A three-year on-site technology incubation programme for Hong Kong startups with a market-validated MVP or prototype. Version 13 divides the revamped track into IncuHatch and IncuBoost.
The company must be no more than five years old; founder shareholders must retain at least 51% direct legal and beneficial ownership; and at least two full-time staff plus the core R&D on-site ratio must be maintained.
Official facts
Submit company, team, product, market and R&D information online.
HKSTP checks the Mandatory Admission Criteria and conducts preliminary interview or due diligence.
Eligible applicants proceed to an assessment panel that may include a presentation and questions.
Successful companies complete programme, premises and admission documentation.
Milestone, reporting and audit cycles begin at the approved premises.
Current rules
Year 1 is IncuHatch, with team, R&D and milestones maintained at approved premises.
Only a passed D-Day and executed SAFE lead to months 13–36 in IncuBoost.
Failure or declining the SAFE leads to graduation from IncuHatch without Stage 2.
Continue disclosing other funds and retain accounting, employment, R&D and premises records.
Programme completion does not automatically provide investment, a visa, renewal or another award.
This page provides a plain-language interpretation of official materials. The official source remains authoritative.
A two-page official criteria extract for checking company age, ownership, staffing, core R&D and on-site requirements before applying.
The official programme page establishes the current purpose, support ceiling, MVP or prototype expectation, application flow and year-round intake.
Current Guide Version 13 distinguishes legacy and revamped tracks and expressly sets out IncuHatch, D-Day, IncuBoost, the SAFE condition, funding split, milestones and audit obligations.
The government reply verifies HKSTP incubation activity in 2003, but that predecessor activity is not the current named programme launched in 2021.
HKSTP records 68 incubation graduates in 2017 and their then-current sector mix and outcomes. Historical arrangements are not Version 13 rules.
The Hong Kong Government states that HKSTP launched the current named Incubation Programme in July 2021 and provides cumulative applications and approvals to March 2023.
This database includes programme participation records that we can verify through HKSTP, Hong Kong Government, project-owned or other primary public sources. HKSTP may not publish every historical participant, so this should not be treated as a complete official roster.
A deep-tech company applying AI-powered general visual inspection to high-mix, low-volume industrial quality control.
A clean-energy materials startup developing transparent self-cleaning nanocoatings for photovoltaic panels.
A medical-device startup developing a stretchable, medical-grade multi-lead ECG patch with machine-learning analysis.
An AI home-rehabilitation platform using computer vision and deep learning to analyse movement without external sensors.
A digital-health startup originating from a medical-imaging research team; an HKSTP 2018 release records that it joined Incubation in 2017.
An art-learning platform combining vision-language and generative AI for appreciation, creation feedback and teaching support.
An integrated restaurant platform covering POS, online ordering and merchant-branded ordering sites.
An interactive crowdfunding platform for creators and fan communities using data and AI recommendations to support content planning.
A deep-tech infrastructure inspection platform combining autonomous robotics, smart sensing and AI defect detection.
A materials venture transforming bamboo microstructure into a glue-free, lower-carbon, high-strength engineered material.
An animal-health platform combining non-contact vital-sign sensing, movement monitoring, breathomics, cloud analytics and AI risk scoring.
An education-technology company providing STEAM content, programming tools, learning kits and FPGA curricula.
A Hong Kong Government Legislative Council reply records Science Park incubation activity by 2003. It does not establish the exact launch date of the current programme form.
Evidence sourcesAn HKSTP graduation announcement reflects then-current milestones and expense arrangements. They are historical, not Version 13 rules.
Evidence sourcesA 2023 Hong Kong Government Legislative Council reply states that HKSTP launched the Incubation Programme and Incu-Bio Programme in July 2021; earlier incubation activity belongs to predecessor arrangements.
Evidence sourcesThe current guide documents the legacy/revamped transition, IncuHatch, D-Day, IncuBoost and conditional SAFE.
Evidence sources| Ideation | Incubation | |
|---|---|---|
| Stage | Idea, pre-MVP and early MVP validation | Market-validated MVP or prototype |
| Company | Individuals or teams may apply; company applicants must be under two years old | Hong Kong technology startup no more than five years old |
| Duration | 1 year | 3 years |
| Support ceiling | Up to HK$100,000 across three milestone tranches | Up to HK$1.29 million in financial and rental subsidy |
| Team | No published minimum full-time headcount | At least 2 full-time staff throughout |
| Core R&D | R&D is assessed; no published on-site staff ratio | At least 50% of full-time staff and no fewer than 2 on-site core R&D staff |
| Equity / SAFE | HKSTP takes no equity | Revamped IncuBoost requires a passed D-Day and a SAFE |
| Applications | Cohort based, normally January / May / September | Rolling year-round |
This helps explain the ecosystem. It is not automatic progression, admission or entitlement to later support.
The current page expects a prototype/MVP and relevant technology. Incubation may support validation, without automatic admission or funding.