Key Takeaways
- • The Cyberport Venture and Capital Forum (CVCF) opened on Wednesday in Hong Kong, bringing together over 80 international investors, entrepreneurs and industry leaders to discuss global venture capital trends, fund reallocation and enterprise AI.
- • FOV Ventures adviser Jeremy Dalton argued that too much capital has been invested in the wrong AI applications, citing a Deloitte report finding that only 25 percent of business leaders have pushed more than 40 percent of AI pilots into production.
- • Lillian Cheong Man-lei, HKSAR undersecretary for innovation, technology and industry, stated that AI adoption alone does not guarantee business success; integration into operations is what matters.
- • Simon Chan Sai-ming, chairman of Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company, said more than half of Hong Kong IPO funds raised in the first three quarters of 2026 came from the information technology sector.
Summary
The Cyberport Venture and Capital Forum (CVCF) opened on Wednesday in Hong Kong, gathering more than 80 international investors, entrepreneurs and industry leaders to examine global venture capital trends, fund reallocation and enterprise artificial intelligence. The event, according to China Daily HK, took place against a global boom in AI investment and was framed around Hong Kong's ambition to serve as a hub linking global capital with entrepreneurs.
In a session on capital allocation, Jeremy Dalton, an adviser at venture capital fund FOV Ventures and the US startup showcase platform SXSW Pitch, said funding often misses the mark. "There is incredible transformative value in the AI space, but the main issue is that too much money has been invested in the wrong things," he said. Dalton said many companies overemphasize the AI label rather than driving actual deployment in production, citing a Deloitte report released this year which found that only 25 percent of business leaders had successfully pushed more than 40 percent of their AI pilots into production.
Government officials framed the opportunity in terms of execution and ecosystem support. Lillian Cheong Man-lei, HKSAR undersecretary for innovation, technology and industry, said adopting AI does not in itself guarantee business success, and that what matters is how effectively enterprises integrate AI to meet customer needs, improve productivity and strengthen long-term competitiveness. She said Hong Kong can help investors identify high-growth ventures while giving startups a platform to build competitive advantage, pointing to the Innovation and Technology Venture Fund and the Digital Transformation Support Pilot Programme as supports for the city's tech ecosystem.
Simon Chan Sai-ming, chairman of Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Ltd, said AI has become a key driver of global economic growth and that in the first three quarters of 2026, more than half of total funds raised through Hong Kong IPOs came from the information technology sector. Chan described Hong Kong's role as a "superconnector and super value-adder" between the Chinese mainland and the rest of the world as "more valuable than ever" in a shifting global capital landscape.
In a session on capital allocation, Jeremy Dalton, an adviser at venture capital fund FOV Ventures and the US startup showcase platform SXSW Pitch, said funding often misses the mark. "There is incredible transformative value in the AI space, but the main issue is that too much money has been invested in the wrong things," he said. Dalton said many companies overemphasize the AI label rather than driving actual deployment in production, citing a Deloitte report released this year which found that only 25 percent of business leaders had successfully pushed more than 40 percent of their AI pilots into production.
Government officials framed the opportunity in terms of execution and ecosystem support. Lillian Cheong Man-lei, HKSAR undersecretary for innovation, technology and industry, said adopting AI does not in itself guarantee business success, and that what matters is how effectively enterprises integrate AI to meet customer needs, improve productivity and strengthen long-term competitiveness. She said Hong Kong can help investors identify high-growth ventures while giving startups a platform to build competitive advantage, pointing to the Innovation and Technology Venture Fund and the Digital Transformation Support Pilot Programme as supports for the city's tech ecosystem.
Simon Chan Sai-ming, chairman of Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Ltd, said AI has become a key driver of global economic growth and that in the first three quarters of 2026, more than half of total funds raised through Hong Kong IPOs came from the information technology sector. Chan described Hong Kong's role as a "superconnector and super value-adder" between the Chinese mainland and the rest of the world as "more valuable than ever" in a shifting global capital landscape.
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