Inside Cyberport, Hong Kong's government-run Silicon Valley equivalent that cost $1.68 billion to build and that top crypto players are moving into

Cyberport in 2015.

Jonathan Wong/South China Morning Post via Getty Images

• Cyberport is an office park with residences and a shopping center in Hong Kong.
• It opened in 2004 as a way for the region's fledgling internet companies to blossom.
• Web3 move-to-earn company STEPN said this week that it's opening an office in Cyberport.

About 7,000 miles southwest of Silicon Valley, across the Pacific Ocean, lies Hong Kong's own version of a bustling tech metropolis.

Cyberport is an 18-year-old office and residential complex outside of Hong Kong that cost an initial $1.68 billion to construct, though much more was spent in the following years, according to a 1999 Wall Street Journal report.

Its office space is home to 800 tech companies, from homegrown startups to US giants like Microsoft and Hewlett Packard.

Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates praised the project in 1999, applauding the project as an acknowledgment of the internet — then in the early stages — being an economic growth driver.

Take a look inside what Hong Kong hopes to be its Silicon Valley.

Welcome to Cyberport.

Cyberport in 2007.

Stefan Irvine/LightRocket via Getty Images

The project was meant to be Hong Kong's version of Silicon Valley around the dot-com boom, per Reuters.

A general view of the Cyberport construction site at Hong Kong's Telegraph Bay, November 28, 2001.

Bobby Yip/Reuters

Source: Reuters

It launched in 2004.

Cyberport was constructed in November 2001.

David Wong/South China Morning Post via Getty Images

Cyberport is run by Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company, a private entity whose shares are owned entirely by the local government.

The Hong Kong region has helped birth 18 unicorns to date, Hong Kong Cyberport Management's chief public mission officer Eric Chan told the South China Morning Post in June.

Source: Yahoo

It also runs an incubation program that helps fledgling startups get off the ground.

Cyberport office space in 2013.

Jonathan Wong/South China Morning Post via Getty Images

The initiative has funded over 600 tech startups since it began in 2005.

Cyberport focuses on housing companies that are geared toward fintech, smart living, digital entertainment, esports, cybersecurity, AI, big data, and blockchain.

Cyberport in 2003.

EDWARD WONG/South China Morning Post via Getty Images

One of the newest arrivals to the business park will be STEPN, the move-to-earn Web3 giant player that allows users to earn crypto as they exercise in the real world.

Cofounder Jerry Huang told the South China Morning Post Monday that it won't force employees to relocate but it will allow some staffers to do so.

Source: Cyberport

Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, and other big names already have a foothold there.

Portrait of Horace Chow Chok-kee, General Manager of Microsoft Hong Kong, at his offices in Cyberport in 2015.

Jonathan Wong/South China Morning Post via Getty Images

Source: Cyberport

So does Web3 power player Animoca Brands.

Yat Siu, then-CEO of Outblaze, at Cyberport in April 2011.

Jonathan Wong/South China Morning Post via Getty Images

The company was founded by Yat Siu in 2014 and is based in Cyberport. About 150 employees of the company's 800 around the world work there.

Source: SCMP, Bloomberg

There are four main office buildings.

Cyberport in 2015

Jonathan Wong/South China Morning Post via Getty Images

But there was also hope that it would be a place for people to live and play.

A woman in Cyberport walking her dogs in 2012.

Dickson Lee/South China Morning Post via Getty Images

There's what's called the Cyberport Arcade.

Cyberport Arcade in 2012.

Jonathan Wong/South China Morning Post via Getty Images

It's a sprawling retail and entertainment compound with a movie theater, restaurants, shopping, and a supermarket.

There are 22 restaurants, according to the Arcade website.

Source: Cyberport Arcade

There's also a luxury residential development called Bel-Air.

Bel-Air Towers in 2012.

David Wong/South China Morning Post via Getty Images

Source: Bel-Air

It offers a variety of clubs, entertainment, and other benefits.

A Bel-Air residence in Cyberport in 2003.

Antony Dickson/South China Morning Post via Getty Images

Source: Bel-Air

There are also fitness centers, like this one that Forbes CEO Steve Forbes tried out in 2006.

Steve Forbes, President and CEO of Forbes, tries the facility in the fitness room during the opening of Club Bel-Air Peak Wing at Cyberport, Pokfulam. 08 May 2006.

K. Y. Cheng/South China Morning Post via Getty Images

There's a hotel in Cyberport called Le Meridien.

Cheryl Yue, Director of Sales & Marketing of Le Meridien Cyberport, in 2003.

Edward Wong/South China Morning Post via Getty Images

It appears to be operated by Marriott and boasts modern rooms and a pool with views.

A post shared by Le Méridien Hong Kong (@lemeridienhongkongcyberport)

 

Source: Marriott

It's been almost two decades since Cyberport opened.

People watch a live broadcast of the Anzac Day 2015 commemoration from Gallipoli Turkey, on the podium level at Cyberport.

Jonathan Wong/South China Morning Post via Getty Images

With companies at the forefront of Web3 — one of the tech world's hottest areas — moving in, Cyberport may yet continue to bloom into the Silicon Valley it set out to be.

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Contributer : Business Insider https://ift.tt/EfkCKpy

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