Riding the Wind, Breaking Boundaries — Tides Surge in Hong Kong | Dalton Venture 2025 CEO Summit Successfully Concludes

At the intersection of technological revolution and industrial transformation, what should be the starting point for the globalization of the life sciences industry? Where should mainland Chinese healthcare innovators set their first foothold as they expand overseas? Against a backdrop of intensifying international competition and sustained policy tailwinds, is Hong Kong — a city that combines international perspective with institutional strengths — becoming the bridge for tech enterprises to reach the world?

Against this backdrop, the 2025 Dalton Venture CEO Summit convened on April 24–25. As a flagship post-investment brand event under Dalton's "Tong Academy" series, the CEO Summit aims to build a deep exchange platform for Dalton Family entrepreneurs and ecosystem partners — covering capital matchmaking, policy interpretation, industrial landing, and upstream-downstream collaboration — bringing together diverse innovation resources, sharing technological frontiers and industry insights, and mapping out an ambitious blueprint for healthcare industry innovation. "Touring Cities of Innovation" has become a defining feature of the Dalton Venture CEO Summit. Each year, the summit travels to a different city to engage deeply with local research institutions, industrial clusters, and capital forces, exploring new drivers and opportunities in the life sciences sector.

This year, we arrived in the Bauhinia City — Hong Kong. Special thanks to the Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, InvestHK, and the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises for their strong support of this event. Under the theme "Riding the Long Wind, Breaking Boundaries — Tides Rising at Victoria Harbour," nearly one hundred guests from government agencies, top universities (HKUST, The Chinese University of Hong Kong), Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, professional investment institutions, and Dalton Family enterprises gathered to engage in deep discussion and intellectual exchange around new opportunities for mainland enterprises to develop from Hong Kong, fresh momentum in Hong Kong's capital markets, and cutting-edge fields including healthcare + AI, ophthalmology, embodied intelligence, cell and gene therapy, biomaterials, and heart failure treatment — injecting new momentum into medical technology advancement and industry innovation.

PART 1

Government, Industry, and Research United

Exploring the Path of Technology-Industry Resonance

Partner's Address

01

Speaker: Qi Sun, Founding Managing Partner, Dalton Venture

At the opening of the conference, Qi Sun, Founding Managing Partner of Dalton Venture, remarked in his address: "2025 is the Year of the Snake in the lunar calendar. In the healthcare industry, the snake symbolizes healing and regeneration, as well as transformation and hope. Today, we gather in Hong Kong with the hope of using technology as our staff and innovation as our wings to achieve a true transformation amid the global life sciences wave."

He noted that as a venture capital firm deeply rooted in life sciences and healthcare, Dalton Venture has been contemplating where China's life sciences globalization journey should begin. He emphasized that Hong Kong, as an international financial and technology hub connecting East and West, not only possesses world-leading research resources and clinical environments, but also boasts active capital markets, a clear and transparent regulatory system, and an open and diverse business atmosphere — providing natural fertile ground for enterprises to move from research to industrialization.

Sun pointed out, "Hong Kong stands at an unprecedented historical intersection: it connects mainland China's clinical resources, engineering capabilities, and industrial scale, while also reaching global regulatory standards, financial systems, and strategic markets. In this sense, Hong Kong is not merely an 'East-West convergence,' but a convergence of 'technology and capital, industry and institutions, culture and vision.'"

Special Guest Address

02

Speaker: Man-li Cheung, Deputy Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Hong Kong SAR Government

Deputy Secretary Man-li Cheung of the Hong Kong SAR Government's Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau delivered the opening address via video, expressing the SAR government's emphasis on and expectations for supporting mainland technology innovation enterprises in establishing presence in Hong Kong, and stating that Hong Kong is actively building an international innovation and technology center and welcomes more outstanding mainland enterprises to set up in Hong Kong and leverage the Hong Kong platform to access international markets.

