Hong Kong, 15 June 2026 – Cyberport and Prudential Hong Kong Limited (“Prudential”) today announced the launch of the Cantonese Voice AI Challenge, a joint initiative designed to attract start-ups, technology companies, and academic institutions to develop practical, high-impact AI solutions for the insurance industry and beyond.
Announced at today’s AI Cohort Symposium hosted by the Insurance Authority of Hong Kong, the Challenge is a key initiative stemming from the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between Cyberport and Prudential in December 2025. It also supports the Insurance Authority’s AI Cohort Programme, reflecting a shared commitment to strengthening Hong Kong’s position as a leading hub for AI innovation.
With the aim to advance the development and adoption of Cantonese Voice Artificial Intelligence (AI) by focusing on real-world insurance use cases, the Challenge will foster innovation, benchmark industry capabilities, and identify emerging talent across Hong Kong’s AI ecosystem.
Ir Eric Chan, Chief Public Mission Officer of Cyberport, said, “As Hong Kong’s digital tech hub and AI accelerator, Cyberport is committed to accelerating Hong Kong’s development as an international I&T hub by fostering cross-sector collaboration and driving real-world AI adoption. Building on the Insurance Authority’s AI Cohort Programme and our strategic partnership with Prudential, the Challenge demonstrates how regulators, industry leaders and innovators can transform AI vision into practical applications that enhance customer service excellence for the insurance sector. As home to Hong Kong’s largest FinTech community of over 400 FinTech start-ups, Cyberport continues to connect insurers, AI innovators and technology talent to drive InsurTech innovation across the insurance and wider financial services sectors. By leveraging Cyberport’s AI ecosystem, industry network and infrastructure, we aim to advance Cantonese AI capabilities, nurture local talent, and further strengthen Hong Kong’s position as a leading international FinTech hub and financial centre.”
Alex Wong, Regional Chief Information Technology Officer (CITO) for Greater China, Prudential plc, and CITO for Hong Kong and Macau, Prudential Hong Kong, remarked: “The next phase of AI in insurance will be defined not by technical capability alone, but by its relevance to customers and readiness for scale. By advancing Cantonese Voice AI that is relevant and fit for practical application, and by nurturing the talent required to scale these capabilities, we aim to contribute to the long‑term advancement of Hong Kong’s insurance ecosystem. Our collaboration with Cyberport represents an important step in moving AI from vision to meaningful impact, one that requires shared standards and real‑world use cases.”
Aligned with the broader direction set by the Insurance Authority’s AI Cohort Programme, Prudential continues to invest in AI to strengthen industry capabilities and improve efficiency. The company is actively contributing to the Insurance Authority’s GenA.I. Sandbox++ programme, reinforcing its commitment to responsible and scalable innovation. By reviewing its end-to-end customer value chain, Prudential is exploring targeted use cases across risk management, health and call centre operations. These initiatives aim to ensure the safe and responsible adoption of AI, enable faster resolution and enhanced customer experience, and deliver smarter, more efficient and fraud-resilient customer journeys. Through its continued participation in sandboxing initiatives, Prudential seeks to catalyse the adoption of trusted AI innovation at scale while contributing to the advancement of Hong Kong’s digital ecosystem.
Designed as a three-stage competition culminating in a live final, the Challenge will assess submissions across four key dimensions: automatic speech recognition (ASR), large language model (LLM), text-to-speech (TTS), and overall end-to-end experience.
A distinguished panel of judges comprising leaders from the insurance sector, the AI industry, and academia will evaluate the entries in the live final. Winning teams will receive opportunities for potential proof-of-concept development, exposure at industry and flagship events, and potential business collaboration.
The Challenge is open to all AI innovators, including individuals, start-ups, technology providers and academic institutions. Details on participation and submission will be announced via Cyberport’s official social media channels in August 2026.
Important timeline to note*
| August | Online application & information session |
| September-November | Competition period |
| November | Award presentation |
*Subject to official announcements via Cyberport’s social media channels.
