(Yicai) Sept. 22 -- Chinese artificial intelligence companies have begun expanding overseas at a noticeably faster pace, with a process that "used to be measured in years" now "taking months," according to the managing director of Amazon Web Services Hong Kong.

A growing number of small teams are using AI technology to iterate products and test markets, Chris So said in an interview with Yicai after attending WAIC Connect AI Innovation and Overseas Expansion Industry Exchange at the Hong Kong Science Park on Sept. 18.

Speaking from the perspective of a cloud service provider, So noted that overseas expansion used to involve a long preparation period, where "a company might have needed several years to go overseas, doing market research and so on. However, "a great many small teams have appeared in this space now, using the capabilities of Cloud and AI to innovate quickly, iterate, and validate the market," he stressed.

The shift rests on more capable models and mature cloud infrastructure, So pointed out. "Before, overseas expansion, especially in the AI sector, was still at the proof-of-concept stage, but now AI is moving from experimentation to real production deployments," he said, noting that AI adoption is accelerating faster than cloud adoption itself because the underlying cloud infrastructure is already in place. Companies have started using agentic AI tools such as AI-powered customer service to reach local markets, cutting the manpower needed to go global.

Founders expanding overseas should "bravely embrace trial and error and keep innovating," So stressed.

AWS's cloud services cover 245 countries and regions worldwide, with Amazon is investing USD200 billion this year on AI, spanning every layer from computing power to applications..

"Many companies make Hong Kong their first stop when going overseas," So pointed out. As "an international financial center," it offers "a very easy path" to raising venture capital or going "from zero to a listing," he said, describing the city as "a place where the Chinese, European, and US markets converge, so it is a good testing ground. If you succeed in Hong Kong, expanding worldwide becomes easier."

The Hong Kong government is also encouraging Chinese mainland companies to use the city as a platform to go global. Invest Hong Kong helped 413 overseas and mainland firms set up or expand in the city in the first half of this year, with 60 percent coming from the mainland, according to data from the investment promotion agency.

During the WAIC Connect event, AWS teamed up with Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks, InvestHK, and other institutions to promote the Landing Hong Kong 2.0 program.

The program is a "circle of friends," So said, noting that it "is not just technical support," as it also covers government policy, customer resources, and financing matchmaking.

The program brings together 14 resources matched to different stages of company development, according to its organizers. AWS provides cloud resources, technical enablement, and go to market support such as AWS Marketplace..

The program also draws on Hong Kong's existing public funding schemes, including seed funding of up to HKD100,000 (USD12,745) under the IDEATION Program, up to HKD1.3 million (USD165,700) under the Incubation Program, up to HKD10 million (USD1.3 million) per project under the Enterprise Support Scheme with one-to-one government and company matching, and a cumulative cap of HKD7 million per company under the Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales. Each form of support is assessed separately and cannot be combined, the organizers stressed.

Going overseas "is not simply deploying models abroad," said Yin Yue, executive vice chair of global expansion services provider CITIPA. Companies face a range of problems, "such as building overseas computing infrastructure, cross-border data compliance, and overseas market access, as well as establishing trust with overseas customers and the lack of local business networks. So the cost of trial and error when going it alone is very high."

The collaboration is "not just about holding a forum," Yin noted. Under the arrangement, World AI Conference brings industry resources, and AWS provides the underlying technical support, while "our association will keep running alongside Chinese AI companies as they go global."

CITIPA plans to use Hong Kong as a base to regularly hold closed-door seminars, overseas demo days, and cross-border market entry support, Yin pointed out.

WAIC Connect, AWS, and the China Innovation and Technology Internationalization Promotion Association co-hosted the WAIC Connect AI Innovation, with HKSTP Global Connect as co-organizer. WAIC Connect is an industry matchmaking platform launched this year by WAIC.

Editor: Martin Kadiev