Deputy Secretary Cheung emphasized that Hong Kong has become a critical springboard for technology enterprises' international development, not only through comprehensive technology funds and preferential policies that support tech enterprises across multiple dimensions, but also by relying on its sound legal system, intellectual property protection regime, and unique geographical advantage connecting mainland and global markets. She specifically mentioned that the 18A and 18C listing mechanisms established by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, as well as the technology-focused listing segment under development, provide additional capital market support pathways for emerging industries such as healthcare and hard tech — fully demonstrating Hong Kong's leading advantage in "capital empowering innovation."

Regarding the summit's focus on cutting-edge directions including medical robotics, gene therapy, and AI healthcare, Deputy Secretary Cheung noted their high alignment with Hong Kong's technology development strategy. She fully affirmed Dalton Venture's professional accumulation and international vision in the life sciences field, and sincerely welcomed Dalton to join hands with outstanding enterprises in exploring Hong Kong, actively seeking collaborative innovation opportunities between mainland China and Hong Kong, and between Hong Kong and the world.

"Hong Kong will continue to play its role as a super-connector, providing comprehensive support for technology innovation enterprises and helping Hong Kong become an important engine for global life sciences innovation," Deputy Secretary Cheung stated.

Co-Organizer Address

03

Speaker: Tze-wai Ng, Chief of Staff, Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation

As a representative of the summit's co-organizer, Tze-wai Ng, Chief of Staff at Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, warmly welcomed entrepreneurs, scholars, and investors from the life sciences field in her opening remarks, thanking Dalton Venture for bringing the 2025 CEO Summit to Hong Kong and selecting Hong Kong Science Park as an important venue.

In her address, Ms. Ng introduced that life technology is one of Hong Kong's priority development directions, and Hong Kong Science Park will continue to provide comprehensive support for enterprises across the entire chain through R&D support, supporting resources, and financing channels, working with industry to build a world-class life sciences ecosystem.

She noted that as one of the core platforms in Hong Kong's innovation and technology ecosystem, Hong Kong Science Park is committed to building a "technology cluster" in life sciences. By gathering innovative enterprises and facilitating exchange, incubation, and synergistic development, the Park has established a complete value chain from research to product commercialization to financing support. With comprehensive experimental facilities, translation services, and its own HK$1 billion venture capital fund, Park companies can rapidly achieve the transition from technological breakthrough to commercial landing.

Ms. Ng stated, "We look forward to working with Dalton Venture and numerous outstanding life sciences enterprises to deepen cooperation and jointly build a world-leading innovation and technology ecosystem, bringing a healthier future to the world."

HKEX Keynote Speech

04

Speaker: Chenjian Lu, Vice President, Global Issuer Services, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited

The soil of technological innovation cannot thrive without the nourishment of capital. Chenjian Lu, Vice President of Global Issuer Services at Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, delivered a keynote speech at the summit titled "New Momentum in Hong Kong's Capital Markets" from the capital markets perspective, introducing the latest policies and trends supporting biotech enterprise financing, including the 18A mechanism and the special purpose acquisition company listing regime.

Lu noted that over the past decade, Hong Kong's IPO market has ranked among the world's top for consecutive years, becoming the preferred listing destination for global enterprises, particularly technology and life sciences companies. He stated: "In recent years, the industry composition of new listings on HKEX has undergone profound changes, with enterprises in technology, healthcare, and new economy sectors now accounting for more than half of total fundraising. With the introduction of the '18A Biotech Company Listing Mechanism' and the '18C Specialist Technology Company Listing Mechanism,' Hong Kong is accelerating its emergence as a global hub for biotech and innovative technology enterprises."

Facing volatility in global capital markets, Lu emphasized that in the first quarter of this year, the Hang Seng Index stood out among major global stock markets, Hong Kong stock market trading volume repeatedly hit record highs, and southbound capital continued to flow in — demonstrating sustained investor confidence in Hong Kong's capital markets. He pointed out: "Hong Kong's market features a highly internationalized investor base, a flexible and efficient refinancing mechanism, and deep connectivity with mainland capital markets, providing an excellent financing platform and springboard for global development for innovative enterprises." On the policy front, Lu provided detailed explanations of listing conditions under the 18A and 18C frameworks, approval process optimizations, and financing advantages.

