Cyberport Celebrates CIN’s 7th Anniversary with a Strong Focus on Web 3.0 and AI Innovation

The Cyberport Venture Capital Forum 2024, a yearly event hosted by Cyberport, launched today in Hong Kong. Spanning two days, this year’s forum, titled “Innovation Challenger: Building New Venture Visions,” has attracted more than 90 leading venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, and industry experts from across the globe.

The forum explores how trends in venture capital and emerging technologies like Web 3.0 and artificial intelligence can help startups and investors tap into new opportunities. It provides a platform for discussing how these innovations can drive growth and reshape the future of investment.

The Cyberport Venture Capital Forum (CVCF) 2024, themed “Innovation Challengers: Building a New Vision for Venture Capital,” will take place from October 24 to 25 in a hybrid format, combining both online and offline participation. 

The forum gathers leading venture capitalists, industry experts, and startup founders to discuss the latest trends in global venture capital and the role of emerging technologies like Web 3.0 and artificial intelligence in pushing innovation boundaries. Key focus areas include investment opportunities in China, Asia, ASEAN, and the Middle East.

During the event, Cyberport also celebrated the 7th anniversary of the Cyberport Investors Network (CIN), which has successfully connected over 200 global investment entities with high-potential startups. 

CIN has facilitated over HK$2.597 billion in investments since its establishment, with a significant year-on-year growth in both the number of investment entities and total funding. 

The forum also featured signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Cyberport and Draper Dragon to jointly establish the “Cyberport x Draper Dragon Web 3.0 Accelerator Program.” This partnership will combine Draper Dragon’s expertise in Silicon Valley incubation with Cyberport’s robust Web3.0 ecosystem, focusing on talent development, project incubation, and investment. The collaboration aims to accelerate innovation by connecting startups in Hong Kong with global markets, particularly in the Web 3.0 space.

Despite global economic and geopolitical uncertainties, Cyberport continues to support the growth of Hong Kong’s innovation and technology sectors, driven by initiatives like the National 14th Five-Year Plan and Hong Kong’s Innovation and Technology Development Blueprint. 

Hendrick Sin, Chairman of Cyberport Investors Network (CIN), emphasized Cyberport’s plans to support startups through programs such as CIN and the Cyberport Macro Fund (CMF), highlighting the focus on Web 3.0 technology and venture capital development. The goal is to further establish Hong Kong as an international innovation and technology hub, leveraging its unique connections in Asia and the ASEAN region.

Over the past year, Cyberport startups have shown impressive fundraising success, securing over HK$3.7 billion, a 23% increase compared to the previous year. This brings the total funding raised by Cyberport enterprises to more than HK$41.2 billion. 

Notable contributions came from companies like Klook, Leapstack, Buy&Ship, and MediConCen. Additionally, HashKey Group, a licensed virtual asset trading platform, emerged as Cyberport’s eighth unicorn, reflecting the growing investor interest in Web 3.0 technologies.