Kuang-Chi

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

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.China’s Kuang-Chi to set up Tel Aviv base, eyes larger firms
The Times of Israel. Retrieved June 5, 2017. 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.China’s Kuang-Chi takes first stake in UK tech
Financial Times. June 5, 2017.

While Kuang-Chi is not a state-owned enterprise, the Chinese government has supported the company's research. In 2012, Kuang-Chi was the first company Xi Jinping, current General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party visited as party leader.习近平考察深圳光启研究院：国家应择天下英才而用
Chinanews. Retrieved June 5, 2017. In 2017, Kuang-Chi joined other leading Chinese technology companies such as Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent in investing nearly US$12 billion into the state-owned telecommunications company China Unicom, the start of a government initiative to introduce private-sector expertise and innovation into China's state owned enterprises.

Kuang-Chi has participated in Chinese government initiatives, including the Go Out Policy of investing in international technology and the One Belt One Road Program of engaging with countries in the "Silk Road Economic Belt". In 2016, Kuang-Chi set up an international fund operating out of Shenzhen and Tel Aviv, Israel. The fund planned to invest up to US$300 million as of 2017.

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.Behind President Xi's Extended Stay at His Research Institution.
ifeng. Retrieved June 5, 2017.CICC Stock Report: KuangChi Science
CICC Stock Research Report. January 6, 2016. Retrieved June 5, 2017. Zhang and Luan are the co-CEOs of KuangChi Science, and Zhao is the CEO of Kuang-Chi Technologies.

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. 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.

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. 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.

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."The 'Chinese SpaceX' Will Test Space Balloon Flights With Animals This Year
Technode. June 6, 2017.

2010–2014

On July 13, 2010, Kuang-Chi Institute of Advanced Technology was officially founded.() 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 .

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. On September 22, 2014, Kuang-Chi's subsidiary KuangChi Science () was first publicly listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.() The Reorient Group was chaired by Johnson Ko, currently a director of KuangChi Science.

In November 2014, KuangChi Science signed a contract with Airways New Zealand to begin work on Traveler, China's first near-space commercial platform. Xi Jinping and New Zealand Prime Minister John Key attended the signing ceremony. In December, Kuang-Chi launched the Appollo Base in Shenzhen and exhibited the Cloud, a multifunctional aerostat that aims to provide smart-city solutions. The Dongguan Institute of Advanced Technology was founded the same year to further research in the Cloud.

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. The Jetpack was introduced during the 2015 Future Flight Show in Shenzhen. 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.

In May 2016, Kuang-Chi launched the GCI Fund & Incubator based in Tel Aviv, Israel, planning to invest up to US$300 million in global technology companies. Kuang-Chi's local partner in Israel is Dorian Barak, the former head of M&A at Bank Hapoalim, Israel's largest financial group.

In June 2016, Kuang-Chi expanded its strategic partnership with Singapore-based HyalRoute Communications Group, one of the largest providers of advanced telecommunication infrastructure in the Asia-Pacific. Kuang-Chi also established an ASEAN Innovation Headquarter in Singapore, focused on smart-city solutions.KuangChi Science introduces Innovation Headquarters in Singapore
CIO Asia. Retrieved June 10, 2017.
Tech Trade Asia. Retrieved June 10, 2017. Within China, Kuang-Chi unveiled the Luoyang Institute of Cutting-edge Technology, an innovation center of new materials and hardware design.

Technology

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

Metamaterial

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

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.

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

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. 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. 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.

Aerostat

Aerostats are large helium-filled balloons used for aerial surveillance and communications. 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.KuangChi’s Cloud airship completes first commercial flight
Aerospace Technology. Retrieved June 6, 2017. 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.

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.

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. 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. The jetpack is intended for search and rescue missions.

Kuang-Chi is also partnering with Solar Ship Inc., a Canadian company that designs a hybrid airship for argo transport. Unlike freight airships under design by Lockheed Martin and Worldwide Aeros Corp">Worldwide Aeros