HKSTP Crowns Overall Champion Skyland Innovation at EPiC 2023 Pitching Competition Beating Over 610 Global Startups
28.4.2023 18:11:00 EEST | Business Wire | Press release
Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) today successfully held its 7th Elevator Pitch Competition (EPiC), naming Hong Kong startup, Skyland Innovation, as the overall 2023 champion, beating over 610 startups from 55 economies around the world. The signature event has partnered with the city’s leading corporations: Cathay, HSBC, MTR Lab, plus global accelerator Plug & Play, to become a true iconic mega event that has hit a global scale.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230428005353/en/
Mr Albert Wong, CEO of HKSTP (Centre), alongside EPiC 2023 Top 10 overall finalists. (Photo: Business Wire)
As Hong Kong’s flagship and largest pitching contest, 50 Grand Finale semi-finalists joined the city’s most eagerly anticipated pitch event this year at sky100 at the top of the International Commerce Centre in West Kowloon to re-create a real-life 60-second elevator pitch experience.
The EPiC 2023 judging panel of the region’s top entrepreneurs, investors and innovation ecosystem leaders selected Skyland Innovation from Hong Kong, as this year’s overall champion. The winner of the grand prize of US$ 90,000, helps property owners and contractors to coordinate and communicate seamlessly on construction sites through the use of robotics and AI. The local proptech is also a spinoff from the Hong Kong Center for Construction Robotics (HKCRC) within the HKSAR Government backed AIR@InnoHK research cluster located at Hong Kong Science Park.
Along with all 50 semi-finalists, Skyland Innovation also qualifies to be considered by the HKSTP Venture Fund for additional investment deals. If selected, each company can potentially receive up to a maximum investment of US$5 million.
EPiC 2023 competitors were split across the two themes of FinTech and PropTech with FinCrime Dynamics from the UK named as the overall FinTech category winner, and Skyland Innovation Company Ltd named the overall PropTech winner from Hong Kong. This year, Canvasland, a FinTech startup from Hong Kong was also voted by the public as the “My Favourite Pitcher" winner, taking away US$10,000 and 200,000 Asia Miles. The top 10 overall finalists also won US$10,000 each (Full winners and finalists list below).
Paul Chan, Financial Secretary of Hong Kong SAR, said: “Hong Kong has a strong, thriving startup ecosystem with 4000 startups, up more than 50% from 2018. Hong Kong is also a natural gateway to the GBA, which offers tremendous growth opportunities. Successful products and services will surely have an edge in the GBA, the whole of the nation and around the world. I am truly excited to be here at EPiC 2023 where startups strive to make their 60-second pitch truly count. I congratulate all the EPiC 2023 winners and invite startups from all over the world to join us in Hong Kong where the future is built.”
Sunny Chai, Chairman, HKSTP, said: “EPiC 2023 showcases the most exciting innovations from the world’s star-studded next-generation global tech ventures. Together with the Hong Kong Government's solid commitment, as reinforced by the Hong Kong I&T Development Blueprint, our city provides the ideal platform to expand into the vast Asian market. Hong Kong is also Asia’s world city and a bridge between the mainland and the world, making us a magnet for global innovation talent and enterprises.”
Albert Wong, CEO, HKSTP, said: “This year’s EPiC competition features a record international turnout and shows Hong Kong is truly back with a strong show of unicorns and soonicorns from around the world among this year’s finalists. But EPiC is more than just a competition, it is a prime example of Hong Kong’s unique ability to help startups grow fast and go beyond by providing a network of global investment opportunities and innovation talent to turn cutting-edge science, technologies, and ideas into game-changing solutions."
A magnet for global investors and innovation talent
EPiC 2023 surpassed all expectations, attracting over 610 entries from 55 countries and cities across five continents. Over 75% of contestants come from overseas, a record high proportion of overseas contestants and economies participation since 2016. Startups joining EPiC 2023 can fully leverage the largest I&T ecosystem in Hong Kong and HKSTP’s direct connections to over 1,000 investors and more than 300 corporate partners.
In addition to the EPiC final pitching contest, the 50 semi-finalists have also taken part in the "Grow Beyond Hong Kong" Immersion Programme. This exclusive 2-day programme ran from 25-26 April, immersed the EPiC 2023 semi-finalists directly into HKSTP’s innovation ecosystem. Participants will unlock growth opportunities through educational talks, business matching and networking with leading corporate partners and investors in our ecosystem.
