AI giant iFlytek to invest HK$400 million in Hong Kong, opens international headquarters

“Our initial budget is HK$400 million,” iFlytek senior vice-president Duan Dawei told the South China Morning Post at the opening ceremony of the new premises on Friday. “If everything goes well [in Hong Kong], that figure is going to be more.”

Founded about 25 years ago in Hefei, capital of eastern Anhui province, iFlytek also plans to collaborate with local companies, such as those in the education and healthcare sectors, in developing computing infrastructure and using its LLM to build custom AI applications, according to Duan.

Hong Kong will also serve as iFlytek’s launch pad to expand the overseas reach of its intelligent education hardware and services, with a focus on the Middle East and Southeast Asia, Duan said.

The move by iFlytek bolsters the Hong Kong government’s efforts to establish the city as a tech innovation hub.

“The government has always strongly supported the development of innovation and technology in Hong Kong, with a key focus on AI and life and health technology,” Sun Dong, the city’s Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, said at the opening ceremony at Cyberport.