Digital Domain establishes R&D center at HKSTP to draw I&T talents

Digital Domain Holdings Limited (Stock cod: 547.HK), a globally renowned Hollywood visual effects studio, has announced its plans to establish a state-of-the-art Research & Development Center within the Hong Kong Science Park. The new center will focus on Virtual Humans (VH), Visual Effects & Digital Assets (VFX), and 3D AI-Driven Video Productions (AVP).

This move not only aims to foster the future development of the entertainment industry internationally, but also to join forces with the Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) to boost Hong Kong’s position as an entertainment hub.

At the launching ceremony, Professor Dong Sun, JP, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, pointed out that AI has revolutionized the film and entertainment industry, transforming film-making, visual effects and animation. “Digital Domain is a testament to this, with its groundbreaking use of AI technology as a tool for better storytelling and immersion,” he remarked.

Professor Sun later vividly demonstrated the innovative development by engaging in a real-time interactive dialogue with virtual human Teresa Teng. Daniel Seah, CEO of Digital Domain, also invited Albert Wong, the CEO of Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, to the stage to interact and converse in real-time with the Virtual Human Teresa Teng in order to prove that it was not pre-recorded.

With over 30 years of development experience spanning films, TV series, commercials, game visuals and more, Digital Domain has iterated the construction process of AI virtual humans to create digital characters with emotional expressiveness and interactive capabilities.

Digital Domain revealed its plans to invest HK$204 million to recruit and train at least 40 professional talents by the end of 2029; the group also hopes to combine its funding with potential government grants to establish the city as an international hub for AI and Virtual Humans.

Speaking about how Digital Domain can expand the use of AI virtual humans, Seah pointed out that the technology can be used in multiple fields, like education: “Imagine we have Elsa from Frozen teaching English, or Angelina Jolie teaching Mandarin. It makes the education process much more interesting and engages children and teenagers to study more effectively.”

“Hong Kong’s unique blend of East and West fosters a thriving creative ecosystem, driving development of industries including entertainment, culture and technology-driven lifestyle innovation,” said Daniel Seah, CEO of Digital Domain. “The goal is to further strengthen Hong Kong’s position as the ‘Oriental Hollywood’ and explore even more innovative frontiers.”