Building Hong Kong's AI brand for the global market 

While most entrepreneurs envision doing well while doing good, Gary Ng and Hugo Cheuk aimed only for “doing good” when they set up viAct 14 years after their graduation from university. At that time, they have been promoted to management level already. Thanks to their market insight and passion for innovation, viAct enjoys steady growth and boasts promising prospects. Now Gary and Hugo not only do good, but do well too.

Hugo and Gary graduated from the Department of Building Services Engineering of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University in 2002. Hugo recalled an occasion when he was working on a construction site. That day, he and his foreman had a good chat about work and they planned to continue the discussion next day. Yet bad news came the following morning: the foreman was killed in a lift shaft accident. Hugo was sad for a long time and since then, he sensed a calling that he needs to find ways to reduce industrial accidents.

Having worked in an engineering consultancy company for many years, Gary was familiar with the workflow of Hong Kong's construction industry. He later spent a number of years abroad as an executive in a US-listed technology company, where he was exposed to many cutting-edge technologies. He believes that innovation and technology are not widely adopted by the construction industry in Hong Kong, and hence there are issues with efficiency, cost-effectiveness and environment protection. In his view, there is plenty of room for improvement.

Braving the AI frontier
Gary and Hugo have been good friends since university days, and they have been thinking about setting up their business together for a long time. They both excel in career development, having over 10 years’ experience of handling a variety of businesses in large corporations. Nonetheless, they decided to step out of their comfort zone and chase their dream. They wanted to develop proprietary AI technologies to enhance the competitiveness of local companies. Gary was so determined to contribute to Hong Kong’s technological development and the betterment of the construction industry that he quit his high-paid job and co-founded their AI venture in 2016, despite the increasing financial burden associated with the birth of his daughter that year.

This pair of good friends invested their savings and years of time to solve the pain points of the industry with endless innovation. In 2019, they officially launched their own AI brand: viAct. The cloud-based monitoring platform for construction sites uses AI technology to provide real-time analysis of images and various data, such as workers’ safety equipment and behaviours, the operation of machinery and vehicles, as well as the classification of construction waste and refuse, and issue timely alerts to improve construction safety and operational efficiency. It also helps reduce the manpower needed for monitoring the construction site and alleviate the labour shortage problem in the industry. viAct's AI solutions can also help the industry understand carbon emissions and drive carbon neutrality by providing relevant data, enabling companies to meet the environmental, social and governance requirements. Since its inception, viAct has been involved in over 100 projects. Apart from Hong Kong, some projects are in Southeast Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

A tough journey
It is never easy to start a business. According to Gary, when viAct was still a young company in 2017/18, the HKSAR government was keen on encouraging entrepreneurship development, but the support the company received from the government was very limited. They thus decided to bootstrap themselves. Taking reference from start-up ecosystems in other countries, they established a mutual support network with other entrepreneurs in Hong Kong. Members of the network regularly meet to share information and exchange ideas, learn from one another's successes and failures, as well as seek support from peers.

Hugo, Chief Operating Officer of viAct, said that the local market is too small. Even if some start-ups start off well with a good product or concept, they will soon find the Hong Kong market too small. The Mainland Chinese market is of course huge, but so are competition and risks there. It is not easy for local start-ups to expand their business in the Mainland unless they have sufficient capital and budget. viAct will eventually venture into the Greater Bay Area and other Mainland cities in the future, but not until they have a solid foundation first.

Talent and product quality are key to success
Another challenge for viAct is the lack of local IT talents, especially those who are willing to take the risk in joining a start-up. As Chief Executive Officer of the company, Gary focuses on technology development, and regards IT talents as the soul of viAct because their company needs to conduct R&D continuously. viAct thus team up with IT talents from other Asian countries. While managing such a diverse team is not easy, the different backgrounds and cultures of teammates indeed help stimulate new ideas, which are exactly what a start-up needs.

viAct has been able to stand out despite the challenges, because it understands market needs and it keeps reaching out to companies to validate its concepts and enhance its products. viAct has so far developed over 50 AI modules which can fulfil the requirements of different countries and construction sites. Among its clients are sizeable construction companies and developers, as well as government offices in Hong Kong and Asia.

viAct is one of the six most outstanding technology companies selected for Josef Umdasch Research Prize 2022, a European award that aims to recognise innovative research achievements. viAct is the first ever Hong Kong company to be honoured by this award. In February this year, viAct became the first non-Israeli company to be invited to join an incubation programme supported by the Israeli government. In May, it was invited by the Austrian government to join Go Austria 2022 for a two-week exchange programme.

Raising fund for overseas expansion
Fundraising is vital for a start-up. viAct managed to secure a US$2 million seed fund in 2021 from venture capital funds such as SOSV, Vectr Ventures, Artesian Ventures, Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund and ParticleX. It is now undergoing another round of fundraising with a view to gathering capital for expansion beyond Hong Kong. viAct's vision is to build an international AI brand and then venture into the global market.