Adding warmth to technology: HK entrepreneur

Writer: Chang Zhipeng  |  Editor: Holly Wang  |  From: Shenzhen Daily  |  Updated: 2021-01-20

A pet cat plays with Ebo. Courtesy of the interviewee

Hong Kong entrepreneur Erika Chu said she wanted to add some warmth to technology when she founded the high-tech startup WeHome Technology Co. Ltd. in Qianhai in 2018.

Chu’s company is engaged in the research and development of smart family robots through which its clients stay connected with their family members when they are not home. The interactive robot, which Chu named Ebo, is made to bring care to consumers.

A war correspondent from the Netherlands is one of her clients who have positive feedback on Ebo.

According to Chu, the Dutch client suffered from PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) after years of reporting from war zones. He said he always had nightmares at around 6 a.m. “He bought an Ebo, which would play with his pet cat at 6 a.m. as the timer he had set. He felt calmed when he woke up from the nightmares to see the interaction between Ebo and the cat,” said Chu, adding that it is exactly why she started the company.

“Unlike a monitoring camera, our product allows users to interact with their family members and pets in addition to having a clear view of them in real time,”she said.

More than 10,000 Ebos have been sold around the world since it was first released in December 2019, right before Christmas, according to the Hong Konger. “About 40 percent were sold in Europe and the United States. We also have clients in Japan, South Korea and other countries and regions.”

Chu said the fast development of WeHome was only possible in Qianhai, known for its innovation friendly environment.

“The innovation-friendly environment here is helpful for us to come up with more innovative ideas. Meanwhile as a Shenzhen-Hong Kong cooperation zone, Qianhai offers us various supportive policies like office rent exemptions and reductions, entrepreneurship subsidies and low-rent housing are also of great help for our company’s development,” she said.

Currently, Chu’s team has more than 40 team members, 80 percent of who are R&D personnel. The company possesses the core technologies of their product and has over 20 patents and intellectual properties.

“Shenzhen is a city of vigor. Taking advantage of the manufacturing and supply chain resources, we can have easy access to factories and suppliers. The city’s convenient logistics industry also allows us to deliver products to our American clients in just four days,” Chu said.

Before founding WeHome, Chu worked at DJI, a Shenzhen-headquartered drone maker, and in 2016, she assisted Professor Li Zexiang set up the Xbot Park, a high-tech startup incubator in Songshanhu, Dongguan. Chu graduated from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) with a doctoral degree in IC design in 2014.