Lu concluded: "Hong Kong is a truly international market and the ideal gateway for Chinese innovative enterprises to go global. HKEX will continue to support more outstanding enterprises in achieving leapfrog growth on the global stage through mechanism innovation and market optimization."

PART 2

Science Leaders

Dialogue on Frontier Technology Development

Special Guest Keynote Speech

05

Speaker: Hon-Ming Lam, Choh-Ming Li Professor of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Director, State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology

Hon-Ming Lam, Choh-Ming Li Professor of Life Sciences at The Chinese University of Hong Kong and Director of the State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, delivered a keynote address on "Soybean Research and Applications" that balanced forward-looking vision with practical relevance. He noted that agriculture concerns not only human nutrition and health, but also the sustainable development of Earth's environment. China currently faces insufficient soybean self-sufficiency, compounded by scarce arable land and water resources alongside global climate change — challenges that demand biotechnological solutions to improve soybean cultivation efficiency, achieving high yields, stress tolerance, and resource-efficient utilization.

Professor Lam emphasized: "Agricultural technology innovation can not only enhance food production capacity, but also make significant contributions to emissions reduction and ecological restoration under carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals." He called for greater application of advanced technologies such as AI in agriculture to improve planting efficiency and intelligence.

Professor Lam's research achievements also align closely with Dalton Venture's investment focus in life sciences and food security. Through investments in projects including HaploX and Bioliduo, Dalton Venture is actively promoting agricultural technology innovation including molecular breeding, supporting food security and sustainable development. Professor Lam concluded by expressing hope for future collaboration with more technology innovators, combining scientific research with industrial application to build a new agricultural ecosystem that balances nutritional, environmental, and social value.

Special Guest Keynote Speech

06

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Speaker: Yike Guo, Provost, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (virtual)

Siri Han, Professor, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (presenting on his behalf)

During the special guest keynote session, Yike Guo, Provost of HKUST and Project Director of the Hong Kong Generative AI Research and Development Center (HKGAI), was originally scheduled to deliver a presentation titled "Artificial Intelligence: Advancing with the Times." Due to an urgent government meeting, Professor Guo sent video greetings to the conference and entrusted Siri Han, a core member of the center and HKUST professor, to present on his behalf.

Professor Han noted in her presentation that large AI models have become the dominant technology in computer science and human-computer interaction, with their intelligence evolution process bearing striking resemblance to the continuous evolution mechanisms of living organisms. She systematically explained how large model intelligence progressively approaches human-like cognitive patterns through continuous data learning, cognitive iteration, and value alignment.

Professor Han particularly emphasized that large models are not merely reproducing knowledge, but are gradually developing "hallucination" and "imagination" as creative characteristics — capabilities that will unlock enormous potential in precision medicine and personalized healthcare. She stated: "In the future, large model technology will be applied not only in information delivery and intelligent interaction, but also in the medical industry, enabling more precise and efficient diagnostic and treatment processes and promoting the universalization of healthcare."

Finally, Professor Han expressed hope for deeper future collaboration with life science innovators within Dalton Venture's ecosystem, jointly exploring new frontiers at the intersection of artificial intelligence and medical technology.

Panel Discussion

The Awakening of Multimodal Medical AI: How Healthcare Companies Should Position Themselves

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Haoyuan Huang, Senior Investment VP, Dalton Venture (Moderator)

Zaiqing Nie, Guoqiang Professor, Tsinghua University; Chief Scientist,水木分子

Jian Wang, Co-founder, Landing Med

Silun Wang, Founder, 医未医疗

Xin Qiao, Founder, Deepwise Healthcare

Bin Xu, Founder, 瑞鞍星

Zaiqing Nie, Guoqiang Professor at Tsinghua University and Chief Scientist at水木分子, believes that future innovative drug R&D will achieve full-process agentization, with foundation models bringing major breakthroughs in protein modeling and biological language reasoning. He noted: "Multimodal large models can integrate natural language with biomedical data, breaking through the limitations of traditional AIDD models to empower drug discovery and decision-making insights."

