develop their market, raise funds, find talent, and [conduct] a lot of pitching,” he said in an interview with The Post. “They must make it work in Silicon Valley or not come back,” he added half-jokingly.

The five companies are involved in different types of technology, underscoring the broad spectrum of industries and technological verticals that the HKSTP is nurturing among the 1,700 start-ups at its sprawling park next to the Chinese University of Hong Kong in Sha Tin.

Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP)’s chief executive Albert Wong Hak-keung, at the Hong Kong pavilion during the Leap technology conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on March 4, 2024. Photo: Matt Haldane

They comprise the robot producer Novelte Robotics Solutions, the mobile marketing company GogoChart, the maker of biodegradable masks OKOSIX, the AI-powered architecture inspector RaSpect Intelligence Inspection, and Leadus Technology, which produces vacuum-insulated glass.

The plan would allow the company to leverage business opportunities in the US, “accelerating our market entry, maximising growth potential, and advancing our plans for a Nasdaq listing,” said Novelte’s co-founder and chief marketing officer Albert Lam. The Hong Kong-based company has attracted the interest of potential investors in North America, he said.