The Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) has opened a bold new chapter in Asia’s technology landscape with the GBA International Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Summit 2025, a gathering that unites global innovators, scholars, and business pioneers under the theme “Empowering Resilient Industries through Embodied AI.” The event aims to accelerate Hong Kong’s transformation into a global hub for advanced robotics and artificial intelligence.
The Summit, officiated by Professor Dong Sun, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, celebrates not just research excellence but real-world application. Running parallel to the Summit, the “AI and Robotics Fest” invites the public to witness how artificial intelligence is reshaping manufacturing, logistics, retail, and city management. Together, these events mark a powerful convergence of ideas, positioning Hong Kong as a leading driver of “AI for All” and the next wave of new productive forces.
Building Momentum Behind National and Regional AI Strategies
The event aligns with China’s national “15th Five-Year Plan,” which stresses the acceleration of technological innovation and the full implementation of the “AI+” initiative. The plan calls for integrating artificial intelligence into the foundation of industrial and economic development, emphasizing how AI must empower productivity rather than replace it.
In line with this direction, the Hong Kong government has classified artificial intelligence as a core engine for new industrialization. Through research, development, and cross-sector collaboration, HKPC intends to nurture a robust AI ecosystem capable of driving sustainable growth.
This year’s Summit is more than a meeting—it’s a strategic platform. It brings together government officials, academic thinkers, industry leaders, and investors to discuss themes such as digital economy expansion, large-scale AI deployment, and the synergy between robotics and manufacturing. By bridging dialogue across these domains, the event transforms innovation into action, preparing Hong Kong for a future of resilient, AI-driven productivity.
Professor Dong Sun: “AI and Robotics Are Central to Our Future”
During the opening ceremony, Professor Dong Sun expressed Hong Kong’s commitment to becoming a recognized international innovation and technology center. He emphasized that the government’s multi-pronged strategy focuses on cultivating AI research capabilities, attracting global expertise, enhancing digital infrastructure, and encouraging industrial application.
He underscored that events like the Summit are essential for uniting visionaries and policymakers who can translate ideas into impactful collaborations. He highlighted that Hong Kong’s cooperation with cities across the Greater Bay Area will play a critical role in advancing both local and national innovation goals.
His message resonated deeply with attendees: the development of AI and robotics isn’t an isolated pursuit—it’s a collective mission requiring open innovation, shared vision, and purposeful leadership.
From Laboratory Innovation to Real-World Scale
The Summit’s Humanoid Robotics Exhibition presents a sweeping view of embodied intelligence, showcasing machines that not only move but understand, adapt, and learn. Visitors encounter humanoid robots and quadruped machines built by Unitree Robotics and its Hong Kong agent POI Corporation, as well as sophisticated humanoids by Ubtech and multi-limbed robots by Agibot and Nokodar Autonomy.
The exhibition also features Flexiv’s adaptive robotic arm, Keenon’s service robots, and advanced AI agent platforms from GPTBots.ai under Aurora. Each display reveals the accelerating integration of perception, language, and physical dexterity that defines the frontier of embodied AI.
This convergence marks a turning point where robotics leaves the confines of research labs and enters commercial and social life. From warehouse logistics to education and healthcare, the showcased systems illustrate how AI-driven embodiment is reshaping the human-technology relationship—turning automation into intelligent partnership.
A Market on the Edge of Transformation
Mr. Emil Yu Chen-on, Deputy Chairman of HKPC, emphasized the enormous potential of embodied AI. He projected that the global market for embodied intelligence could exceed 23 billion USD by 2030, with China commanding nearly one-third of global value.
Yu reminded participants that the true power of AI lies not in its algorithms but in its accessibility. Every business, from small shops to global manufacturers, should be able to use AI confidently and affordably. To achieve that, HKPC continues to play four interconnected roles: promoter, connector, implementer, and gatekeeper.