Jian Wang, Co-founder of Landing Med, shared practical experience in cervical cancer screening, adding: "The development of multimodal AI allows smaller companies to quickly enter the medical AI track, while also prompting us to increase grassroots market deployment and R&D investment to maintain competitive advantage."

Silun Wang, Founder of 医未医疗, stated: "Large models have brought disruptive advancement to digital therapeutics, particularly in cognitive disorder screening and rehabilitation scenarios, where intelligent assessment and intervention systems are accelerating and filling gaps in traditional digital therapeutics' insufficient evidence base."

Xin Qiao, Founder of Deepwise Healthcare, believes multimodal large models have broken through the ceiling of medical imaging AI development. He pointed out: "The future main battlefield of medical AI will lie in the deep integration of imaging and text data, with large models greatly enhancing the feasibility and scalability potential of full-process decision support systems."

Bin Xu, Founder of 瑞鞍星, shared explorations in intelligent surgical anesthesia management. He said: "In serious medical applications, AI technology must balance safety and interpretability. We are combining white-box and black-box technologies to drive the implementation of quantifiable, monitorable intelligent decision-making systems."

Portfolio Company Presentation

AI Agent for Life Science

Speaker: Zaiqing Nie, Guoqiang Professor, Tsinghua University; Chief Scientist,水木分子

Among vertical AI large models across industries, the medical field possesses unique professional rigor and seriousness, presenting challenges in both "training data" and "application targets." As a Dalton Venture portfolio company, 水木分子 has built upon the billion-parameter ChatDD-FM model to integrate multimodal data spanning natural language, molecules, proteins, and genes, enabling professional Q&A in biomedicine, tool invocation, and complex task decomposition — helping enterprises significantly improve R&D efficiency and explore new paradigms in drug discovery.

In his keynote address, Professor Nie Zaiqing offered an in-depth analysis of how large language models are revolutionizing biomedicine. With the widespread adoption of DeepSeek, these models have moved beyond the popular science phase to become essential industry tools. The unique characteristics of biomedical data — protein data in particular — are accelerating AI applications in drug discovery and biological research.

He noted that large models can help us understand protein structure and function, and that advances in biological foundation models and protein language models are opening new possibilities for predicting protein variants and discovering drugs. He emphasized that emergent AI capabilities will profoundly impact biomedicine within the next two to three years, potentially replacing traditional wet-lab experiments and saving substantial time and costs.

He also shared the latest progress in multimodal biomedical foundation models, noting that the deep integration of natural language and biological language will provide the pharmaceutical industry with intelligent reasoning and decision-support tools. The open-sourcing of the OpenBioMed agent platform means that even companies without strong algorithm teams can leverage advanced AI technology to improve R&D efficiency.

Family Company Presentations

The World's Leading General-Purpose Manipulation Robot

Speaker: Fang Ke, Co-founder and CFO, Astribot

The deployment of AI technology in the physical world depends on hardware platforms to make it real. Fang Ke, co-founder and CFO of Astribot, shared the company's innovations and challenges in robotics in his keynote "The World's Leading General-Purpose Manipulation Robot." He noted that the rapid development of embodied AI is closely tied to advances in AI technology itself, and that Astribot is committed to pushing breakthroughs in precision manipulation and commercial applications.

Fang emphasized that one of the core challenges in embodied AI is enabling robots to make independent judgments and adjustments in constantly changing environments. Astribot's robots have achieved significant technical breakthroughs in this area, particularly in their ability to respond quickly and self-correct when task sequences and object positions change, ensuring successful task completion. On the hardware front, Fang shared Astribot's progress over the past six months, especially regarding the stability of robot hardware mass production and cost optimization.

