Cathay Innovation Partners with IHES to Propel Fundamental Research and Breakthrough Technologies

July 17, 2026
Europe

Paris, July 17th 2026 – Cathay Innovation is proud to announce its long-term support for the Institut des Hautes Études Scientifiques (IHES), one of the world’s premier research centers in mathematics and theoretical physics.

Through this partnership, Cathay Innovation reaffirms a core conviction: tomorrow’s technological revolutions are born today, in the absolute freedom to question, explore, and push the boundaries of knowledge.

IHES: The Global Cradle of Scientific Excellence

Founded in 1958, IHES occupies a unique position on the international scientific stage. The Institute offers brilliant minds a rare, protected ecosystem where intellectual rigor and a long-term horizon allow them to tackle the universe’s most complex puzzles.

This pursuit of pure excellence has shaped the history of modern science: since its inception, eight of the fourteen permanent mathematics professors at IHES have been awarded the prestigious Fields Medal. This represents an extraordinary concentration of talent for a highly focused, boutique institute with a truly global impact.

For Cathay Innovation, this support is a strategic imperative. The technologies transforming our industries and societies do not appear out of thin air, they are rooted in decades of theoretical research.

Artificial intelligence is the ultimate proof. The commercial applications we fund today rely heavily on mathematical, probabilistic, and algorithmic breakthroughs patiently developed over decades, long before ever reaching the market.

The recent arrival of mathematician Hong Wang as a permanent professor at IHES perfectly illustrates this dynamic. Awarded the prestigious 2026 Clay Research Award for her landmark geometric discoveries (notably on the Furstenberg set conjecture in the plane and the Kakeya conjecture in three dimensions), she embodies a new generation of world-class researchers whose fundamental discoveries will shape the technologies of tomorrow.

Mingpo Cai, Founder and President of Cathay Capital:

“True technological breakthroughs do begin in corporate R&D departments; but they also start much earlier, where researchers have the freedom to explore without the constraints of immediate commercial returns. The rise of artificial intelligence is a powerful reminder of our debt to fundamental research. By supporting IHES, Cathay Innovation is investing in science and the long term. We are backing those who, far from the spotlight, are quietly building the foundations of tomorrow’s world.”