Cyberport and Prudential today announced the launch of the Cantonese Voice AI Challenge, a joint initiative designed to attract start-ups, technology companies and academic institutions to develop practical, high-impact AI solutions for the insurance industry and beyond.
Ir Eric Chan, Chief Public Mission Officer of Cyberport, said, “As Hong Kong’s digital tech hub and AI accelerator, Cyberport is committed to accelerating Hong Kong’s development as an international I&T hub by fostering cross-sector collaboration and driving real-world AI adoption. Building on the Insurance Authority’s AI Cohort Programme and our strategic partnership with Prudential, the Challenge demonstrates how regulators, industry leaders and innovators can transform AI vision into practical applications that enhance customer service excellence for the insurance sector. As home to Hong Kong’s largest FinTech community of over 400 FinTech start-ups, Cyberport continues to connect insurers, AI innovators and technology talent to drive InsurTech innovation across the insurance and wider financial services sectors. By leveraging Cyberport’s AI ecosystem, industry network and infrastructure, we aim to advance Cantonese AI capabilities, nurture local talent, and further strengthen Hong Kong’s position as a leading international FinTech hub and financial centre.”
Alex Wong, Regional Chief Information Technology Officer (CITO) for Greater China, Prudential plc, and CITO for Hong Kong and Macau, Prudential Hong Kong, remarked: “The next phase of AI in insurance will be defined not by technical capability alone, but by its relevance to customers and readiness for scale. By advancing Cantonese Voice AI that is relevant and fit for practical application, and by nurturing the talent required to scale these capabilities, we aim to contribute to the long‑term advancement of Hong Kong’s insurance ecosystem. Our collaboration with Cyberport represents an important step in moving AI from vision to meaningful impact, one that requires shared standards and real‑world use cases.”
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About Hong Kong Cyberport
Wholly owned by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government, Cyberport is Hong Kong’s digital tech hub and AI accelerator, with a vision to empower industry digitalisation and intelligent transformation, to promote digital economy and AI development, and to foster Hong Kong to be an international AI, innovation and technology (I&T) hub. Cyberport gathers over 2,300 companies, including 18 listed companies and 9 unicorns. One-third of onsite companies’ founders come from 27 countries and regions, while Cyberport companies have expanded to over 35 global markets.
Cyberport, with Hong Kong’s largest AI Supercomputing Centre and AI Lab as the engine, has been building the AI ecosystem with industry-leading AI companies and over 500 AI and data science start-ups. Through development of tech clusters, namely AI, data science, blockchain and cybersecurity, Cyberport empowers industries across smart city and government, banking and finance, digital entertainment, culture and tourism, healthcare, education and training, property management, construction, transportation and logistics, green environment and more, while hosting Hong Kong’s largest FinTech community. Commissioned by the HKSAR Government, Cyberport has implemented proof-of-concept and sandbox schemes, subsidisation for digital tech adoption, industry tech training and start-up incubation, to drive technology R&D, translation and commercialisation, thus propelling digital transformation and intelligent upgrade across industry and society.
Also as “State-level Scientific and Technological Enterprise Incubator” and Hong Kong’s key incubator, Cyberport supports entrepreneurs with funding and office space, extensive networks of enterprises, investors, technology corporations and professional services for business growth and expansion to Chinese Mainland and overseas markets, all-round facilitation for landing in Hong Kong, talent attraction and cultivation, ready as a launchpad to take start-ups in any stages of development to the next level.
For more information, please visit https://www.cyberport.hk/en.
About Prudential Hong Kong
Prudential has been serving the people of Hong Kong since 1964. Through Prudential Hong Kong Limited and Prudential General Insurance Hong Kong Limited, the Company provides a range of financial planning services and products, including individual life insurance, investment-linked insurance, retirement solutions, health and medical protection, general insurance, and employee benefits to protect over 1.41 million customers in Hong Kong. Beyond Hong Kong, Prudential serves the Macau community through its branch, offering health insurance and financial solutions to complete its footprint in the Greater Bay Area.
Visit www.prudential.com.hk for more information.
