HKUST and Intel Establish Joint Laboratory to Focus on High-Efficiency Intelligent Computing

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and Intel Corporation announced the establishment of the HKUST–Intel Joint Laboratory. At the heart of the project is a three-year research program exploring high-efficiency near-memory computing (NMC) architectures to tackle the performance and energy-efficiency challenges of modern AI workloads. Through software–hardware co-design, the collaboration aims to inform the future development of intelligent devices and sustainable AI systems.

The signatories were Prof. Tim Kwan-Ting Cheng (Vice-President for Research and Development of HKUST) and Mr. Song Jiqiang (Director of Intel Labs China). Prof. Guo Yike (Provost of HKUST), Mr. Wang Zhicong (Chairman of Intel China), and Ms. Gabriela Cruz Thompson (Senior Director of University Research and Collaboration, Intel) witnessed the agreement.

Prof. Cheng noted that the launch of the Joint Lab aligns with HKUST’s Strategic Plan 2031, which identifies “AI, Future Computing, and Electronics” as a core research pillar. The lab will leverage HKUST’s combined strengths in software–hardware co-design and high-efficiency near-memory computing to jointly explore new pathways for intelligent computing.

The Joint Lab will be led by Prof. Yuan Xie, Fang Professor of Engineering and Chair Professor of the Department of Electronic and Computer Engineering at HKUST. It will focus on technical challenges in computing, memory, I/O bandwidth, and energy efficiency for intelligent devices.