HKSTP’s First-Ever Virtual Elevator Pitch Competition 2020 Opens New Investment and Partnership Opportunities for Global Startups
Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) held its annual Elevator Pitch Competition 2020 (EPiC) virtually for the first time to unveil new and exciting pitching, investment and partnership opportunities as global startups face a challenging business landscape. US-based biotechnology startup, Mi Terro, topped other finalists to be crowned champion and claimed the top prize at the competition today.
HKSTP’s annual flagship event this year expanded to a week-long virtual programme. It garnered a great response with over 77,000 live views at today’s pitching competition. This year, EPiC attracted 476 entries from 37 countries and cities across five continents. A total of 170 contestants from 31 different markets entered the semi-final round, with nearly 70% of them coming from overseas.
Mi Terro, champion and winner of the Smart City category, is a company that upcycles and re-engineers protein food waste into plastic and cotton alternative fibres for the fashion, medical and packaging industries. The three Tech Category Winners, including UK-based AI & Robotics startup Arctoris, Philippines-based fintech startup PearlPay, and Portugal-based health technology startup RUBYnanomed, showcased their full potential as innovators in the competition.
Albert Wong, CEO of HKSTP, said: “This year’s successful staging of the 5th EPiC is a clear sign of our determination to provide a platform of unmatched opportunities to startups around the world to showcase their innovations and demonstrate their entrepreneurial spirit. The week-long programme is also a show of strength and resilience for Hong Kong’s rapidly-growing innovation and technology ecosystem which propels startups and their ideas to success in Hong Kong, Asia and beyond.”
Since inception in 2016, EPiC has drawn a huge number of international startups to make a live one-minute elevator pitch to leading investors and judges at the International Commerce Centre (ICC), the tallest skyscraper in Hong Kong. This year, our contestants switched modes to present their innovative business ideas, with a one-minute video pitch submitted to simulate the signature 60-second elevator ride.
The top ten finalists were given another opportunity to face the judges in a three-minute live pitch and two-minute Q&A, before announcing the overall champion, who took away a cash prize of US$100,000 while each of the category winners received a cash prize of US$10,000 and all ten finalists won US$6,000 each.
The competition marks a major progression for startups who gained valuable exposure among investors and industry leaders in their ongoing entrepreneurship journey. To further bolster the growth and development of local and overseas startups, this year’s EPiC provides a wider array of business opportunities to explore and acquire better understanding of the investment landscape in the region with the upcoming “Global Matching” programme from 9 to 12 November and the “Investment x Corporate Innovation Conference” on 13 November.
List of Winners
|
Award |
Company Name |
Market |
||
|
Champion and Tech Category Winner – Smart City |
United States |
|||
|
Tech Category Winner – Artificial Intelligence & Robotics |
United Kingdom |
|||
|
Tech Category Winner – FinTech |
Philippines |
|||
|
Tech Category Winner – Health Technology |
Portugal |
|||
|
Other Top 10 Finalists |
Australia |
|||
|
|
Hong Kong |
|||
|
|
United States |
|||
|
|
Hong Kong |
|||
|
|
Denmark |
|||
|
|
Hong Kong |
About Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation
Comprising Science Park, InnoCentre and Industrial Estates, Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) is a statutory body dedicated to building a vibrant innovation and technology ecosystem to connect stakeholders, nurture technology talents, facilitate collaboration, and catalyse innovations to deliver social and economic benefits to Hong Kong and the region.
Established in May 2001, HKSTP has been driving the development of Hong Kong into a regional hub for innovation and growth in several focused clusters including Electronics, Information & Communications Technology, Green Technology, Biomedical Technology, Materials and Precision Engineering. We enable science and technology companies to nurture ideas, innovate and grow, supported by our R&D facilities, infrastructure, and market-led laboratories and technical centres with professional support services. We also offer value added services and comprehensive incubation programmes for technology start-ups to accelerate their growth.
