HKIC Partners with BioMap to Accelerate Bio-Computing Development | BlueRun Ventures Headlines

On June 24, Hong Kong Investment Corporation Limited (HKIC) signed a strategic partnership agreement with BioMap. HKIC will provide comprehensive resource matching and support for BioMap's subsequent development in Hong Kong, promoting the city's growth as an international bio-computing hub. This marks the second strategic partner announced by HKIC within two weeks, reflecting its full-speed deployment to drive Hong Kong's innovation and technology ecosystem through investment.

In conjunction with the strategic partnership with HKIC, BioMap held its inaugural "International Bio-computing Innovation Summit" today, where the strategic cooperation agreement was signed during the summit, kicking off the implementation of in-depth collaboration between the two parties, with the aim of helping Hong Kong build a bio-computing ecosystem. Paul Chan Mo-po, Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, witnessed the signing ceremony and delivered remarks. Clara Chan Ka-kei, CEO of HKIC, and Wei Liu, Co-founder and CEO of BioMap, signed on behalf of their respective organizations.

Clara Chan Ka-kei (left), CEO of Hong Kong Investment Corporation Limited, and Wei Liu (right), Co-founder and CEO of BioMap, sign the strategic partnership agreement, witnessed by Paul Chan Mo-po (center), Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong SAR Government

Paul Chan Mo-po, Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong SAR Government, said: "The convergence of artificial intelligence and life sciences is opening a new frontier in bio-computing. Hong Kong has solid foundations in both areas and should strive to accelerate the development of bio-computing to seize first-mover advantages." He noted that Hong Kong's vibrant innovation and technology ecosystem, development of AI infrastructure, convergence of mainland and international data, and advantages as an international financial center all provide a strong foundation for developing bio-computing.

Paul Chan Mo-po, Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong SAR Government, delivers opening remarks

Speaking on the importance of the strategic partnership between HKIC and BioMap, he said: "BioMap's innovation center will become a focal point for global bio-computing research, a hub for translational research and commercialization of results, a platform for fostering collaboration among innovators, industry, and investors, and a base for cultivating relevant talent. The technology and innovative spirit brought by companies like BioMap, including their R&D activities and job creation, will help Hong Kong cultivate talent with AI literacy and interdisciplinary knowledge, further enhancing Hong Kong's competitiveness and attracting more innovation and technology companies to cluster here."

Clara Chan Ka-kei, CEO of HKIC, said: "HKIC's selected investment themes include hard technology encompassing artificial intelligence. Through investing in BioMap, HKIC seeks not only reasonable returns but also to leverage its power to aggregate and direct resources, helping BioMap take root and thrive in Hong Kong, driving innovation and development across related industry chains both vertically and horizontally, and contributing to Hong Kong's economy and society. HKIC supports BioMap in preparing to establish a bio-computing innovation center in Hong Kong, expanding the scale and depth of its operations in the city, and helping it connect with a broader international network."

Clara Chan Ka-kei, CEO of Hong Kong Investment Corporation Limited

Wei Liu, Co-founder and CEO of BioMap, said: "We are deeply grateful for HKIC's support and guidance. We look forward to leveraging Hong Kong's international positioning, free financial policies, internationally aligned IP and data regulations to win the trust of more multinational clients in global competition and maintain our leadership position. Furthermore, Hong Kong has abundant AI and biotechnology composite talent and an innovative academic atmosphere. We hope our innovation center in Hong Kong can transform more unique ideas into tangible AIGP protein products, and through our global production, commercial network, and ecosystem partners, further realize the value of innovation." (*AIGP: AI Generated Protein — using AI to design new proteins; see explanation below)

BioMap also announced the establishment of its first international innovation center (BioMap InnoHub) in Hong Kong on the same day, aiming to attract global innovative forces, fully cultivate local innovation and technology teams, and jointly accelerate the ecosystem construction and development of AI for Life Science in Hong Kong. The University of Hong Kong, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Cyberport, and the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation attended the innovation center launch ceremony as BioMap's ecosystem partners.

Representatives from The University of Hong Kong, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, and Cyberport participate in the BioMap InnoHub launch and Hong Kong ecosystem lighting ceremony

Jiarun Qu, Senior Vice President of BioMap, launches the Bio-computing Innovation Accelerator Program

The first project to launch at the innovation center is the "Bio-computing Innovation Accelerator Program" (BioMap BioX). The program expects to support more than fifty frontier life science early-stage R&D projects over the next five years, and will prioritize applications recommended by Hong Kong higher education institutions and ecosystem partners. For selected projects, BioMap will leverage its life science large model xTrimo and AIGP platform technology* to provide technical support to researchers and entrepreneurs, and help them connect with global flagship enterprises and investors, explore more application scenarios, and accelerate the transformation of R&D concepts into marketable products and industrialized companies — enabling the life sciences industry to start up and scale as quickly as internet companies. (*See explanation below)

In conjunction with the strategic partnership with HKIC, BioMap held its inaugural "International Bio-computing Innovation Summit" in Hong Kong on the same day as the agreement signing, gathering representatives of BioMap's clients and ecosystem partners. Senior executives from multinational pharmaceutical companies Sanofi and Lilly China, green technology companies Lanzatech and Syngenta, and scholars from Rutgers University in New Jersey, United States, delivered keynote speeches and participated in panel discussions, jointly exploring bio-computing and future application scenarios, including accelerating new drug R&D to improve human health and advancing green technology innovation to contribute to global sustainable development.

Panel discussion on drug development

Panel discussion on sustainable development

Based on BioMap's self-developed life science foundation large model xTrimo, which reaches hundreds of billions of parameters, the company further launched the AIGP (AI Generated Protein) platform last year, aiming to provide efficient and reliable protein design and optimization solutions for life science researchers. To date, BioMap has signed up more than two hundred users through the AIGP platform, including international pharmaceutical companies, leading CDMOs*, innovative drug companies, synthetic biology companies, representative green technology enterprises, and research institutions. (*Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization)

Looking ahead, BioMap will be based in Hong Kong, facing frontier protein application fields, providing AI large model technology and ecosystem empowerment, helping research and industry teams achieve innovative R&D goals such as AIGP; and will work with global ecosystem partners to drive a series of innovation activities, engaging with multinational pharmaceutical executives, university scholars, and AI life science entrepreneurs to jointly discuss application practices, trends, and challenges of life science large models, and build a lasting and thriving AI life science ecosystem.

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