Deloitte unveils 2025 Greater Bay Area Technology Fast 40 winners

Deloitte China hosted the 2025 Greater Bay Area Technology Fast 40 (GBATF) awards ceremony in Hong Kong today, unveiling this year’s winners and highlighting the strength of the region’s innovation ecosystem. To complement the awards, Deloitte released the “2025 Greater Bay Area Technology Fast 40 Report”, an in‑depth analysis of high‑growth companies across four dimensions: industry, revenue, valuation and geographic footprint. The report also draws on insights from the GBA CEO Survey, highlighting trends and challenges in innovation and R&D, fundraising and business expansion.

The ceremony brought together more than 100 government representatives, industry leaders, and investors to celebrate the outstanding achievements of the fastest growing companies in the Greater Bay Area (GBA). Honoured guests included Professor Sun Dong JP, secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry of the HKSAR; Li Xuhong, deputy director-general of the Department of Administration and Finance of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government; The Honourable Nick Chan, Hong Kong Deputy to the National People's Congress and HKSAR Legislative Council member for the Legal Constituency; The Honourable Duncan Chiu, HKSAR Legislative Council member for the Technology & Innovation Constituency; Dr Jimmy Chiang, deputy director-general of the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises (OASES) of the HKSAR; Terry Wong, CEO of Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation; and Vicent Ma, CEO of Hong Kong‑Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park, together with other distinguished business leaders.

Deloitte China Southern Region Managing Partner Edward Au says, “As China enters the first year of the 15th Five‑Year Plan, the country is accelerating its transformation into a global technology powerhouse. It is fully implementing ‘AI+’ initiative and driving innovation‑led development as a core strategy to advance new quality productive forces and industrial upgrading. The GBA is uniquely positioned to become a world‑class innovation hub and a globally leading urban cluster. With R&D investment in the region continuing to rise, patent grants now account for more than 15% of the national total and the Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou innovation cluster has climbed to first place worldwide¹.

“Deloitte has long been committed to supporting the GBA's innovation and technology (I&T) ecosystem, including through our GBATF programme, which provides a platform for innovative enterprises to raise brand visibility, expand industry connections and build stronger networks across banking, private equity and venture capital, as well as supporting their global expansion and overseas journey. This year’s theme emphasised boundless innovation and resilient growth, reflecting the drive to break through technological barriers and foster cross‑sector collaboration. We will continue to promote synergetic development among GBA cities and strengthen partnerships across government, business and academia, helping innovative enterprises unlock greater growth potential.”

To support GBATF winners in gaining deeper insights into Hong Kong’s innovation ecosystem and policy support, Deloitte organised a two-day exchange tour on 26-27 March for founders and senior executives from sectors including life sciences, AI, advanced manufacturing and semiconductors. Hosted by Deloitte Greater Bay Area Technology Fast Program Lead Partner Philip Law, the group visited I&T hubs including Hong Kong Science Park, Cyberport, and the Hong Kong Centre for Logistics Robotics established by the Chinese University of Hong Kong, as well as Invest Hong Kong, OASES, the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong Productivity Council. They also attended gatherings hosted by OCBC Bank Hong Kong and HSBC Innovation Banking to connect with government representatives, business leaders and other key stakeholders in the I&T ecosystem.

Philip Law says, “GBA enterprises have clear technology roadmaps and strong application innovation capabilities, with substantial opportunities for regional synergies to be further unlocked. In 2025, China launched the National Venture Capital Guidance Fund and established a regional fund in the GBA to encourage private equity and venture capital investment in early‑stage hard tech, enabling more targeted participation in technological breakthroughs and industrialisation. As an international financial centre, Hong Kong is well-placed to connect global capital with the GBA's innovation resources. This exchange tour fostered the closer integration of research, industry and capital, accelerating the commercialisation of innovation and creating sustainable business value.”

This year’s GBATF winners are closely aligned with China’s emerging pillar industries. Biotechnology and healthcare together account for the largest share at 30%, followed by clean technology at 13%, semiconductors at 13% and AI at 10%. The winning enterprises’ revenue has grown, with the proportion generating RMB50 million-RMB100 million more than trebling to 25% from 8%, those with revenue of more than RMB500 million also growing, and only 30% of enterprises having revenue of less than RMB50 million, down from 51% in 2025. All 40 winners have valuations of more than RMB100 million, with 14 valued at RMB500 million-RMB1 billion and 15 valued at over RMB1 billion, together representing nearly 80%.

According to the GBA CEO Survey, R&D investment among GBA enterprises is divergent: nearly 30% of enterprises report R&D intensity below 10%, while 24% exceed 81%—a sharp rise from 5% in 2023—showing that leading enterprises are accelerating technological breakthroughs. R&D personnel make up more than half the workforce at over 40% of enterprises, highlighting the strong emphasis on talent. However, most respondents view talent shortages and AI deployment as their biggest challenges, reflecting gaps in workforce composition and commercialisation capabilities.

Edward Au says, “GBA enterprises show strong appetite for financing, with more than 80% of surveyed companies planning private equity fundraising within the next two years. Around half are targeting the RMB100 million-RMB500 million. The region leads the nation in IPO intentions, with A shares and Hong Kong together accounting for 76% of preferred listing destinations. In terms of business expansion, 64% of enterprises plan to grow within the Yangtze River Delta and GBA. When selecting locations, the top three priorities are market access, talent supply and business environment, reflecting strategies which balance market opportunity with efficiency in operations.”

Philip Law adds, “Deloitte recommends leveraging the strengths of the world’s leading technology cluster to build an integrated GBA innovation platform and systematically enhance source innovation capabilities. Efforts should focus on frontier fields such as AI, semiconductors and biomedicine, while deploying cross‑border science facilities and joint laboratories to deepen collaboration between industry and academia. At the same time, key enterprises should be supported in advancing foundational technologies, with financial instruments such as technology innovation notes and intellectual property pledge loans helping companies evolve from application followers to standard setters, strengthening the GBA's role in the global innovation landscape.”

Click here to view the 2025 GBATF winners' list and full report (in Chinese only).

[1] https://www.wipo.int/en/web/global-innovation-index/2025/innovation-clusters