By simplifying AI adoption and ensuring responsible governance, the Council aims to make artificial intelligence understandable, usable, and inclusive—a tool that uplifts every worker and enterprise. Yu’s message reinforced HKPC’s mission to bridge innovation with industry, ensuring AI for All becomes more than a slogan.
Technology in Action: The “AI and Robotics Fest”
Running in tandem with the Summit, the “AI and Robotics Fest” brings ideas to life through hands-on experiences, immersive demonstrations, and guided tours. The Fest was designed to address one major obstacle faced by small and medium-sized enterprises: the struggle to move from experimental AI use to full-scale deployment.
Participants can explore live scenarios where robots and AI systems manage logistics operations, provide customer service, and analyze industrial data in real time. Through practical showcases, HKPC demonstrates how AI adoption doesn’t have to be daunting. The message is clear: technology becomes truly transformative only when people can touch, test, and trust it.
Insights from the “AI Readiness in Workplace Survey 2025”
Earlier this year, the HKPC Academy released a pivotal survey on AI adoption in the workplace. Results revealed that nearly 90 percent of employees already use some form of AI tool daily, yet more than half of organizations lack cohesive strategies or centralized platforms.
The main barriers are training gaps and inconsistent internal policies. Many businesses understand AI’s potential but struggle to apply it systematically. By hosting the Summit and Fest, HKPC hopes to bridge these gaps—empowering companies to build a unified AI vision supported by capable teams and ethical standards.
Four Pillars Guiding the Future
HKPC structured the Summit and its related programs around four foundational pillars:
- Standards and Governance:
HKPC introduced the AI Governance and Safety Assessment Service, helping enterprises develop transparent, auditable frameworks that ensure compliance and trust. - Technology and Solutions:
Exhibitors presented applications across manufacturing, education, and logistics, including systems for voice interaction, visual analysis, and autonomous coordination. - Talent and Capability:
Through technical briefings and guided sessions, enterprises learned how to upskill their teams and foster adaptive cultures for AI integration. - Live Scenarios and Validation:
Demonstrations in areas like food services, manufacturing, and urban operations enabled businesses to witness AI’s practical value at minimal cost, closing the gap between prototype and production.
This integrated approach ensures that businesses do not merely adopt technology but evolve alongside it—developing internal expertise and sustainable operational models.
Expanding the “AI for All” Mission
HKPC continues to push the boundaries of inclusion through its “AI for All” initiative. The program emphasizes three main routes: internal practice, training, and technological deployment. In the past two years, the Council has trained more than 22,000 individuals and developed an internal AI tool known as “AIM.”
HKPC also integrated over 250 AI applications into the “D-Biz Easy” platform, allowing small and medium enterprises to experiment with AI affordably. This initiative lowers the barriers to digital transformation, helping local industries scale innovation at their own pace.
By democratizing access to AI tools, HKPC ensures that innovation does not remain the privilege of a few but becomes the strength of an entire economy.
A Week of Discovery and Collaboration
The event runs through November 13, offering a packed schedule of sessions and forums that cater to diverse interests across technology and policy.
- November 10 – GBA International AI and Robotics Summit 2025
A full-day event focused on embodied intelligence and industrial resilience, featuring experts from across the globe including Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, and Mainland China. - November 11 – “AI-Enabled Next-Generation Smart City” Symposium
This session explores how AI is revolutionizing public infrastructure, enhancing urban efficiency, and promoting sustainability. It also introduces generative AI models and AI safety systems shaping tomorrow’s city planning. - November 10–13 – AI and Robotics Tech Hall Guided Tours
Morning and afternoon sessions reveal the capabilities of next-generation robots with multi-modal sensory systems and refined motor coordination, showcasing how intelligent machines achieve human-like precision and motion balance. - November 13 – AI Advanced Manufacturing Forum
Dedicated to international collaboration in intelligent manufacturing, the forum delves into flexible production, additive manufacturing, and the practical implementation of industrial AI solutions across global markets.
Public and corporate participants are invited to register online and immerse themselves in these interactive experiences that reveal the dawn of a new industrial era.