Family Company Presentations

Heart Failure Device Therapy: Integrated "Treatment + Diagnosis" and Big Data

Speaker: Wang Li, Founder, Chairman, and CEO, Heyuan Medical

Among the many medical scenarios Dalton Venture focuses on, cardiovascular disease — particularly acute episodes of heart failure — remains a major clinical challenge. In China, heart failure patients face difficulties accessing care at major hospitals, poor prognoses, and inconsistent diagnosis and management, with a five-year survival rate of just 34%. Addressing the enormous needs of over 12 million heart failure patients in China, Dalton Venture portfolio company Heyuan Medical is leading the industry's shift from passive treatment to intelligent intervention with its "active monitoring + precise treatment" approach. Dr. Wang Li, founder, chairman, and CEO of Heyuan Medical, delivered a keynote titled "Heart Failure Device Therapy: Integrated 'Treatment + Diagnosis' and Big Data."

Wang noted that heart failure patients have very high hospitalization rates, which drives up treatment costs. Globally, the number of heart failure patients is vast, and treatment expenses are substantial. While various heart failure treatment devices exist, most are only suitable for specific patient populations, and most treatment and diagnostic devices remain separate, requiring patients to undergo multiple procedures and increasing both risk and cost.

He further emphasized that the future trend is to integrate treatment and diagnosis into a single solution, using advanced technology to simplify treatment processes and improve outcomes. Heyuan Medical has already made important progress in this area, particularly in combining heart failure treatment devices with monitoring equipment. By monitoring cardiac pressure in real time during treatment, physicians can more precisely adjust therapeutic strategies, effectively reducing patient hospitalization and mortality rates.

Family Company Presentations

Chinese Innovation Reshaping Global Radiotherapy

11

Speaker: Liu Yichen, Executive President, OUR United Corporation

As a leading domestic radiotherapy equipment company, OUR United Corporation holds 1,250 patents (including 490 invention patents). Its gamma knife products have achieved import substitution, capturing over 70% of the domestic market, and have earned honors including the China Grand Prize for Industry and FDA Breakthrough Device Designation. Liu Yichen, executive president of OUR United Corporation, delivered the keynote "Chinese Innovation Reshaping Global Radiotherapy," sharing the company's journey of achieving radiotherapy breakthroughs through independent innovation.

She noted that OUR has pursued a strategy of "holding position, innovating to break through," starting from gamma knife technology and gradually expanding into X-ray therapy, AI-assisted treatment, and other areas — pushing radiotherapy from the "manual era" toward "full autopilot."

She explained: "The 'Tai Chi' technology developed on the foundation of gamma knife technology is the world's first treatment system combining X-ray and gamma ray therapy, breaking through the limitations of traditional radiotherapy." Tai Chi technology not only improves treatment efficacy but also significantly reduces patient radiation exposure through intelligent design, improving the treatment experience. The technology has already won multiple domestic and international awards and gained wide global application, marking a breakthrough in Chinese innovation in global radiotherapy.

Additionally, OUR United Corporation has launched the DaaS+ OUR Cloud Platform, aiming to further drive the digital and intelligent transformation of the radiotherapy industry through cloud services and intelligent decision-support systems. By partnering with hospitals, OUR is developing precise treatment protocols for different diseases, optimizing treatment processes and delivering more efficient medical services to patients.

Family Company Presentations

Global Leader in 3D-Printed Pharmaceuticals

12

Speaker: Senping Cheng, Founder and CEO, Triastek

Triastek focuses on disruptive breakthroughs in pharmaceutical manufacturing. Its independently developed melt extrusion deposition 3D printing technology is the world's first intelligent pharmaceutical platform enabling digital drug development and continuous production. This technology achieves programmed drug release through precise control of internal microstructures, solving complex delivery needs that traditional formulations cannot address. As the only Chinese pharmaceutical founder selected for the U.S. FDA's Emerging Technology Program, Dr. Senping Cheng delivered a keynote at the event.

