Support for SMEs

To support the Artificial Intelligence ("AI") ecosystem development in Hong Kong, the 2024-25 Budget announced the allocation of $3 billion to implement a multi-pronged three-year AI Subsidy Scheme ("AISS"), including subsidising eligible users to make the best use of the computing power by Cyberport's Artificial Intelligence Supercomputing Centre ("AISC") so that they can optimise the use of computing power of the AISC and achieve more breakthroughs in scientific research.

Funding Amount

70%* of the List Price^

*Depending on the uniqueness of individual cases and their significant impact on local AI innovation and application, etc., the Committee may consider, in special and exceptional cases, to subsidise up to 90% of the list price.

^Please refer here for details.

Evaluation Criteria

Applications will undergo a review process and be assessed according to the following criteria:

Alignment with I&T and AI development needs in Hong Kong (25%)

1. Technological innovation, uniqueness in industry with competitive edge or novelty in academic research with advancement.
2. Contribution to I&T# and AI development in Hong Kong (e.g. new methodology, strategic objective, etc.)
3. Potential economic and/or social impacts and benefits.
4. Collaboration and ecosystem building among enterprises, Government, universities and start-ups, if any.

Reasonableness of Project's computer power requirement (20%)

Justification of the requested computing power and duration based on proposed project's nature, model complexity, training dataset size, batch size, precision, inference vs. training, etc. to demonstrate the computing power request is:

1. Necessary and Reasonable
2. Fairly allocated to project(s) based on the size(s) of AI model(s) and dataset(s)
3. Proposed with sound work schedule to effectively utilise the computing power

Technical & financial capabilities, track record and other attributes (25%)

1. Technical expertise, qualification and team structure of the applicant and the team (e.g. Curriculum Vitae of team members, etc.)
2. Financial strength/healthiness, and source/availability/sustainability of funding of the applicant and the team (e.g. financial statements, proof of funding, etc.)
3. Track record, market reputation or academic influence and other attributes of the applicant and the team (e.g. publications, product catalogue, awards, etc.)

Probability of success, expected outcomes and social impact of the project (30%)

1. Probability of successfully delivering claimed R&D achievements (e.g. previous R&D projects, project plan, research methodology, risk assessment, partnership, market analysis, etc.)
2. Expected outcomes and feasibility of the projects (e.g. specific goals, products/solutions, patents, publications, timeline & milestone, etc.)
3. Expected technological, economic and social impact of the project (e.g. unique methodologies, market growth, long-term social benefits, job creation, etc.

#Such as whether the project can promote the development of strategic industries set out under the I&T Blueprint or the frontier technology field under the Nation's 14-5 Plan.

• Local Institutions including the eight universities funded by the University Grants Committee and the self-financing local degree-awarding institutions registered under the Post Secondary Colleges Ordinance (Cap. 320), etc.
• R&D Centres including the government-funded R&D centres#, R&D Centres under the InnoHK Clusters, Hong Kong Productivity Council, and Hong Kong Institute of Biotechnology, etc.
• Government Bureaux and Departments
• AI Start-ups which are -

1. incorporated under the Companies Ordinance within the last seven years and with one of its offices (headquarter or regional office) or its main business operation or its key management or leadership team being located in Hong Kong;
2. engaged in AI Projects, such as AI model development, fine-tuning, applications of developed models and model inferencing, etc; and
3. having a total number of employees (including Hong Kong, Mainland and overseas office(s)) of less than 250.
   
   include, without limitation, incubatees and alumnus of Cyberport and Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, start-ups under the Technology Start-ups Support Scheme for Universities, and the Research, Academic and Industry Sectors One‑plus Scheme, etc.

• Strategic Enterprises which are local enterprises from industries of strategic importance to Hong Kong including those set out under the I&T Blueprint or the frontier technology fields under the Nation's 14-5 Plan, such as life and health technology, artificial intelligence and data science, financial technology, advanced manufacturing and new-energy technology industries, from which the projects can contribute to R&D and AI innovation in Hong Kong, and for those non-local enterprises shall undertake to land in Hong Kong and employ a specified number of professionals so as to drive the development of the local AI ecosystem, and/or meet other eligible criteria as agreed by the Committee and the Government.

# The Government currently maintains five government-funded R&D centres including the Hong Kong Automotive Platforms and Application Systems R&D Centre, Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel, Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute, Logistics and Supply Chain MultiTech R&D Centre, and Nano and Advanced Materials Institute.

Applications will be accepted all year round.  Applicants shall submit their applications with required documents by email to aiss_application@cyberport.hk to Cyberport.