The University of Hong Kong (HKU) startups achieved outstanding performance at the 2026 Maker in China SME Innovation and Entrepreneurship Global Contest - Hong Kong Chapter (MiCHK), securing the Champion, First Runner-up and Second Runner-up awards, showcasing the University's research excellence in new materials, biomedicine and health, and artificial intelligence (AI) and big data.
This year's competition drew a record 170 local innovation projects. Following months of rigorous preliminary and semi-final evaluations, the three HKU startup teams will represent the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) at the national-level Maker in China SME Innovation and Entrepreneurship Global Contest Final in Guangzhou at year-end. They will compete against winning teams from other regional chapters worldwide for the championship and further opportunities.
Dr Paul Wang, Director of HKU Techno-Entrepreneurship Core, said: "We are immensely proud of the exceptional achievements of our startup teams. These awards not only recognise HKU's research and entrepreneurship excellence but also reaffirm the University's strong commitment to knowledge transfer. Within HKU's innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem, the University serves as a 'coral reef' - offering a relatively safe and supportive environment in which early-stage innovation seeds and talent can take root and grow. We are delighted that the research outcomes of our professors and alumni have received recognition, and that their innovative ideas are being brought into the community and translated into real-world impact. We look forward to leveraging this opportunity to accelerate connections between HKU startups and Chinese Mainland investors and industry partners, to tap into the market, and to advance commercialisation through diversified exhibitions and promotion platforms."
Champion Project:
DiamNEX Limited: Industrialisation of Flexible, Ultrathin Diamond Wafers
Founded by Professor Chu Zhiqin, Associate Professor, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, HKU, DiamNEX introduces the world's first edge-exposed exfoliation technology. This technology has successfully overcome key challenges in the fabrication of large-area, high-quality and transferable diamond thin films, offering a new solution for the large-scale commercial production of diamond semiconductor materials. The technology also enables the production of scalable, single-crystal diamond membranes at 1/1000th of the previous cost, significantly enhancing the economic viability of diamond semiconductor materials. It is well suited for applications in high-power electronic devices, quantum computing and next-generation radio-frequency systems, thereby laying a solid foundation for the scaled development of related industries.
First Runner-up Project:
NeuroHarbor Limited: AI diagnosis and treatment platform for brain diseases
Founded by HKU alumna Dr Yazhou Zhao, NeuroHarbor focuses on developing an AI-powered platform for the diagnosis and treatment of neurological diseases. Its core product, an AI EEG analysis software, has already been integrated into clinical workflows at top-tier hospitals in China. The software automates epileptiform discharge detection, sleep staging and quantitative reporting, reducing EEG analysis time from several hours to under 30 minutes. Deployed locally to ensure data privacy, it also supports the continuous growth of multicentre clinical datasets. NeuroHarbor has further developed prototypes of wearable EEG patches and transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation devices.
Second Runner-up Project:
Sharpsight Limited: Embodied AI Neurorehabilitation Platform
Founded by HKU alumnus Dr Xu Zhimin, Sharpsight is dedicated to transforming neurorehabilitation through artificial intelligence for people with stroke and other neurological conditions. Its platform is built around Computational Embodied Therapy (CET), combining action observation, motor imagery, multimodal sensing, and personalised training in a closed-loop approach to support motor recovery. By connecting clinical and home-based rehabilitation, Sharpsight aims to make professional care more accessible and continuous. The products and platform have been adopted for routine use by healthcare and research institutions across Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland.
The MiCHK 2026 is jointly organised by the Digital Policy Office of the HKSAR Government, the China Centre for Promotion of SME Development of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People's Republic of China, and the China International Cooperation Association of SMEs. It is formulated by the Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited and the Angel Investment Foundation. The contest focuses on frontier innovation and technology (I&T) fields that drive the development of new quality productive forces, including fintech, AI and big data, intelligent devices and robotics, smart living and smart mobility, third-generation Internet and metaverse, semiconductors and integrated circuits, biomedicine and health, low-altitude economy and aerospace, new energy and green technology, as well as new materials.
