Hong Kong IPO Swells China Software Tycoon’s Fortune to $1 Billion

Kai Yu started autonomous driving firm in Beijing in 2015
His personal fortune is estimated at close to $1 billion

Kai Yu on Oct. 24. — Kai Yu on Oct. 24.
Photographer: Lam Yik/Bloomberg

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By Filipe Pacheco and Pui Gwen Yeung

October 23, 2024 at 10:59 PM UTC

Updated on

October 24, 2024 at 10:08 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

While studying for his computer science Ph.D. at the University of Munich, Kai Yu stood out as an ambitious researcher who showed he wanted to be a top name in his field, according to Professor Volker Tresp, one of his supervisors.

Two decades later, Yu’s academic drive has vaulted him to the ranks of the world’s richest people. Shares of his company Horizon Robotics Inc., which debuted in Hong Kong on Thursday, rose more than 30% in early trading, lifting the machine learning expert’s fortune to as much as $1.2 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.