Media

The University of Hong Kong (HKU) and CAS Star Technology Venture Capital (CAS Star) held a “HKU Entrepreneurship Engine Fund (EEF) × CAS Star” joint fund first close ceremony and first batch of investment ceremony on 13 March. The two parties officially announced the first close of “FutureTech Stars–HKU Venture LPF. The fund is structured under HKU’s Entrepreneurship Engine Fund (EEF) as a joint fund operated in a fund-of-funds format, and operated and managed by FutureTech Stars HK, the Hong Kong arm of CAS Star, with a target fund size of HK$300 million. The first close totals HK$150 million, and the fund has already completed its first batch of investments. Anchor investors in the first closing include the HKU EEF, Bank of China Group Investment Limited (“BOCGI”), and Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable Joint Stock Limited Company (“YOFC”). Focusing on the industries of the future, the fund targets disruptive global technologies and major innovative breakthroughs to accelerate the transformation of research outcomes into real-world applications. Its investment strategy prioritises world-leading research teams from universities in Hong Kong, the Chinese Academy of Sciences Hong Kong Institute of Sciences & Innovation, and overseas R&D institutions. It also extends to globally positioned Chinese-led deep-tech startups in the current AI-driven wave of innovation, supporting their journey toward industrialisation and commercial scale.  

The ceremony was hosted by Prof. Stephanie Ma, Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research) (Interim) of HKU, Mr. David Lau and Mr. Jason Chiu, HKU Council member, Mr. Richard Mak, HKU EEF Advisory Board Member, Dr. Lei Mi, Founding Partner of CAS Star, Ms. Lin Xia, Partner of CAS Star, Mr. Sheng Li, Chairman, Bank of China Group Investment Limited, Mr. Jinpei Yang, Chief Financial Offer of YOFC, and Mr. Bin Liu, General Manager of YOFC Fund. It underscores HKU’s collective commitment as patient capital, reaffirming its determination to support early-stage innovation and accelerate the commercialisation of research outcomes. 

Prof. Stephanie Ma, Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research) (Interim) of HKU said, “‘FutureTech Stars–HKU Venture LPF’ exemplifies the strong and collaborative partnership between both parties. CAS Star has completed its first round of investments and is fully supporting two HKU-incubated startups. Meanwhile, the EEF is actively building a bridge between the academic and industry. Since EEF was launched, by the end of 2025, its partner funds and the wider ecosystem have invested more than HK$350 million in HKU-related enterprises, supporting a total of 12 startups. Of this, HK$170 million has been invested through EEF partner funds. Due to EEF’s significant growth, the Council has raised its target size to HK$1 billion.” 

Dr. Lei Mi, Founding Partner of CAS Star said, “Hong Kong possesses unique advantages in this regard. CAS Star will work with all partners, using the fund as a bridge to achieve deep integration of technology, finance, and industry, thereby fostering the prosperity of Hong Kong’s technology transfer ecosystem. The launch of this collaboration network aims to pool resources from all partners to jointly cultivate a self-organising, self-evolving ‘rainforest’ ecosystem for deep-tech entrepreneurship.”  

In particular, Dynano Semiconductor, an HKU-incubated startup focusing on R&D and services for advanced packaging technology for high-power semiconductors, shared insights at the event. Prof. Mingxin Huang, Chief Scientist of the company, highlighted that over the past year, the company has received tens of millions of HKD in investment in which FutureTech Stars has participated and led. Headquartered in Hong Kong, the company efficiently integrates manufacturing capacity from Mainland China, international capital from Hong Kong, and cutting-edge overseas technologies, thereby forming a collaborative development model of “R&D in Hong Kong, pilot production in the Greater Bay Area, and market access globally.”  

For media enquiries, please contact:    
HKU Techno-Entrepreneurship Core  
Ms Jessie Tsang (Tel: 39102495 | email jessiet@hku.hk)  
 
Office of Vice-President and Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Research), HKU  
Ms Esther Yiu (Tel: 3917 3949 | email: estherey@hku.hk