She noted that since its founding in 2015, Triastek has overcome the "three zeros" of 3D-printed pharmaceuticals — no ecosystem, no equipment, no excipient system — independently developing a full-chain technology platform spanning drug design, equipment manufacturing, and continuous production.

"The complexity of 3D-printed pharmaceuticals lies in 'building the ecosystem from zero.' We don't just manufacture tablets — we have to build the printers, the excipient systems, even the industry standards. If oral biologics are the Everest of pharmaceuticals, then Triastek's toolbox makes the climb possible — every technical challenge has its corresponding key." she said in her presentation.

Family Company Presentations

Cell and Gene Therapy Frontier Technologies

13

Speaker: Li Ting, Vice President, Heyuan Biotech

Since Dalton Venture's early investment, Heyuan Biotech has grown into a global leader in innovative cell and gene therapy biopharmaceuticals. This year, the company has made notable progress in international expansion — its core product Yuanruida received approval in Macau last year, filling the gap for leukemia CAR-T therapy drugs in Macau, while the company is actively building overseas channels in Belt and Road countries, Saudi Arabia, and other markets.

Li Ting explained that Heyuan Biotech's self-developed inaticabtagene autoleucel injection has demonstrated significant clinical advantages, becoming China's first CAR-T product to receive "Breakthrough Therapy" designation. He also noted that in collaboration with Peking Union Medical College Hospital, the company published groundbreaking clinical data on CAR-T treatment for autoimmune diseases including lupus nephritis in the top-tier international medical journal The New England Journal of Medicine, opening up a new blue ocean for cell therapy.

On the commercialization front, Heyuan Biotech has innovatively proposed a "granary hospital" promotion model, strategically targeting nearly 100 medical institutions nationwide with cell therapy qualifications. Li Ting emphasized: "70% of CAR-T commercialization success depends on unpatentable know-how, reflected in every detail of clinical data benchmarking." The company is advancing technological iterations, upgrading from 1.0 customized manufacturing to 2.0 rapid manufacturing and 3.0 universal technology, with the goal of reducing treatment costs to one-tenth of current levels.

For international expansion, Heyuan Biotech has chosen Belt and Road countries that recognize Chinese clinical data as its breakthrough point, and is advancing marketing applications in Hong Kong and other regions. Li Ting stated: "Autoimmune diseases are the next blue ocean for cell therapy. Our breakthrough in lupus nephritis proves that CAR-T can rewrite the outcome of 'untreatable' conditions." The company plans to establish regional centers overseas to further expand into global markets.

With full-chain independent intellectual property rights and forward-looking technological positioning, Heyuan Biotech is rewriting the competitive landscape for Chinese innovative biopharmaceutical companies in the global cell therapy field, bringing accessible treatment hope to more patients.

Family Enterprise Keynote

Collagen Structure Modulation and Medical Applications

14

Speaker: Haoqi Tan, CEO of BioChuang Biotechnology

Serving sci-tech enterprises and facilitating the commercialization of technological achievements is the shared mission of venture capital. Dalton Venture has consistently focused on "investing small, investing early, and investing in hard technology" through deep incubation and early-stage investment, becoming the earliest investor for numerous nationally and globally first-of-their-kind technologies. BioChuang Biotechnology, a biomaterials company in which Dalton Venture invested at the angel round, developed its core technology from the team of Academician Changsheng Liu, President of Shanghai University. Based on the globally pioneering "biomacromolecule electrochemical deposition" EDP technology platform, the company has developed a series of innovative products including high-end oral membranes, artificial corneas, and bone membranes.

