Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry Professor Sun Dong delivered the keynote at the Applied Artificial Intelligence Conference 2026 in Vienna on September 24, inviting Austria to collaborate with Hong Kong on AI innovation and outlining the city’s AI strategy and infrastructure.
Hong Kong AI strategy and research strengths
Hong Kong has elevated AI to a core industry, guided by the principle of “strengthening infrastructure and promoting the application-oriented approach” and pursuing both “industries for AI” and “AI for industries.” Professor Sun highlighted that three Hong Kong universities are ranked among the world’s top 30 in data science and AI and that the newly established Hong Kong AI Research and Development (R&D) Institute will spearhead innovative R&D and industry application of AI.
Through the flagship R&D initiative InnoHK, Hong Kong has cooperated with more than 30 universities and research institutes across 12 economies, including Oxford, Stanford and EPFL. The AIR@InnoHK research cluster specifically supports R&D in AI, aiming to advance AI and robotics technologies and translate academic research into industry-ready solutions. To attract talent, Hong Kong launched the Frontier Technology Research Support Scheme to enable universities to recruit top international scientific researchers.
Computing power and infrastructure
Computing capacity is central to Hong Kong’s plan: the Sandy Ridge Data Facility Cluster, now under full-speed construction, is expected to provide 180,000 PFLOPS (peta-floating point operations per second) by 2032, a 36-fold increase from today’s capacity. The project is presented as a foundation for a sustainable AI future and to reinforce Hong Kong’s role as an advanced data and computing hub in the Asia-Pacific and the Greater Bay Area.
Gateway to the Greater Bay Area
Professor Sun positioned Hong Kong as a trusted gateway linking global innovation to the Greater Bay Area, which he said has a population of 88 million and an annual GDP of RMB 15 trillion (approximately €1.97 trillion). He cited Hong Kong’s open economy, robust legal framework, simple and low tax regime, strong IP protection, ease of capital raising and world-class logistics as reasons why overseas partners use Hong Kong as a strategic anchor to reach the Greater Bay Area, ASEAN and the broader Asia-Pacific.
Hong Kong is backing that role with I&T infrastructure: the Hetao Hong Kong Park, opened last December, is intended as a world-class I&T hub offering seamless cross-border access to data, joint laboratories and preferential policies for global talent and enterprises. The San Tin Technopole is described as Hong Kong’s flagship I&T industrial base, spanning prototyping, pilot production and mass production; together the two sites are presented as a bridge between global tech talent and the Greater Bay Area supply chain.
Performance in global rankings and outlook
Hong Kong’s recent performance in international benchmarks was also highlighted: it ranked second globally in the 2026 IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook and fourth in the 2025 World Digital Competitiveness Ranking. The number of start-ups grew by 40% in five years to a record high of 5,200, and Hong Kong has seen the birth of 20 unicorns. This year the Shenzhen‑Hong Kong‑Guangzhou innovation cluster was ranked number one in the world by the World Intellectual Property Organization.
Looking ahead, Professor Sun referred to the release of Hong Kong’s First Five-Year Plan and the 2026 Policy Address the previous week, saying the government’s commitment to accelerating AI adoption, promoting industry upgrade and regulating AI ethics is firmer than ever. He urged cooperation between Hong Kong and Austria, presenting Hong Kong as a bridge connecting East and West, research and industry, and inviting Austria to work together on an open, inclusive future for innovation.
