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First HKIC bet SmartMore seeks Hong Kong IPO amid booming tech pipeline
Unicorn’s AI platforms power firms from Tesla to Apple suppliers, highlighting the government fund’s role in the city’s tech investment push
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SmartMore, the first company backed by the Hong Kong government’s investment fund, has applied for a listing, underscoring the city’s crowded pipeline of technology initial public offerings (IPOs).
The unicorn, founded in 2019 and specialising in industrial artificial intelligence, submitted its application on Monday night, with Morgan Stanley, China International Capital Corporation and Deutsche Bank as joint sponsors. SmartMore provides intelligent manufacturing and digital innovation through a proprietary industrial platform that integrates software and hardware for enterprise clients.
It was the inaugural investment of the Hong Kong Investment Corporation (HKIC), which was set up in 2022 under Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s mandate to manage HK$62 billion (US$7.9 billion) in “patient capital” for strategic sectors including hard tech, life sciences and green energy. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said in late February that HKIC had supported more than 190 projects, with 10 already listed and over 20 preparing IPOs this year.
HKIC, which has been compared with Singapore’s Temasek, recorded HK$2.3 billion in investment income and HK$2.25 billion in operating profit in 2024.
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