In his keynote address, BioChuang Biotechnology founder Haoqi Tan pointed out that while there are as many as 1,138 collagen-based medical devices currently in clinical use, high-end functional implant products account for less than 1%. The core bottleneck lies in the significant difference between the microstructure of artificial materials and natural tissue. BioChuang Biotechnology has innovatively proposed a physical field modulation strategy, using multi-field coupling technologies including electric fields, optical fields, and ionic fields to achieve precise control over collagen fiber diameter, orientation, pore size, and other parameters, bringing material performance closer to that of natural tissue.

"Materials biology is a new concept we have proposed — stimulating new properties in traditional materials through structural design," Tan emphasized. The company has established full-chain capabilities from high-purity raw material preparation to scaled production, and has obtained ISO 13485 certification. It is currently expanding two-dimensional membrane material technology into three dimensions, and exploring AI-assisted virtual structural design to accelerate the development of more innovative products.

As products such as artificial corneas enter clinical stages, BioChuang Biotechnology is poised to break foreign monopolies in the high-end collagen medical device field, providing more cost-effective Chinese solutions for tissue regeneration and repair.

Roundtable Forum

The Surging Ophthalmology Track: The "Hidden Gem" of Healthcare Investment

15

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Zhencheng Lin, Partner at Dalton Venture (Moderator)

Chaohong Ye, Chairman of Yuetong Ophthalmology

Yanbo Ling, Founder of Ruitong Biotech

Chi Zhang, Founder of Xiran Medical

Jun Li, Founder of Kerik Gene

Chaoxian He, Founder of Xisheng Microbiology

Ophthalmology is hailed as a "golden track" — both an innovation-driven high ground for technology and a frontier of life science dedicated to protecting human vision. The past decade has seen China's ophthalmology diagnosis and treatment market grow rapidly, with annual compound growth exceeding 20%, far outpacing the global average, and total market size surpassing 200 billion yuan. Ophthalmology is also one of Dalton Venture's most deeply positioned tracks. From medical services and ophthalmic devices to ophthalmic drugs and other sub-sectors, Dalton Venture has cumulatively invested in nearly 10 ophthalmology-related companies. Dalton Venture Partner Zhencheng Lin joined five founders from Dalton Venture Family ophthalmology enterprises to launch a roundtable discussion on "The Surging Ophthalmology Track: The 'Hidden Gem' of Healthcare Investment," engaging in in-depth exploration around industry development, internationalization strategy, and industrial collaboration.

Yuetong Ophthalmology Chairman Chaohong Ye stated: "The ophthalmology track has long slopes and thick snow, with enormous room for domestic substitution. Six years ago, 96% of ophthalmic drugs relied on imports. Today, the localization process for both devices and drugs is accelerating." Ruitong Biotech founder Yanbo Ling emphasized the special nature of ophthalmic products: "Ophthalmology is both the 'golden eye' and the 'precision eye' — high technical barriers, requiring a balance between medical and consumer attributes."

Facing domestic centralized procurement and competitive pressure, going global has become a consensus strategy. Xisheng Microbiology founder Chaoxian He noted: "We benchmarked against EU standards from the factory construction phase, planning to advance clinical trials domestically and abroad simultaneously." Regarding supply chain challenges, companies are generally adopting domestic substitution solutions. Jun Li mentioned: "Domestic CDMO capacity can already meet gene therapy needs — a 50-liter reactor can produce thousands of doses."

The roundtable discussion revealed that China's ophthalmology industry is shifting from follow-on innovation to original innovation, and the collaborative development of the entire industry chain will be key to breaking international monopolies. With the dual-wheel drive of technological innovation and business model innovation, China is poised to give birth to globally influential ophthalmology enterprises in the next decade.

PART 3

Cross-Border Dialogue

Helping Hong Kong Become the First Stop for Mainland Sci-Tech Enterprises "Going Global"

Shanghai-Hong Kong Exchange Symposium

16

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As global medtech innovation accelerates, overseas expansion has become an inevitable path for life sciences companies. Hong Kong — with its distinctive institutional environment, comprehensive clinical resources, and internationalized capital platform — is rapidly emerging as the first stop for an increasing number of innovative enterprises mapping out their global footprint.

