Hong Kong Tech Hub Push Faces Youth Talent Test
SCMP · 1 SOURCESabout 10 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
Hong Kong is trying to position itself as a global technology and talent hub under China’s strategic blueprint, with AI and research commercialisation expected to be priorities in the city’s first five-year plan due later this year . Yet the city’s struggle to keep young entrepreneurs is in focus, as 18-year-olds Rexan Wong Chak-chi and Ken Mochizuki pursue very different paths for their start-up ambitions .
Key Points
- Rexan Wong Chak-chi, 18, became interested in AI at 15 after joining a class on building mobile applications .
- Wong built the AI-powered app Text Behind Image in 2024, saying it helped 500,000 users create images with text behind featured objects .
- Although he launched his first product in Hong Kong, Wong sees San Francisco and Silicon Valley as better places to scale an AI business .
- Wong, now a computer science undergraduate at the University of California, Santa Cruz, said Hong Kong lacks support for early-stage founders .
- In January, Wong joined a two-month incubation programme at San Francisco-based Founders Inc to gain mentorship and industry connections .
Why It Matters
The contrast between founders leaving and staying goes to the heart of whether Hong Kong can convert research strength into a durable start-up ecosystem . If policymakers want the city’s tech-hub strategy to succeed, they may face pressure to expand early-stage incubation, reduce cultural risk aversion and create clearer pathways for young entrepreneurs to go from idea to company locally .