Technology businesses benefit from our specialised services and infrastructure at Science Park for applied research and product development; enterprises can find creative design support at InnoCentre; while skill-intensive businesses are served by our three industrial estates at Tai Po, Tseung Kwan O and Yuen Long. More information about HKSTP is available at www.hkstp.org.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201106005290/en/
Contact information
Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation
Sarah Poon
Tel: +852 2629 7015
Email: sarah.poon@hkstp.org
Edelman
Janice Wong
Tel: +852 2837 4775
Email: Janice.Wong@edelman.com / Edelmanhkstppr@edelman.com
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Mirion to Join the U.S. Industry Program at the 69th IAEA General Conference in Vienna, Austria11.9.2025 23:39:00 EEST | Press release
Mirion, a global provider of radiation detection, measurement, analysis, and monitoring solutions to the nuclear, medical, defense, and research end markets, is honored to announce its invitation to attend the 69th International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) General Conference. Scheduled for September 15–19 in Vienna, Austria, this annual event brings together key stakeholders from across the globe to discuss issues critical to nuclear safety, security, and peaceful applications of nuclear technology. Representing Mirion at the General Conference will be Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Thomas Logan and Chief Financial Officer Brian Schopfer. Their presence underscores the distinguished role Mirion plays as an industry leader in nuclear measurement, radiation protection, and safety solutions, in addition to its commitment to innovation and advancing global energy solutions. “We are honored to participate in this important global gathering,” Logan said. “The IAEA plays a crucial role
René Lammers Appointed Chief Research & Innovation Officer of The Estée Lauder Companies11.9.2025 23:25:00 EEST | Press release
The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE: EL) today announced the appointment of René Lammers, Ph.D. as Executive Vice President, Chief Research & Innovation Officer, effective October 1, 2025. Mr. Lammers will report directly to Stéphane de La Faverie, President and Chief Executive Officer, and will join the company’s Executive Team. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250911004836/en/ René Lammers, Ph.D., Executive Vice President, Chief Research & Innovation Officer “René is an exceptional and innovative leader whose deep scientific expertise, global perspective, and passion for cutting-edge product development will be instrumental as we transform our approach to research and innovation to more fully align with our focus on consumer centricity,” said Mr. de La Faverie. “Creating transformative innovation is integral to our strategic vision of Beauty Reimagined, and with René’s leadership, we are elevating our capab
RTL Luxembourg Expands Deployment of Verimatrix Technologies to Protect Premier Auto Racing Against Piracy11.9.2025 18:45:00 EEST | Press release
Regulatory News: Verimatrix, (Euronext Paris: VMX), a leading provider of security solutions for a safer connected world, today announced that RTL Luxembourg, the country’s leading media company, has further expanded its use of Verimatrix anti-piracy tools to now include the full Streamkeeper suite of solutions. Initially deploying Streamkeeper Multi-DRM, RTL Luxembourg also recently implemented Counterspy, Deepscan and Watermarking solutions – the industry’s latest set of powerful tools that help further bolster proactive protections for RTL’s motorsport content revenue. It was announced in April 2024 that RTL Luxembourg selected Verimatrix Streamkeeper Multi-DRM to ensure that RTL Luxembourg remained in full control of its valuable digital assets while also consistently keeping costs low and preventing unneeded technical complexities. With the addition of Verimatrix’s Counterspy, RTL Luxembourg further expands its ability to detect unauthorized content distribution in real-time, depl
Xylem and Amazon Partner on Smart Water Upgrades to Save More Than 1.3 Billion Liters Annually in Mexico11.9.2025 17:00:00 EEST | Press release
Residents in Mexico City and Monterrey will soon enjoy more reliable water supply as the two cities launch groundbreaking infrastructure upgrades to save over 1.3 billion liters of water a year – easing pressure from the rapid urbanization and persistent drought conditions that have strained local water systems. The two cities are working in partnership with global water technology company Xylem (NYSE: XYL) and Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) to deploy Xylem Vue, an advanced software platform that applies data and analytics to detect leaks, cut water losses and improve residents’ water supply. The projects are estimated to save upwards of 800 million liters of water a year in Mexico City and 560 million liters a year in Monterrey. “In a water-stressed region, where every liter counts, recovering more than a billion liters of water each year is a game-changer,” said Jaime Barba, General Manager, Xylem Vue. “Working with Amazon and the local water utilities, we are using data to give these cities
HTEC Partners with World Economic Forum11.9.2025 16:56:00 EEST | Press release
HTEC, a global digital engineering and product development company, has today announced that it has joined the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Centre for AI Excellence. HTEC will contribute to the community through its expertise and thought leadership to help advance AI adoption and AI innovation across its core industries. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250911910448/en/ HTEC Partners with World Economic Forum to bring AI expertise to help with industry transformation and real-world outcomes WEF’s Centre for AI Excellence is bringing together leading industry organisations and experts to work together to advance the pace and positive impact AI can have in economies and societies. Its goal is to unlock transformative potential in an equitable and human-centered way, which is well aligned with HTEC’s principles and values. As an AI-first organization, HTEC blends deep engineering expertise with strategic insight.
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom