HONG KONG, Nov. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- On Thursday, November 27th, 30 swimmers in five teams will brave the elements to relay swim 45 kilometers around Hong Kong Island. This remarkable event, Make Waves for Hong Kong, aims to raise HK$3.5 million to provide learn to swim lessons for thousands of adults and children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Organised for the third consecutive year by charity, Splash Foundation, the event highlights a commitment to ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to learn to swim and enjoy the benefits of being in the water.
Four Hong Kong teams will be vying for position alongside a Singapore team. The swimmers represent diverse backgrounds and swim levels, united by their motivation to share the joy of swimming with others.
Amongst the Hong Kong teams are Ryan Leung, the first Hong Konger to conquer the North Channel - one of the world's toughest swims; Janis Mok, Outreach and Strategic Partnerships Manager of the Swire Institute of Marine Science, the University of Hong Kong's research facility at Hong Kong's only marine reserve; and Vada Chung, Founder of Whiskers N Paws, who began open water swimming just two years ago.
Nearly Half of Hong Kong is Unable to Swim
Despite having the longest coastline of any city and an abundance of swimming pools, around half of Hong Kongers, mostly women and children from low-income communities, are unable to swim. The beneficiary of the event, Splash Foundation is a charity dedicated to improving access to swimming for disadvantaged children and adults. Their programmes are free-of-cost to learners across the city and see an 80% success rate at the end of 20 hours of instruction.
Learning to Swim for Individual and Community Wellbeing
Ryan Leung, Senior US Consultant at True North Education, is looking forward to swimming in his home city, "In the most challenging parts of my North Channel swim, the only way I could keep going was by adopting a mindset to focus on what I can control and accept what I couldn't. Swimming Make Waves and expanding access to learning to swim means giving Hong Kong disadvantaged youth this tool to navigate the immense pressures they're often under, build resilience and learn that they can achieve what may seem impossible at first."
Janis Mok's career change from the finance sector into marine conservation is closely tied to her journey into open water swimming. "In Hong Kong, we have a pronounced terrestrial bias; what we don't see, we don't care about. I grew up as a competitive swimmer, primarily in pools, until I finally took the chance to embrace what I didn't know. Hong Kong's waters have been improving and become clearer and cleaner due to measures taken by the government in early 2010s. To continue this progress, Hong Kong needs to learn to swim, learn to love the water, and see for themselves all that is worth saving."
Vada Chung, "I never realised that just a swimsuit, goggles and a swim cap could bring so much joy. I want others to discover that same joy which is why I'm swimming Make Waves. When I first swam out of the shark nets 2 years ago, I experienced something truly transformative - it was both exhilarating and strangely grounding at the same time. The swim connected my mind and breath to nature. Everything came together and I was hooked. I'm excited to help more people experience the joy swimming has given me."
Lasting Impact
Make Waves for Hong Kong funds nearly half of Splash Foundation's annual learn to swim programmes, enabling thousands of kids and adults from disadvantaged communities to experience the transformative impact of learning to swim and to enjoy lifelong access to the water.
'Make Waves for Hong Kong' is scheduled to start in the early morning hours of Thursday November 27th from Sandy Bay, near Cyberport, on the south side of Hong Kong Island. 30 swimmers in five teams will swim continuously for 11-13 hours.
Make Waves for Hong Kong 2025 is made possible by the generous support of sponsors, including Simpson Marine, Kiri Capital, Saint Honore, Henderson Land and the Lee Shau Kee Foundation.
Quotes from Sponsors:
- Simpson Marine: "We have been supporting Splash for the past nine years, providing safety and support vessels with crews, and around-the-clock strategic, logistical and safety assistance for the fundraiser swims", says Ewa Stachurska, Chief Marketing and Sustainability Officer at Simpson Marine. "As committed ocean enthusiasts, we're committed to water safety and to give more people the opportunity to enjoy the water with joy and confidence"
- Kiri Capital: "This is a truly unique international event and we're delighted to see it capture so much attention year after year." says Katherine Chan, Head of the Engage Program, Kiri Capital, "It is for a fantastic cause to ensure more Hong Kongers have the opportunity to gain the life skill of swimming"
- Saint Honore: "We are thrilled to support the Splash Foundation's 'Make Waves for Hong Kong' swim around Hong Kong Island. Let's celebrate our amazing city together." says Michael Tang, Chief Executive Officer of Convenience Retail Asia Limited. "By promoting swim literacy, we're paving the way for a brighter, safer, and healthier future for all Hong Kongers."
- Henderson Land and the Lee Shau Kee Foundation: "We are dedicated to supporting sports as a powerful way of advancing the well-being of society, promoting health, and fostering personal growth. We are pleased to once again partner with Splash Foundation for 'Make Waves for Hong Kong'" says Cynthia Leung, Chief Communications Officer at Henderson Land. "Driven by a shared vision to create meaningful impact within the community, this initiative perfectly aligns with our commitment to empowering individuals and encouraging active, healthy lifestyles throughout the city."
The Event
Make Waves for Hong Kong is a 45 km multi-relay swim around Hong Kong Island taking place on Friday 8 November, with 5 teams, composed of 30 elite swimmers and business leaders.
- The annual event builds awareness around the city's historically low swim literacy rates, where nearly half the population is unable to swim
- The teams aim to raise HK$3.5million for Splash Foundation to help thousands of disadvantaged children and adults experience the transformative impact of learning to swim.
- The swim will start in the early hours of Friday morning and is expected to take around 10-13 hours to complete
- Relayers will take turns swimming in 30 minute intervals, braving the elements and changing sea conditions.
- See event page: www.splashfoundation.org/makewaves.
About Splash Foundation:
Splash Foundation creates opportunities for kids and adults from disadvantaged communities to experience the transformative impact of learning to swim and enjoy lifelong access to the water. Through teacher training, programme delivery and public advocacy, Splash improves access to the water and enables thousands of people to learn a life skill that keeps them safe and improves their physical, mental and social wellbeing. Programmes are delivered in Hong Kong SAR and Singapore and beneficiaries include migrant domestic workers and other ethnic minority groups, kids and parents from low income communities, and kids with special educational needs. By 2030, Splash Foundation aims to teach 25,000 people how to swim.
Key facts
- Despite having the longest coastline of any city and an abundance of swimming pools, 47% of Hong Kong secondary school students cannot swim (source)
- More than half of people worldwide cannot swim, and women account for most of them: 2 out of 3 women cannot swim (source).
- After Splash programmes, 95% of participants shared that they are comfortable going to public pools to swim or to practise their swimming. (source: Splash Foundation)
2025 Make Waves Swimmers (See full team list: webpage)
Make Waves for Hong Kong - previous event photos (Google Drive: Photos)
** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **
International Relay Swim Event Around Hong Kong Island Returns to Help Thousands Learn to Swim
At Anker Day 2026, Anker Innovations marks its 15th anniversary by unveiling THUS™ - ANKER's first neural-net Compute-in-Memory AI audio chip - and a new generation of products across soundcore and eufy.
NEW YORK and Bellevue, Wash., May 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Anker Innovations is hosting Anker Day 2026: Where Ultimate Meets Possible, its annual brand event to showcase the newest product launches and technology break-throughs across its portfolio. Where Ultimate Meets Possible will bring together media, retail buyers and key influencers for an exclusive look at what's next in consumer electronics, spanning premium audio, home energy and the smart home appliances.
Where Ultimate Meets Possible will be held at STORIED in New York City, an invite-only experience featuring keynote presentations, hands-on product demonstrations and a deep dive into the company's latest innovations.
Anker Day 2026 debuted innovations across three brands: soundcore's Liberty 5 Pro and Pro Max — the first earbuds powered by Anker's new THUS™ AI chip — alongside VibeOS AI platform and Nebula SpaceFlow; Anker SOLIX's S2000, the world's longest-lasting 2kWh home backup power station; and eufy's EdgeAgent™, a local AI home security agent, plus new baby care products.
Started With Power
Anker was founded in 2011 and released its first product in the following year: a 4,500mAh ultra-slim power bank. It was a modest beginning, but behind it was an engineering conviction that would shape everything that followed. If technology is going to make a meaningful difference in people's lives, it has to be built to the highest possible standard.
2012 - The Beginning
Anker's first product: a 4,500mAh ultra-slim power bank - the start of a commitment to putting well-engineered, reliable power in people's hands.
2013 - PowerIQ™
Introduced PowerIQ™, enabling fast-charging compatibility across both iOS and Android - setting the standard for universal charging intelligence.
2018 - GaN from Aerospace
An early adopter of Gallium Nitride (GaN) from aerospace applications for consumer charging - delivering a 40% size reduction without sacrificing output.
2019 - World's Smallest 18W Charger
Delivered the world's smallest 18W charger at the time - proving that ultimate performance and ultra-compact form are not a trade-off.
2022 - GaNPrime™
Pioneered high-power multi-port chargers with dynamic power distribution - intelligently allocating power across multiple devices simultaneously.
2023 - 240W Wall Charger
Delivered the industry's highest-power 240W wall charger at the time - meeting the demands of the most power-hungry professional setups.
2024 - InstaCord™ & UltraDura™
In 2024, InstaCord™ became Anker's most advanced retractable‑cable technology and UltraDura™ achieved industry‑leading durability.
2025 - GaNPrime™ 2.0 • PowerIQ™ 5.0 • AnkerSense™ View • TurboBoost™
GaNPrime™ 2.0 (most advanced fast charging), PowerIQ™ 5.0 (smartest compatibility), AnkerSense™ View (intelligent display technology), and TurboBoost™ for ultra-fast power bank recharging. The pursuit never stops.
Fifteen years. Eight technology generations. Every breakthrough driven by one and only promise: seeking the ultimate innovation, not as an end in itself, but because technology built to its highest standard is how we put the possibilities people want in their lives within reach. Technology in service of people. That is what this pursuit has always meant.
Today's Milestone: Anker Thus™
For 80 years, chip design has followed the same logic established by John von Neumann in 1945: separate the processor from memory, and shuttle data between them one instruction at a time. For eight decades across mainframes, desktops, and data centers, this model worked. AI breaks that assumption. A neural network draws on millions of learned parameters all at once - and in a wearable device, moving that data between memory and processor consumes more than 90 percent of chip power, leaving almost nothing for actual computation.
THUS™ applies a different principle: embed computation directly inside NOR Flash memory cells, where the model already lives. The model parameters never have to move. The energy previously consumed by data movement is redirected entirely to computation.
The first THUS™ AI chip debuts in earbuds, delivering up to 150 times more AI computing power on the environmental noise cancellation task than Anker's previous-generation flagship earphones.
Clear Calls - the chip's first disclosed feature - runs a large neural network entirely on-device, anchored by eight MEMS microphones and two bone conduction sensors, for a significantly clear call in any environment. Additional AI-powered features including Signature Sound and Voice Control debuted at Anker Day.
"Every AI chip built until now stores the model on one side and does the computation on the other. To think, the device has to carry all those parameters across, many times per second, every single inference. THUS™ puts the computation where the model already lives. The model never has to move again."
- Steven Yang, Founder and CEO, Anker Innovations
THUS™ takes inspiration from "Thus have I heard", a Buddhist phrase that reflects direct transmission - knowledge conveyed as it was experienced, without distortion.
All performance figures are based on internal Anker lab tests. The 150× AI computing power figure applies specifically to the environmental noise cancellation task and reflects the architectural change from rule-based to neural-net AI processing. It is not a general performance claim and does not reflect a process node upgrade. The environmental noise cancellation workload referenced here runs as an on-device neural network model on the first THUS™ chip.
Anker soundcore Liberty 5 Pro: The First Product Powered by Anker Thus™
The soundcore Liberty 5 Pro and Liberty 5 Pro Max are the first two products to ship with the THUS™ chip. Their positioning is organized around three on-device intelligence layers the chip enables - understanding, adapting, and tuning - each representing a function earbuds could not credibly perform before neural-net AI became viable at this scale. Coming to the market soon.
15 Years, One Promise
From our first power bank to a proprietary AI chip in 2026 - the categories we build in keep expanding, and so does the scope of what technology can do for people's lives. Our promise has been one and only, seeking the ultimate innovation, with the conviction that technology built to its highest standard makes the possibilities people want in their lives the ones they can actually live. Fifteen years is long enough to know that trust is earned slowly. Fifteen years in. The pursuit continues.
About Anker Innovations
Anker Innovations is a global consumer technology company driven by ultimate innovation, creating products that help people power, create, connect, and live more freely. Founded in 2011, Anker Innovations serves more than 200 million consumers across 146 countries and regions. Learn more at anker.com.
DISCLAIMER
*Statements in this news release that are not statements of historical fact may include forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financial performance of the company. We wish to caution you that such statements are just predictions and that actual events or results may differ materially. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties surrounding competitive and industry conditions, market acceptance for the company's products, risks of litigation, technological changes, developing industry standards and other factors related to the company's businesses. The actions referred to in this press release are not an admission or acknowledgement of any claim or allegation. The Company reserves all of its rights.
** This press release is distributed by PR Newswire through automated distribution system, for which the client assumes full responsibility. **
15 Years of Seeking Ultimate Innovation: From Power Banks to Proprietary AI THUS™ Chip
15 Years of Seeking Ultimate Innovation: From Power Banks to Proprietary AI THUS™ Chip
15 Years of Seeking Ultimate Innovation: From Power Banks to Proprietary AI THUS™ Chip
