Kuang-Chi — BrandWiki

Kuang-Chi

Overview

Kuang-Chi

type	private
traded as	CSI A500 (Kuang-Chi Technologies)
industry	metamaterials smart-city tele-communication
founded	July 13, 2010
hq location city	Shenzhen
hq location country	China
area served	China Hong Kong South East Asia Europe Middle East North America
num employees	2600
website	http://www.kuang-chi.com
founders	Liu Ruopeng Ji Chunlin Luan Lin Zhang Yangyang Zhao Zhiya
subsid	Kuang-Chi Technologies Kuangchi Science

Kuang-Chi Group is a Chinese company that develops and invests in metamaterial, telecommunication, aerospace, smart-city, AI and digital health technologies.[1]

Kuang-Chi was founded in 2010 by five Chinese PhD scholars, led by Ruopeng Liu. Headquartered in Shenzhen, China, it has public and private subsidiaries, research facilities and investments in several countries.[2] In 2017, KuangChi Science, the Hong Kong publicly listed affiliate, was valued at a market capitalization of over US$2 billion and Kuang-Chi Technologies, the Shenzhen-listed affiliate, at a valuation exceeding US$6 billion.[3][4][5]

While Kuang-Chi is not a state-owned enterprise, the Chinese government has supported the company's research.

History

Background

Kuang-Chi was founded by five PhD students that had recently concluded their studies at Duke and Oxford University: Liu Ruopeng, Lin Luan, Chunlin Ji, Yangyang Zhang, and Zhiya Zhao. They remain the senior executives of Kuang-Chi.[10][11] Zhang and Luan are the co-CEOs of KuangChi Science, and Zhao is the CEO of Kuang-Chi Technologies.[11]

Liu was part of a team of researchers at Duke University that researched metamaterials, developing a device capable of "cloaking" an object from visual light, thus making it invisible.[12] Upon graduation, Liu and his colleagues decided to return to China and launch a high-tech research institute. With support from Shenzhen, the commercial city bordering Hong Kong in mainland China, Kuang-Chi Institute of Advanced Technology was established with the slogan “Future is Now,” in the center of China's special economic zone.[10][11]

Kuang-Chi was named after Chinese scientist Xu Guangqi (pinyin: Guāng Qǐ) from the Ming Dynasty, who made important contributions in math, agriculture, astronomy and other scientific fields.[13][14] The name, which literally means "to enlighten," was chosen as a symbol of the company's commitment to advancing the frontier of science and bridging western and eastern knowledge.[15]

Thanks to the rapid growth of the company and the advanced nature of its technology - particularly in aerospace - Kuang-Chi is often compared to SpaceX by media, while Ruopeng Liu is referred to as the "Chinese Elon Musk."[16][17]

2010–2014

On 13 July 2010, Kuang-Chi Institute of Advanced Technology was officially founded.[18] A state-level Laboratory of Metamaterial Electromagnetic Modulation Technology was also established at Kuang-Chi, led by Kuang-Chi's chairman Liu Ruopeng and vice chairmen Ji Chunlin and Zhao Zhiya .[19][20]

Around the same time, Kuang-Chi displayed its Intelligent Photon product series at the China High Tech Fair. The first to try the product was Wang Yang, member of the Political Bureau of the CCP Central Committee and vice premier of the State Council.[21][22] On 22 September 2014, Kuang-Chi's subsidiary KuangChi Science was first publicly listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.(sehk: 00439)[23]

2015-present

In 2015, Kuang-Chi became the majority shareholder of Martin Aircraft Co Ltd., an aviation company publicly listed in Australia, and subsequently displayed Martin Aircraft's flagship product Martin Jetpack at different exhibitions worldwide.[28][29][30] The Jetpack was introduced during the 2015 Future Flight Show in Shenzhen.[31][32] Later in the same year, Kuang-Chi invested a majority share in Solar Ship Inc., a Canadian developer of a hybrid airship capable of remote freight transport.[11]

In May 2016, Kuang-Chi launched the GCI Fund & Incubator based in Tel Aviv

Technology

Kuang-Chi technologies cover a range of disciplines, many of which are commercialized as integrated smart-city solutions.[40]

Metamaterial

Applications of metamaterial technology advanced by Kuang-Chi include wireless and space communications.[41]

Visible Light Communication

Intelligent photonic communication is a technology for financial transactions, identification and authorization. Kuang-Chi's photonic product Photon Pay is designed to replace credit cards through a new payment solution using mobile phones. The system generates a unique visible light that is encoded with each transaction's information and special algorithms to ensure security.[42]

