The development of a new generation of general‑purpose intelligent robots with a range of key features, including adaptive capability and embodied intelligence, has become a global priority. Accordingly, many leading technology businesses across Chinese Mainland are making use of the supportive measures on offer from the Hong Kong SAR government, including innovation and technology (I&T) funding, talent admission schemes and bonded convenience, in order to connect to the huge Guangdong‑Hong Kong‑Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) market and as a step toward their wider global business expansion ambitions.

One enterprise already benefiting from this strategy is the Shanghai‑based Flexiv Technology Company (Flexiv), a business with its own independent and controllable full‑stack technology, full‑scenario product matrix and global industrial layout. At present, it is focusing on further integrating into Hong Kong’s I&T ecosystem, while looking to place the city at the heart of its international development strategy.

Intelligent robots

Established in 2016 by a team from California’s Stanford University, two years later it opened its China headquarters in Shanghai, a facility that serves as both an R&D and an operations centre. The company now has offices in Beijing, Shenzhen, Foshan, Silicon Valley and Singapore, while having a global workforce of some 400, 200 of which are employed at its Shanghai R&D centre.

In 2025, Flexiv was accorded the status of national‑level specialised, sophisticated and innovation‑driven “little giant” SME, confirming its benchmark standing within the general‑purpose intelligent robotics field. Its products and solutions are now in use across a variety of sectors, including industry, agriculture, hospitality and scientific research, with 30‑40% of its business overseas‑oriented. Of late, the company has secured more than US$100 million in Series C financing, while establishing itself as one of the comparatively few unicorns in the intelligent robotics field.

 
Exhibition Hall of the Flexiv (Foshan) Production Base. (Source: Flexiv)
 

Hong Kong: A strategic global development hub

A technology company with a truly global vision, Flexiv has already integrated Hong Kong into its development strategy, with the level of related co‑operation continuing to rise. To this end, it was a key supporter of the 2024 Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area AI Industry Conference and remains a keen participant in moves to enhance the GBA’s I&T ecosystem. The company has also worked with the Hong Kong Productivity Council to develop AI applications in the general‑purpose robotics field, including initiatives related to coffee making and the insertion / extraction of wire harnesses.

 
Rizon 4, the mass‑produced adaptive robot of Flexiv. (Source: Flexiv)
 

Leveraging Hong Kong’s internationalised platform, policy advantages and technological resources, Flexiv has also identified a number of specific multi‑dimensional development strategies, which it hopes to refine via the city’s resources:

• Expand global business reach: By utilising Hong Kong as a bridgehead, Flexiv is looking to capitalise on the city’s international business environment, global trade network and strategic location within Southeast Asia. This will see it focus on expanding demand for robotic automation in Southeast Asia’s manufacturing and service industries as it prioritises increasing its overseas business. As a sign of its commitment, during the November 2025 edition of the Hong Kong Productivity Council-hosted GBA International Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Summit, Flexiv showcased its portfolio of related products to a wide variety of domestic and overseas attendees.
• Deepen industry-academia-research co-operation: A number of local universities, including the University of Hong Kong, the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, are globally renowned for the quality of their robotics and AI-related research. Looking to capitalise on this, Flexiv intends to intensify its commitment to industry-academia-research and talent co-operation, while making use of Hong Kong’s success in attracting high-level R&D and engineering talent from around the world. This will see it build a talent pool for the company’s own development and as a boost to the wider Hong Kong I&T ecosystem. The Chinese University of Hong Kong has already incorporated Flexiv’s adaptive robotic arms into its research work in the robotics and AI fields.
• Utilise the city’s capital market: Overall, Flexiv sees Hong Kong as the optimum locale for its public listing, believing the city’s capital market represents a mature international investor base, making it the ideal fit for the company, which already has an impressive track record when it comes to co-operating with US dollar funds. As an added appeal, the SAR government has rolled out a series of policy measures designed to attract listings from prime technology companies, including improving its IPO mechanism via the enhanced listing rules facilitated by the recently added Chapter 18C legislation. These measures are seen as providing high-tech companies, such as Flexiv, with a fast and convenient listing pathway.
• Offer innovative business solutions: Largely on account of the Mainland’s strict import restrictions on secondhand electromechanical devices, the expensive and time-consuming procedures related to the return of equipment for repair by overseas customers have become major issues for the industry. Championing a forward-looking solution, designed to take advantage of Hong Kong’s international logistics and professional service resources, Flexiv has set up a global repair centre in Hong Kong to carry out equipment testing, repair and re-export services. This sees its global clients provided with a convenient and efficient equipment repair and after-sales maintenance service.

 
Different angles of adaptive robots. (Source: Flexiv)
 

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All views expressed in the Market Trends section reflect those of the individual correspondent and any interviewees. They are neither endorsed nor verified by the HKTDC.