The Broader Vision: Strengthening Hong Kong’s Innovation Ecosystem
The Hong Kong Productivity Council has long stood as a pillar of industrial modernization. Established in 1967, it remains committed to advancing productivity through world-class technologies and holistic service offerings that help enterprises thrive.
Its mission now extends beyond productivity enhancement—it aims to cultivate a city powered by innovation. By connecting research with enterprise and encouraging startups to experiment boldly, HKPC enables Hong Kong to compete globally as a smart, future-ready metropolis.
The Council’s impact reaches well beyond its borders. With its “Cradle – Go Global Service Centre,” HKPC supports companies seeking international expansion by guiding them through technology transfer, product design, and market entry strategies.
Such initiatives strengthen Hong Kong’s role in the Greater Bay Area and fortify China’s standing in global innovation networks. By turning visionary ideas into tangible progress, HKPC demonstrates how innovation, when coupled with determination, can transform entire economies.
Cultivating the Future Workforce
Beyond technology and policy, HKPC recognizes that human capital is the foundation of every transformation. Through its FutureSkills training programs, the Council equips students, professionals, and enterprises with the tools needed to master digital fluency, data analytics, and STEM-related disciplines.
These programs ensure that as automation expands, human creativity and leadership remain central. The future of AI depends not only on algorithms but on the minds capable of guiding them ethically and strategically.
HKPC’s training initiatives bridge this gap, ensuring that technological progress is paired with human adaptability—a crucial balance in a rapidly changing global economy.
Embodied AI: The Next Frontier
Embodied intelligence represents the evolution of artificial intelligence from pure data processing to physical reasoning. Unlike traditional AI confined to screens, embodied AI manifests in machines that see, move, and respond dynamically to the world.
This field merges machine learning, robotics, and sensory perception, resulting in systems that understand their environment and adapt to unpredictable situations. For industries like logistics, healthcare, and education, embodied AI opens opportunities to create solutions that work alongside people rather than replace them.
Hong Kong’s adoption of embodied AI places it at the forefront of this transformation, combining its established infrastructure with a new generation of robotics innovation. This blend of physical and digital intelligence symbolizes the next phase of industrial progress.
Why Embodied AI Matters for Hong Kong
Hong Kong’s dense urban structure, fast-paced logistics networks, and high labor costs make it an ideal testing ground for AI-driven automation. Robots that can navigate warehouses, assist in elderly care, or handle last-mile delivery can drastically boost efficiency.
At the same time, embodied AI contributes to public safety and city management. Autonomous systems can monitor infrastructure, identify hazards, and support emergency response operations.
HKPC’s focus on this domain is not coincidental—it reflects a strategic vision to use AI not only as a productivity tool but as a societal force for better living standards.
As the Summit showcased, Hong Kong’s innovation journey is now deeply intertwined with human-centered AI, where technology amplifies the capabilities of workers, citizens, and institutions.
Global Collaboration and Innovation Synergy
A defining feature of the Summit is its global reach. Experts from Switzerland, Germany, Japan, Korea, and Mainland China exchange insights on regulation, ethics, and the commercialization of AI.
This cross-border cooperation underscores how artificial intelligence thrives through collective innovation. The dialogue between policymakers and entrepreneurs accelerates the translation of academic research into practical industrial use.
By inviting these perspectives, HKPC ensures Hong Kong remains not just a consumer of innovation but a contributor to the global AI discourse.
Looking Beyond 2025
The Summit’s success hints at a long-term transformation. The seeds planted through its panels, partnerships, and demonstrations will continue to influence Hong Kong’s innovation agenda for years.
As embodied AI and robotics continue to mature, they will redefine industries, reshape labor markets, and inspire new educational models. The true achievement of this event lies not only in the machines displayed but in the mindset shift it catalyzes—a collective readiness to build a future where humans and intelligent systems co-create value.
The GBA International Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Summit 2025 thus marks more than a technological milestone; it is a declaration that Hong Kong stands ready to lead Asia into the age of embodied intelligence.