On the afternoon of April 24, 2025, Dalton Venture, in partnership with InvestHK and the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises (OASES), hosted a Shanghai-Hong Kong exchange symposium at the InvestHK office. The event brought together over 30 founders from Dalton Venture's portfolio of outstanding mainland medtech startups. Under the theme of "Leveraging Hong Kong Resources to Accelerate Global Expansion," the gathering aimed to help Dalton ecosystem companies decode new opportunities for establishing a presence in Hong Kong and gain deeper understanding of the city's policy advantages, capital environment, internationalization pathways, and innovation-driven development prospects.

Mr. Daniel Wong, Director (Innovation & Technology) at InvestHK, delivered opening remarks. Dr. Katherine Lo, Director (Life & Health Technology) at OASES, and Ms. Emily Lok, Senior Vice President at InvestHK, highlighted Hong Kong's distinctive strengths in technology innovation, life and health sciences, financial support, and international connectivity. Government representatives provided detailed briefings on the Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Venture Fund, the Innovation and Technology Development Blueprint, the Greater Bay Area Medical Device and Drug Connectivity initiative, international financing channels, intellectual property protection, and tax incentive policies.

During the Q&A session, both sides engaged in in-depth discussions on how companies can set up Hong Kong subsidiaries to access global clinical resources, register medical devices locally, apply for R&D subsidies, attract scientific and management talent, and use Hong Kong as a springboard to expand into Southeast Asian, European, and American markets.

PART 4

Closing Remarks

Honoring the journey, writing the next chapter

Partner's Closing Address

17

Speaker: Ning Huang, Founding Partner, Dalton Venture

As the 2025 Dalton Venture CEO Summit drew to a close, Dalton Venture founder Ning Huang delivered remarks that brought this gathering of industry wisdom and cutting-edge ideas to a fitting conclusion.

He noted that the vigorous development of the healthcare industry depends on collaborative innovation and close cooperation across industry, academia, research, medicine, and investment. The CEO Summit is not merely a platform for exchanging frontier insights, but also a vital bond for advancing open collaboration. From AI-powered medicine to gene therapy, from innovative materials to ophthalmic technology, two days of deep discussion and exchange made it clear that Chinese medical innovation continues to push boundaries and actively integrate into the high-value segments of global value chains.

He specifically remarked: "Hong Kong, this dynamic city, with its unique institutional advantages and thriving innovation ecosystem, is becoming a critical pivot point for healthcare companies' global expansion. Here, we have witnessed both deep technological accumulation and the surging momentum of capital markets, while also experiencing the boundless possibilities created by cross-sector convergence."

In his address, Ning Huang extended sincere thanks to all participants: "Every speaker's genuine insight, every collision of ideas in our roundtable discussions, has allowed us to feel the true pulse of medical innovation. We are especially grateful for the strong support from relevant government departments and partner organizations, which has injected greater vitality and depth into the industry dialogue between mainland China and Hong Kong."

PART 5

Final Words

Riding the long wind, breaking through boundaries, pressing forward

This summit crystallized industry wisdom and consensus, showcasing Dalton Venture's strategic commitment and professional expertise in the life sciences track, while also demonstrating the ambition and responsibility of Chinese medical innovation as it steps onto the global stage.

Looking ahead, Dalton Venture will continue to uphold its philosophy of "Connect, Empower, Co-create," joining hands with partners across the industry to accelerate the globalization of medical technology and help Chinese innovation shine even more brilliantly on the international stage.

Taking today as our prologue, let us continue writing a new chapter for this era on the great journey of safeguarding human health!

Through thorns and brambles,

we never betrayed our celestial ambitions;

Through fierce winds and towering waves,

the roc's wings unfold even wider.

May every persistence lead to dawn,

May every ideal sown by fellow travelers here

Break ground and grow into forest.

At the next harvest season,

We shall reunite with ripe fruit and stories to tell!

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