Prof. Stephanie Ma, Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research) (Interim) of HKU
The University of Hong Kong (HKU) and Gobi Partners held the "HKU Entrepreneurship Engine Fund × Gobi Partners" joint fund first close and first batch of investment ceremony, jointly announcing the launch of the Gobi–HKU Fund I. The fund is structured under HKU's Entrepreneurship Engine Fund (EEF) as a joint fund operated in a fund-of-funds format, aiming to support the development of startups and foster Hong Kong's innovation and technology ecosystem. The fund will focus on investing in high-potential HKU spin-off startups, providing capital, talent, and strategic support to transform cutting-edge research into globally impactful application solutions.
The ceremony was hosted by Prof. Stephanie Ma, Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research) (Interim) of HKU, Mr. Jason Chiu, HKU Council member, HKU EEF Committee Member, Mr. Richard Mak, HKU EEF Committee Member, Dr. Paul Wang, Director, HKU Techno-Entrepreneurship Core (HKU TEC), Ms. Clara Chan, Chief Executive Officer of Hong Kong Investment Corporation Limited (HKIC), Mr. Thomas G. Tsao, Co-founder and Chair of Gobi Partners, Mr. Chibo Tang, Managing Partner of Gobi Partners, and Mr. Fred Li, Managing Director of Gobi Partners.
Prof. Stephanie Ma, Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research) (Interim) of HKU, said: "The Gobi–HKU Fund I reflects HKU's strong commitment to translating world-class research into innovations. Our collaboration with Gobi Partners will further strengthen our mission to turn breakthrough research into real-world solutions. With new investments already underway and more support on the horizon, we are accelerating the growth of high‑potential HKU spin-off startups. This marks a new milestone in HKU's journey of innovation."
Mr. Chibo Tang, Managing Partner of Gobi Partners said, "Some of the world's most disruptive technologies are being built in the halls of Hong Kong's universities. We are excited to partner with HKU to help bridge the gap between research and commercialisation, bringing breakthroughs in AI, robotics, biotech, and other critical sectors to the world."
Ms. Clara Chan, CEO of the HKIC remarked, "The launch of the Gobi-HKU Fund I, along with its swift and substantive deployment of capital, demonstrated the HKIC's steadfast determination to foster synergy among the core sectors of innovation and technology — namely investment, industry, academia, research, and government. The HKIC will continue to collaborate with various partners to create a cross-sectoral, interdisciplinary and cross-cycle investment paradigm and mechanism for patient capital, injecting critical and sustainable momentum into the foundational innovation ecosystem essential for Hong Kong's high-quality economic development.
Representatives from Manifold Tech and AilsynBio, both supported by investments from the HKU Entrepreneurship Engine Fund × Gobi Partners joint fund, also attended the ceremony and shared their in-house technologies and future development plans. Manifold Tech focuses on real-time 3D reconstruction algorithms and advanced robotics technologies, leveraging AI-driven rapid 3D scanning and reconstruction to offer products and applications for multiple industries. AilsynBio, on the other hand, uses on its proprietary peptide-based drug AI discovery platform, which integrates multi-omics human scientific data to identify novel disease targets, as well as designing innovative molecules and identifying and predicting drug properties, thereby significantly shortening the drug development cycle.
