Hong Kong fund strikes another AI deal with Beijing robot maker Galbot to boost industry

Hong Kong Investment Corporation is partnering with the start-up to create the HK-Galbot Embodied AI Lab, with an eye on hosting its IPO

Reading Time:2 minutes

Beijing-based start-up Galbot demonstrates its humanoid robot at a signing ceremony for a new partnership with Hong Kong Investment Corporation on July 19, 2024. Photo: Dickson Lee

Published: 5:00pm, 19 Jul 2024

Hong Kong Investment Corporation (HKIC), a HK$62 billion (US$8 billion) government fund, has inked a partnership with Galbot, a Beijing-based humanoid robot start-up, in the latest high-profile move from the financial hub to shore up its artificial intelligence (AI) industry.

The deal will see Galbot establish a local entity called HK-Galbot Embodied AI Lab, and the company will explore applications for humanoid robots in Hong Kong with pilot projects in industries including retail and tourism, HKIC CEO Clara Chan said on Friday at a signing ceremony.

Galbot will also work with local schools to set up training programmes for embodied AI – which is integrated into physical objects so that AI systems can interact with their environments – and train more than 100 teenagers every year, Chan said.

A potential benefit of embodied AI, according to Chan, is that it can replace humans in performing dangerous and tedious tasks.

Chan Clara, CEO of the HKIC, speaks at the ceremony announcing the government fund’s partnership with Galbot at Island Shangri-la on July 19, 2024. Photo: Dickson Lee

The year-old Beijing start-up, the third company chosen by HKIC to boost Hong Kong’s technology sector, will also prioritise Hong Kong as its destination for an initial public offering in the future, according to Chan.

Companies the HKIC has collaborated with, including SmartMore and Biomap, are bringing technology, research capabilities, talent and pioneering products to Hong Kong, which will attract more companies and investment firms to the city, Financial Secretary Paul Chan said at the same event on Friday.