Office of Knowledge Transfer
November 2026
Redbird
Investment
Forum
by Redbird Innovation Fund
Give deep-tech capital in the region a room of its own.
RIF has built a fund, two partner funds and a manager pipeline. It has no annual moment that turns that work into a network. The Forum is that moment.
A public face for RIF
Move RIF from a fund on a page to an institution with a standing convening role in deep-tech investment. HKUST becomes the place the region's capital meets university science.
Put the work in one room
Portfolio companies, the partner funds and the HKUST research base, shown directly to institutional capital, industry and press, rather than described in a deck.
Connect the stakeholders
LPs, GPs, corporates, government and academia in a working relationship. Deal flow, co-investment and follow-on capital follow the relationship, not the mailing list.
To become the leading deep-tech investment forum in the region — convening institutional capital to explore the asset class, and building collaboration across academia, industry and the financial markets.
One track. One room. One day.
Single track and single venue for the first edition. Alternating keynotes and panels, with the signing and the showcase placed early so they carry the day's press.
| Time | Session | Format |
|---|---|---|
| 08:30 | Registration and breakfast | Foyer |
| 09:15 | Opening remarks — HKUST leadership and RIF | Stage |
| 09:35 | Host keynote — deep tech and the capital gap | Keynote |
| 10:05 | MoU signing and photo callEarly slot | Stage · press |
| 10:30 | Academic keynote — from laboratory to market | Keynote |
| 10:55 | Panel 1 — Sector review: where deep-tech capital is going | Moderator + 4 |
| 11:50 | Panel 2 — Capital flows: sovereign, institutional, family office | Moderator + 4 |
| 12:45 | Luncheon — GP and LP matchingInvite | Seated by table |
| 14:15 | Company showcase and booth walkOutside hall | Booths |
| 15:10 | Panel 3 — Hong Kong to the world | Moderator + 4 |
| 16:05 | Academic keynote — the next technology wave | Keynote |
| 16:35 | Panel 4 — The innovators | Founders |
| 17:20 | Closing and group photograph | Stage |
| 18:30 | Private dinner~30 guests | By invitation |
Times indicative. Session owners and speakers to be assigned after the anchor conversations.
Four tiers of voice.
The programme needs public capital at the top, institutional allocators in the middle, and fund managers and founders carrying the substance. Names below are leads, not invitations.
HKIC, HKMA, InvestHK, FS office / FSTB / ITIB
Opens the day and lends institutional weight
CIC, Hong Kong Jockey Club, Khazanah, Temasek, GIC
Mubadala / ADIA / QIA / PIF — year two and three
HongShan, Hillhouse, Lightspeed, Vertex, Gobi, Primavera, IDG
Includes the two RIF partner fund managers
NVIDIA, Microsoft, DeepMind, TSMC, DJI, SenseTime
Anchors the technology narrative
All organisations listed are targets. No invitation has been issued and no acceptance obtained. Individual names sit in the internal VIP map and require a verification pass on title and role before any outreach.
What the room needs.
| Venue | Capacity |
|---|---|
| HKEX Stock Connect Hall | Check TBC |
| HKUST United Centre, Admiralty | ~200 TBC |
| HK Government HQ hall | Check TBC |
Requirement: 200+ theatre seating in one hall, plus foyer space for the showcase. Venue fee assumed waived or sponsored in the base budget.
- 01
MoU signing, early
On stage at 10:05, before the first panel. Photo call immediately after, so the announcement is filed before lunch.
- 02
Company showcase
10–12 booths outside the main hall. Open through registration, breaks and the afternoon walk-through.
- 03
Photography
Stage photo at signing, group photograph at closing. Approved image set to media the same day.
- 04
Registration and badges
Pre-registration, named badges, separate press desk. English throughout.
HK$100,000, with the venue assumed free.
An indicative envelope for a 200-guest single-day event. It covers production and branding, not a full luncheon for 200. Catering at that scale needs a sponsor or the venue partner.
| Line | HK$ |
|---|---|
| Venue | Waived TBC |
| Production, AV and staging | 30,000 |
| Branding, signage and print | 20,000 |
| Photography and video | 15,000 |
| Catering — reception and coffee | 20,000 |
| Speaker gifts and tokens | 10,000 |
| Contingency | 5,000 |
| Proposed envelope | 100,000 |
Full luncheon for 200 guests and the private dinner fall outside this envelope. Both are marked for sponsorship or in-kind support.
Banks and advisory firms already fund university programmes and want access to this audience. Two to four sponsors should close the catering gap and add a modest surplus.
- ·
Naming on one session
Panel or luncheon, plus logo on all print and stage.
- ·
Places at the table
Guest allocation and attendance at the private dinner.
- ·
First look at the room
Introduction to the GP and LP list, within invitation policy.
Mid-September 2027.
The window is set by the HKUST calendar. Mid-June is Unicorn Day, January is SAAIS and Semicon, then CNY and Geneva, early September is term start, and summer empties the city. Mid-September is the open month.
| When | Milestone | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| Nov – Dec 2026 | Direction approved; concept note issued | RIF |
| Dec 2026 – Feb 2027 | Partner conversations: HKEX, HKUST Business School; venue held | RIF · OKT |
| Mar – Apr 2027 | Save-the-dates to anchor speakers and allocators | TBC |
| May 2027 | Programme shape locked with confirmed anchors | TBC |
| Jun 2027 | Invitation wave one — avoid Unicorn Day | TBC |
| Jul – Aug 2027 | Wave two, citing confirmed names; sponsor close | TBC |
| Early Sep 2027 | Final programme, press pack, run of show | TBC |
| Mid Sep 2027 | Event Date TBC | All |
Two annual calendars must be checked before the date is fixed: the HKUST academic calendar and the 2027 dates for Milken and A5X.
Five decisions today.
These are the points that block all downstream work. Everything else can be settled by the team.
- Direction
Hosting seat
Convene under RIF, or jointly with HKUST Business School. Either keeps the Forum inside HKUST.
- Finance
Budget envelope
Approve HK$100,000, with the venue fee assumed waived or sponsored.
- Direction
Venue
Choose between United Centre, the HKEX Stock Connect Hall and the Government HQ hall, pending the capacity check.
- Direction
Date
Hold mid-September 2027 and clear the conflicts with the University calendar.
- OKT
Mandate for partners and sponsors
Authorise approaches to HKEX, the Business School, HSBC, JP Morgan, UBS and EY.
Success is measured on who attends, not on who is invited: seated VIPs, allocators present, media coverage, and MoUs signed on the day.