Building inspection tech company RaSpect evolves from Hong Kong start-up to global player
The company and its AI-powered inspection system gained exposure and business connections through HKTDC and its global network
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Hong Kong start-up RaSpect reaches new heights with help from HKTDC
For almost 60 years, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) has helped nurture innovative companies. Scores of local start-ups have grown and expanded into other countries thanks to the guidance provided by the trade promotion body through its support programmes, global network and international fairs and conferences.
Over the past few years, Hong Kong’s RaSpect Intelligence Inspection – an enterprise that puts innovation at the heart of its business – has grown at pace thanks to help from the HKTDC. The company was one of 10 winners in the 2019 edition of Start-up Express, the HKTDC’s annual development programme that provides a showcase for innovative, tech-focused start-ups to gain exposure among investors, potential business partners and the media.
RaSpect is an artificial intelligence (AI) technology company specialising in building safety and sustainability inspections. Its autonomous inspection process carries out all-weather structural analysis of buildings, using drones and Internet of Things (IoT) sensors to capture visual and thermal images that are then examined by AI to identify defects ranging from water damage to structural faults.
Harris Sun, the CEO and founder of RaSpect, says the AI-powered system developed by his company is not only more efficient and effective than the traditional manual methods of “naked-eye” inspections and reporting, it is also safer.
He recalls: “When we started the company in 2017, we faced many different challenges, especially with the lack of AI awareness.” However, RaSpect pushed ahead with research into the AI market and AI-powered tech to come up with the solutions it offers today.
“We wanted to do something for society, to help it be safer, greener and smarter,” Sun says. “We found there are many different challenges in inspections due to quality and safety issues. We try to be an innovator, to renovate the whole process.”
He notes that Hong Kong proved to be a “very good” place to craft this type of revolutionary inspection platform due to its many skyscrapers, adding that RaSpect also benefited from the HKTDC’s support.
“As a start-up, we lacked resources, capital and manpower,” Sun says, which led the company to enter the Start-up Express competition.
In the years following its win, RaSpect has been able to connect with international business partners through the HKTDC’s overseas offices. For example, the company recently helped the Australian government inspect the Parliament House in Brisbane. Now, it is expanding into the Greater Bay Area, the Middle East and California’s Silicon Valley.
“The HKTDC has helped us so much in terms of business navigation and market exploration,” Sun says.
“The long-term goal is to make our society greener and smarter,” he adds. “We put a lot of effort into the sustainability of our community, especially with safety. We are in buildings 20 hours a day – at home, at school or in the office. The safety of buildings is an important aspect of our lives.”
Watch the video to learn more about RaSpect’s groundbreaking technology and how the HKTDC helps innovative local start-ups grow internationally.