Other applications of Kuang-Chi's photonic technology involve ID recognition, access permission and product authentication.[43]

Telecommunications

Telecommunication technologies under development by Kuang-Chi include Super-Wifi, Satellite Communications, and Fiber Optics Communication networks developed by a subsidiary active in SE Asia named HyalRoute Communication Group.[11] HyalRoute has implemented telecommunication networks covering 25 provincial districts in Cambodia and over 10000 km (6214 miles) of FOC networks in Myanmar, boosting the communication capacity of these countries.[44] In August 2017, Kuang-Chi invested in China Unicom, reportedly to partner with the major telecommunication company in big-data and the internet of things technologies.[7]

Aerostat

Aerostats are large helium-filled balloons used for aerial surveillance and communications.[45] The Cloud is an aerostat designed by Kuang-Chi for civilian use - 48m long and 20m high, the Cloud floats 300m above the ground and can carry a 600 kg payload.[46][47] It is designed to measure air-quality, provide traffic information, facilitate communications and internet access, and monitor public safety. Following a test launch in 2015, the Cloud began serving the city of Dongguan in southeastern China and later the city of Zunyi in southwestern China.[48]

Aerospace Technology

Kuang-Chi partners with UK-based Gilo Industries Applied Technology, which designs a range of aerospace products, from rotary engines to flying vehicles.[49]

Another partner of Kuang-Chi, Martin Aircraft Co Ltd., develops Martin Jetpack, the world's first commercial jetpack named by Time Magazine as one of the 50 Best Inventions of 2010.[50] The jetpack operates via two air ducts, remains static in confined spaces, vertically take off and land (VTOL), and carries a payload of 120 kg. Flight tests in New Zealand have resulted in a speed of 800 feet per minute and an altitude of 5,000 feet.[51] The jetpack is intended for search and rescue missions.[52]

Kuang-Chi is also partnering with Solar Ship Inc., a Canadian company that designs a hybrid airship

Near-Space Technology

A helium-filled balloon carries a 'Traveler' capsule into the stratosphere at an altitude of 24,000 meters (80,000 feet). Once operational, passengers in the capsule will be able to see the blackness of space and the curvature of the planet. The Traveler is equipped with solar panes.[56]

Global investment

In 2015 Kuang-Chi began actively investing in technology companies outside of China, and has since established a Global Community of Innovation (GCI), a platform to integrate external technologies and pursue further investments.[57][58] The USD300 million GCI Fund is managed by teams in China and Israel, led by Zhi Li and Dorian Barak, Kuang-Chi's local partner in Israel and a member of the board of KuangChi Science.[2][34]

Foreign investments have enabled Kuang-Chi to establish a global brand in high-technology and integrate Western and Chinese R&D in aerospace, smart city and other areas. In addition to capital support, Kuang-Chi also enters into joint venture and technology licensing agreements with its partners and advises them on penetration into the Chinese market.[2][59]

Kuang-Chi's first international investment was in Martin Aircraft, a New Zealand public company developing the world's first practical jetpack, now led by James West.[60][61][62] Kuang-Chi also invested in Solar Ship, a Canadian company led by Jay Godsall that designs a hybrid airship capable of heavy cargo transport to remote locations, alongside a network of aerostats and solar-powered hangars.[63][64]

In 2017, Kuang-Chi invested in Gilo Industries Applied Technology, a UK aerospace company led by Gilo Cardozo and Jim Edmondson that specializes in aeronautical vehicles and propulsion systems, including the Parajet Skyquad, a flying car, paragliders, and ultra-lightweight and advanced rotary engines.[49][65][66]

The GCI Fund invested in gesture control company eyeSight Technologies (Gideon Shmuel, CEO),[67] emotions analytic company Beyond Verbal (Yuval Mor, CEO),[68] video intelligence provider Agent Video Intelligence (Itsik Kattan, CEO),[69] biometrics authentication developer Zwipe (Kim Humborstad, CEO ),[70] and UAV company SkyX (Didi Horn, CEO).[71][72] Kuang-Chi is one of the most active Chinese investors in Israel's technology ecosystem, and is the first Chinese company to set up a fund and incubator in Israel focused on technology.[73]

Kuang-Chi

History

Background

2010–2014

2015-present

Technology

Metamaterial

Visible Light Communication

Telecommunications

Aerostat

Aerospace Technology

Near-Space Technology

Global investment

Smart City

Entry on Entity List

Controversies

External links

References