HKUST and Xunlei Establish Joint Laboratory to Drive Innovation and Applications of Blockchain Technology

Prof. Tim CHENG, Dean of Engineering of HKUST (front left), and Ms. LAI Xin, ThunderChain’s Chief Engineer of Xunlei (front right), sign the collaborative agreement to establish HKUST-Xunlei Joint Laboratory on Blockchain Technology, witnessed by Prof. Nancy IP, Vice-President for Research and Development of HKUST (back left), and Mr. CHEN Lei, Chief Executive Officer of Xunlei and Onething Technologies (back right). [Download Photo]

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and Xunlei Limited (“Xunlei” or the Company) (Nasdaq: XNET) today announced the establishment of HKUST-Xunlei Joint Laboratory on Blockchain Technology (the “Joint Lab”). The Joint Lab aims to develop cutting-edge and influential blockchain technologies that are applicable to various industries and establish a high-performance blockchain ecosystem in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

A signing ceremony was held at HKUST campus, marking the official launch of the joint lab and research collaboration. Prof. Tim CHENG, Dean of Engineering of HKUST, and Ms. LAI Xin, the Chief Engineer of ThunderChain at Xunlei, signed the collaborative agreement under the witness of Prof. Nancy IP, Vice-President for Research and Development of HKUST, and Mr. CHEN Lei, Chief Executive Officer of Xunlei and Onething Technologies.

Leveraging on HKUST’s strong research capabilities and Xunlei’s solid industry experience, a series of blockchain technology initiatives and development will be carried out under the Joint Lab. Key research topics include consensus algorithm, cryptography and data protection. With Xunlei’s infrastructure support of ThunderChain and Thunder Chain File System (TCFS), HKUST’s world-class researchers and Xunlei’s technology experts will work together to improve existing consensus algorithm and explore brand new model, enabling individual users to share idle computing resources with small-sized hardware while establishing an overall blockchain system with higher security level so as to achieve sharing economy of computing network.

Another joint research project is to develop an encryption program that is applied to blockchain technology. This program will offer efficient and practical solutions for third party to process data without accessing sensitive information so as to improve data privacy. The research team will also study other perspectives of blockchain technology to promote applications across wider sectors including cloud computing, new retail, supply chain, healthcare and philanthropy.

Mr. CHEN Lei, Chief Executive Officer of Xunlei and Onething Technologies said, “We are very excited to partner with world-leading institutions like HKUST to explore use cases of blockchain and translate these insights into impactful applications, together contributing to technological and economic development. We also hope young generation will join us in this endeavor to make blockchain technology widely used and working for a better future.”

“HKUST engages actively at the forefront of emerging technologies, and blockchain is one of them. This collaboration will combine research strengths of the university and enterprise to bolster technology innovation and development in blockchain, fostering groundbreaking research and technology transfer.” said Prof. Nancy Ip, Vice-President for Research and Development of HKUST.

HKUST Dean of Engineering Prof. Tim Cheng said HKUST is very pleased to collaborate with Xunlei to set up this Joint Lab. “Not only can this facilitate academic exchange and industry collaboration, it will bring more learning opportunities for our students to equip with the advanced blockchain technologies and knowledge, contributing to the development of future technology talents,” said Prof. Cheng.

Blockchain is one of the most revolutionary technologies in recent years that has a great potential in making transformative difference to the industries. Xunlei is one of the leading internet companies exploring and developing blockchain technology in China. HKUST endeavors to provide a strong and highly visible leadership role in big data and data science research in Hong Kong and the world through multidisciplinary collaborative research projects and partnerships with the industry. The Joint Lab seeks to bring economic and social benefits to the society through its high-impact translational research and innovative applications on blockchain technology.

About Xunlei Limited
Founded in 2003, Xunlei Limited (NASDAQ: XNET) is a leading innovator in shared cloud computing and blockchain technology. Xunlei provides a wide range of products and services across cloud acceleration, blockchain, shared cloud computing and digital entertainment to deliver an efficient, smart and safe internet experience.

About The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) (www.ust.hk) is a world-class research university that focuses on science, technology and business as well as humanities and social science. HKUST offers an international campus, and a holistic and interdisciplinary pedagogy to nurture well-rounded graduates with global vision, a strong entrepreneurial spirit and innovative thinking. HKUST attained the highest proportion of internationally excellent research work in the Research Assessment Exercise 2014 of Hong Kong’s University Grants Committee, and is ranked as the world’s best young university in Times Higher Education’s Young University Rankings 2018. Its graduates were ranked 16th worldwide and top in Greater China in Global Employability University Survey 2018.