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AI giant iFlytek to invest HK$400 million in Hong Kong, opens international headquarters

“Our initial budget is HK$400 million,” iFlytek senior vice-president Duan Dawei told the South China Morning Post at the opening ceremony of the new premises on Friday. “If everything goes well [in Hong Kong], that figure is going to be more.”

Duan Dawei, senior vice-president at iFlyTek, speaks at the opening ceremony of the firm’s international headquarters in Cyberport on Friday. Photo: Handout
With the firm’s new international headquarters, Duan said iFlytek intends to expand the market for its flagship Spark LLM and voice-recognition tools to various enterprises in the city and local consumers.

Founded about 25 years ago in Hefei, capital of eastern Anhui province, iFlytek also plans to collaborate with local companies, such as those in the education and healthcare sectors, in developing computing infrastructure and using its LLM to build custom AI applications, according to Duan.

Hong Kong will also serve as iFlytek’s launch pad to expand the overseas reach of its intelligent education hardware and services, with a focus on the Middle East and Southeast Asia, Duan said.

The move by iFlytek bolsters the Hong Kong government’s efforts to establish the city as a tech innovation hub.

“The government has always strongly supported the development of innovation and technology in Hong Kong, with a key focus on AI and life and health technology,” Sun Dong, the city’s Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, said at the opening ceremony at Cyberport.

Sun Dong, Hong Kong’s Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, welcomes iFlytek at the opening ceremony of the firm’s international headquarters at Cyberport. Photo: Handout
“Cyberport is building an AI ecosystem, including a supercomputing centre,” Rocky Cheng, chief executive at Cyberport told the Post, on Friday. He said iFlytek will be involved in that development, even as discussions have started with Baidu.
Xunfei Healthcare, meanwhile, plans to set up an international research institute that integrates health technology and AI. In January, iFlytek revealed plans for an initial public offering of its healthcare unit in Hong Kong.

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