Interview by Armindo Neves
The DSA International Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition organiser told the Post yesterday that the contest aims to promote the development of science and technology in Macau.
DSA stands for domain-specific architecture.*
Organised by the RISC-V** Domain-Specific Architecture (RDSA) Industrial Alliance and the Macao Institute of Industrial Technology (MIIT) – and funded by the Macao Industrial and Commercial Development Fund, guided by the Economic and Technological Development Bureau – this global competition aims to drive breakthroughs in AI, chip design, and next-generation computing infrastructure, according to a statement released by the co-organisers last month.
Aglaia Kong Chio Fai, vice-chairwoman of MIIT and founder of the RDSA Industrial Alliance, also serves as the founder, CEO and CTO of Guangdong LeapFive Technology Co. Ltd. – one of the competition’s supporting organisations.
Kong holds a joint master’s degree in Business Administration from Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, as well as honorary doctorates from the University of Macau (UM) and the Macao Polytechnic University. She did technological research in Silicon Valley for over 30 years, according to her CV provided by LeapFive Technology Co. Ltd.
During an interview at a café in Hengqin yesterday, Kong said that the competition focuses on chip optimisation and industrial applications, aiming to help Macau break through traditional economic models and advance towards a high-tech future.
Kong pointed out that the current AI industry heavily relies on general-purpose GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) computing power from companies like NVIDIA, which, she said, entails high costs and suboptimal efficiency. In contrast, DSA is designed to optimise hardware for targeted applications – such as autonomous driving, medical diagnostics, and blockchain - significantly improving performance while reducing costs.
“Traditional GPUs are like a buffet - plenty of options but not always what you need. DSA, however, is like a carefully crafted bowl of wonton noodles, optimised for specific tasks - more efficient and cost-effective,” Kong said.
Her company will provide open-source general computing platforms, such as RISC-V architecture and programmable hardware, “Field-Programmable Gate Array” (FPGA), for the competition, encouraging participants to develop high-performance, industry-specific AI acceleration solutions.
Kong enumerated Macau’s unique advantages as the competition host: its design-focused approach (requiring no heavy manufacturing infrastructure) perfectly suits the city’s compact resources; its “neutral” status offers a rare bridge for global tech collaboration amid geopolitical tensions; and its local universities can retain STEM talent by providing entrepreneurial pathways through this event.
STEM is an acronym that stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.
She also said that Macau’s distinctive sectors like gaming security and smart tourism present ready-to-deploy testing scenarios for specialised AI applications - making the city an ideal innovation lab for domain-specific technologies.
According to the statement, the competition is currently open for registration until September 30, with preliminary judging scheduled for mid-October and the finals to be held in Macau during November, where shortlisted teams will present their projects in a pitch-style competition for awards, the first prize amounting to 500,000 patacas, two second prizes of 200,000 patacas each, three third prizes of 100,000 patacas each, and four fourth prizes of 50,000 patacas each.
* A domain-specific architecture (DSA) refers to a computer architecture designed specifically to optimise performance, efficiency, or power consumption for a particular application domain, rather than being a general-purpose solution. – DeepSeek
**RISC-V (pronounced “risk-five”) is an open-standard Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) based on Reduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC) principles. Unlike proprietary ISAs like x86 (Intel/AMD) or ARM, RISC-V is open-source and royalty-free, meaning anyone can use, modify, or implement it without licensing fees. - DeepSeek
Aglaia Kong Chio Fai smiles during an interview with local Chinese-language newspaper Macao Daily News in Hengqin on Tuesday. – Photo courtesy of Macao Daily News
This poster provided by RISC-V Domain-Specific Architecture (RDSA) Industrial Alliance promotes the upcoming DSA International Innovation & Entrepreneurship Competition.
