The Hong Kong government has decided to allocate $3 billion Hong Kong dollars ($383 million) to its Cyberport business park as part of a three-year artificial intelligence (AI) subsidy scheme.
The announcement was made by Paul Chan, Hong Kong’s financial secretary, during the 2024 budget announcement on Wednesday, Feb. 28.
The program aims to assist local universities, research institutes, and businesses in utilizing the computing capabilities of the new AI Supercomputing Centre.
Chan highlighted the importance of AI in driving technological and industrial transformation, thereby boosting Hong Kong’s digital economy. The subsidy will also enhance cybersecurity and data protection at the center and attract global AI experts, enterprises, and research projects to Hong Kong.
The AI Supercomputing Centre is set to begin operations this year and is expected to reach a computing power of 3,000 petaflops by early 2026, capable of processing almost 10 billion images per hour.
The subsidy scheme and the center’s launch are planned for 2024, with varying subsidy amounts based on applicant categories. The scheme will follow a user-pays principle with no total subsidies provided.
Additionally, the government will allocate HK$100 million ($12.7 million) to aid self-financing post-secondary institutions in forming an Alliance of Universities in Applied Sciences, aiming to promote vocational and professional education and training.
HK$6 billion ($766 million) will be allocated to subsidize new life and health technology research institutes at eight local universities, fostering collaboration with organizations from mainland China and overseas.
The funding, drawn from the HK$10 billion ($1.2 billion) budget allocated in 2023, aims to promote the development of life and health technology, facilitate research and development, drive the transformation of research outcomes, and attract leading innovation and technology talent and research teams to Hong Kong.
Eligibility for the scheme will likely be limited to institutions affiliated with the eight subsidized local universities, with plans to subsidize three institutions in the long run.
Hong Kong has been embracing AI in health technology, with its hospital authority making plans to tackle the rise of superbugs with the help of AI in November 2023.
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