The Hong Kong government has approved spending of HK $3 billion (USD 383 million) as Cyberport develops artificial intelligence within the next three years. The Financial Secretary, Paul Chan, announced the subsidy scheme during the environmentally friendly public transport subsidy scheme budget speech on February 28, 2024.
The funds will help local universities, research institutes, and businesses utilize the computing power of a new AI Supercomputing Center to be launched at Cyberport this year. Subsidy amounts will vary based on applicant categories.
The implementation of AI is stressed as a strategic way of using AI to drive a technological and industrial shift in Hong Kong. The space agency expressed that its new supercomputer will have the computational power of 3 exaflops by early 2026 and could process almost 10 billion images per hour.
As one can learn from local media coverage, the scheme provides only schools and universities linked to Hong Kong’s eight subsidized universities with subsidies. The project will provide long-term financial assistance, and we hope to provide this financial support to three institutions over a while.
Hong Kong has shown a growing adoption of AI in healthcare. In November 2023, the Hospital Authority announced plans to use AI to tackle the spread of two superbugs. The new subsidy scheme will likely accelerate AI innovation in the administrative region.
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