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Hong Kong tech founders weigh Silicon Valley versus staying local
One founder behind an AI app with 500,000 users says he is looking to Silicon Valley for more support, amid concerns that Hong Kong lacks early stage backing.
Hong Kong tech enthusiasts Rexan Wong Chak-chi and Ken Mochizuki, both 18, are pursuing business ideas with sharply different plans for where to build, with Wong targeting Silicon Valley in the United States and Mochizuki hoping to stay in Hong Kong and focus on local impact.
The piece points to a tension between Hong Kong’s cutting edge university research and criticism that the city’s risk averse culture, along with limited early stage support, could encourage young talent to move to overseas ecosystems.
Wong says his interest in AI started at age 15 after a class on building mobile applications, and he connected with tech entrepreneurs through X, formerly known as Twitter.
He developed an AI powered app called Text Behind Image in 2024, which he says lets 500,000 users create images with text behind featured objects.