Ideas in Motion: The HKU Founders Creating Global Impact

HKU Innovation Week is our annual flagship celebration of innovation and entrepreneurship. The event returns this year from 12 to 16 October, as a vibrant, living ecosystem – The Innovation Reef: Where Ideas Breed and Thrive.

Just as coral reefs sustain thriving marine ecosystems, the programme will bring over 1,000 representatives from government, industry, academia, research and investment community. Through thematic forums, industry networking sessions and insights shared by leading startup founders, Innovation Week aims to foster cross-disciplinary and cross-sector collaboration while elevating Hong Kong’s research breakthroughs onto the global stage.

Sign up now and join us on 14 October to connect with innovators, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders, exchange valuable insights, explore new collaboration opportunities, and discover the latest trends shaping the future!

Archireef: From HKU Lab to the Middle East, and the World Economic Forum

Coral reefs are vital to healthy oceans. They provide breeding and feeding grounds for roughly a quarter of all marine species and underpin fisheries and tourism economies. Unfortunately, they are in the middle of the sharpest decline on record.

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Dr Vriko Yu witnessed that loss. In 2014, then a PhD candidate at HKU, she saw a coral community die within two months. It pushed her not only to look for a solution, but to take one to market.

Archireef, the spin-out she co-founded with her PhD supervisor and co-founder, Professor David Baker. School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, and Mr Deniz Tekerek, a mentor she met through HKU’s iDendron, now operates in Hong Kong, UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Together with Associate Professor Dr Christian Lange and Assistant Professor Lidia Ratoi from the Faculty of Architecture, the team developed the world's first 3D-printed clay reef tile, an eco-friendly structure with the complexity coral requires. Its folds and crevices give coral fragments a place to attach, survive and grow.

From Hong Kong to the Middle East

Archireef's work in Hong Kong, Singapore, UAE and Saudi Arabia has earned international recognition, including selection as a World Economic Forum UpLink Top Innovator, a Bloomberg New Economy Catalyst, and a place on the Forbes Asia 100 to Watch list. The company has also signed an MoU with the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi to collaborate on research and projects restoring marine habitat and protecting marine biodiversity in the Emirate.

“I received a great deal of encouragement to step outside my comfort zone – from my PhD supervisor Professor David Baker, and from many people across the University,” Dr Yu said. “Scientists no longer live in an ivory tower. We are in an era where everything has to be proved on the ground. Science is more impactful than ever.”

CereThera: World-First Nanopowder Nasal Spray for Prehospital Stroke Rescue

When a stroke happens, every single minute dictates a patient's future. But what if we could start saving brain cells before the ambulance even reaches the hospital?

Dr Shao Zitong, Postdoctoral Fellow at the Advanced Biomedical Instrumentation Centre (ABIC) of HKU, founded CereThera. Together with Professor Aviva Chow, Associate Professor from the Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy at HKUMed and Co-Principal Investigator at the ABIC, the CereThera team have developed a groundbreaking nasal spray that could protect patients in the immediate aftermath of an ischemic stroke, even at prehospital stage. The high potential of the nasal spray earned the Special Grand Prize - Prize of the Chinese Delegation and Gold Medal with Congratulations of the Jury at the 51st International Exhibition of Inventions Geneva 2026.

Ischemic infarct reduced by over 80%

The NanoPowder Nasal Spray delivers neuroprotective agents rapidly through the nose-to-brain delivery route, effectively bypassing the blood-brain barrier. In pre-clinical animal studies, the treatment reduced the size of ischemic brain infarcts by around 80%, significantly protecting brain cells from death and preserving neurological function.

Stroke ranks as the second leading cause of death and long-term disability worldwide, while ischemic stroke accounts for about 70% of all stroke cases. Treatment opportunities are often limited to a very narrow time window, making every second count. The NanoPowder Nasal Spray addresses this urgent challenge through the "Nano-in-Micron" technology platform, which the CereThera team spent over a decade developing. Portable, user-friendly, and fast-acting, the nasal spray is designed for immediate emergency use by first responders, caregivers, or patients themselves.

CereThera is now advancing toxicology studies and clinical trials, with the goal of making the spray widely available as a first-line emergency defence for stroke patients. To ensure that the spray aligns with treatment protocols, the team is also actively collecting feedback from emergency physicians and neurologists.

AilsynBio: AI Accelerates and Transforms Drug Discovery and Development

Drug discovery is a costly and time-consuming process, often taking more than a decade and requiring significant investment. Many drug candidates fail before reaching clinical development due to challenges in efficacy, safety, or developability.

AilsynBio, an AI-driven drug discovery startup incubated at HKU, is transforming this process through its proprietary platform that combines artificial intelligence, computational chemistry, and biotechnology. By helping researchers identify therapeutic targets and design promising molecules more efficiently, the company aims to accelerate the development of new medicines.

AilsynBio has established collaborations with leading pharmaceutical companies, including China Resources Pharmaceutical Group, and is expanding the global reach of innovations originating from Hong Kong. The company has also gained industry recognition, advancing to the finals of the innovation competition Youth Innovation+ after achieving a first-place ranking in a qualifying round.

AI-Powered Drug Discovery

Founded by Dr. Serena Yang, an HKU Chemistry alumna, AilsynBio has developed an end-to-end drug discovery platform that integrates AI, physics-based modeling, and medicinal chemistry. The platform supports target identification, mechanism-of-action analysis, and molecular design and optimization.

Unlike many conventional AI models that rely primarily on historical data, AilsynBio combines AI with fundamental principles of physics, chemistry, and biology, enabling predictions even in areas with limited existing data. This helps researchers identify promising drug candidates earlier, reducing both development costs and risk.