HKUST backs its spinoffs with $12.7M fund from startup returns
What's the deal? The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology on Friday launched a US$12.1M fund to give extra backing and commercialisation support to research teams in the government's Research, Academic and Industry Sectors One-plus Scheme (RAISe+). The internal RAISE+ Project Fund (RPF) targets HKUST teams turning research into products.
Where's the money from? The fund draws on HKUST's stakes in startups it previously incubated, rather than its reserves. Vice president for research and development Tim Cheng Kwang-ting called it "a powerful model of continuity" meant to keep the innovation ecosystem self-sustaining. "I think we close the loop," he said.
Why now? Seven HKUST projects won RAISe+ funding earlier this year, lifting its total to a city-leading 19. The move also aligns with Hong Kong's first local five-year plan, announced last month, which flags universities as drivers of original innovation.
What's the endgame? Cheng said the fund advances the RAISe+ pipeline and lets HKUST invest directly — shifting the university from a "facilitator" of commercialisation to a "co-investor."
The context: RAISe+, launched in October 2023 with US$1.21B allocated, has backed 73 projects with over US$362.6M in commitments, according to Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry Sun Dong. He called HKUST's fund "an example of how universities can complement the government's initiative."
The signal: Universities are moving from research labs to investors, betting that returns on past spinoffs can finance the next generation. By recycling equity into new ventures, HKUST is testing whether academic commercialisation can pay for itself.
Read more: chinadailyhk.com
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