Winners List:
|
Overall Champion |
Skyland Innovation Company Ltd. |
||
|
“My Favourite Pitcher” Winner |
Canvasland Limited |
||
|
FinTech Winner |
FinCrime Dynamics |
||
|
PropTech Winner |
Skyland Innovation Company Ltd. |
||
|
Top 10 Overall Finalists |
FinTech Finalists:
FinCrime Dynamics Homebase Ultipa VoiceAI Technologies
PropTech Finalists:
I2Cool Limited
Mimicrete VoltSafe, Inc. Skyland Innovation Company Ltd. |
Contestants Breakdown:
|
Category |
|
|
No. of applicants |
|
PropTech |
|
|
266 (43%) |
|
FinTech |
|
|
352 (57%) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
No. of applicants |
|
Overseas |
|
|
465 (75%) |
|
Hong Kong |
|
|
153 (25%) |
A record high proportion of overseas contestants and economies participation since 2016.
For more information on EPiC 2023, please visit: https://epic.hkstp.org/
About Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation
Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) has for over 20 years committed to building up Hong Kong as an international innovation and technology hub to propel success for local and global pioneers today and tomorrow. HKSTP has established a thriving I&T ecosystem that is home to two unicorns and Hong Kong’s leading R&D hub with over 13,000 research professionals and over 1,300 technology companies focused on healthtech, AI and robotics, fintech and smart city technologies.
Established in 2001, we attract and nurture talent, accelerate and commercialise innovation and technology for entrepreneurs on their journey of growth in Hong Kong, to the Greater Bay Area, Asia and beyond. Our growing innovation ecosystem is built around our key locations of Hong Kong Science Park in Shatin, InnoCentre in Kowloon Tong and three modern INNOPARKs in Tai Po, Tseung Kwan O and Yuen Long. The three INNOPARKs are realising a vision of new industrialisation for Hong Kong. The goal is sectors like advanced manufacturing, electronics and biotechnology are being reimagined for a new generation of industry.
Through our infrastructure, services, expertise and network of partnerships, HKSTP will help establish innovation and technology as a pillar of growth for Hong Kong, while reinforcing Hong Kong’s international I&T hub status as a launchpad for global growth at the heart of the GBA innovation powerhouse.
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/20230428005353/en/
Contact information
Media Contact:
Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation
Betsy Leung
Tel: +852 2629 2300
Email: betsy.leung@hkstp.org
Edelman Public Relations
Lisa Tse
Tel: +852 3756 8632 / 6347 2009
Email: Lisa.Tse@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
I-Pulse Signs Definitive Agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce for $250 Million CHIPS R&D Award25.6.2026 21:53:00 EEST | Press release
I-Pulse Co-founders Robert Friedland, CEO, and Laurent Frescaline, CTO, announced today a definitive agreement with the U.S. Department of Commerce’s CHIPS Research and Development Office for a $250 million award for the further development of I-Pulse’s proprietary semiconductor and pulsed power technology. “With today’s announced investment, the Trump administration is strengthening America’s capabilities and enhancing its national and energy security goals,” said Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick. Co-founder Robert Friedland said: “We are excited to partner with the U.S. government to advance our unique, American technology suite to benefit our great nation. This award supports the development of world-leading critical components in the pulsed power technology stack, with profound implications for energy security and national defense.” The CHIPS award strengthens U.S. supply chain resilience by boosting domestic semiconductor manufacturing and reducing reliance on foreign-made se
Burjeel Holdings Prices First MENA Healthcare Sukuk Since 2018, 3.2x Oversubscribed25.6.2026 20:31:00 EEST | Press release
Burjeel Holdings, a leading super-specialty healthcare group in the GCC listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, priced its inaugural USD 500 million Regulation S 5-year senior unsecured Sukuk offering due 2031 under its newly established USD 1.5 billion Senior Unsecured Sukuk Programme. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260625449702/en/ Burjeel Holdings’ inaugural Sukuk was priced at a 7.000 % profit rate and a yield of 7.125% (Photo: AETOSWire) The offering attracted significant demand from high-quality international and regional investors, with the orderbook peaking at USD 1.6 billion, representing 3.2x oversubscription. The strength of the orderbook enabled Burjeel to tighten pricing from initial price thoughts in the mid-7% area, with the Sukuk priced at a 7.000% profit rate and a yield of 7.125%, representing the lowest 5-year yield by a GCC-based private non-investment grade corporate issuer since 202
Fossil Fuels Are a Thing of the Past; The Future Is Renewable: The Smarter E Europe Concludes With a Clear Message25.6.2026 20:03:00 EEST | Press release
Packed halls, a vibrant atmosphere and a buzzing vibe – after three days, The smarter E Europe 2026, Europe’s largest alliance of exhibitions for the energy industry, has come to a successful close. The event held at Messe München offered a glimpse of a future-oriented energy world powered by renewables. A strong signal with a clear message went out to the world from the Bavarian capital: The future is renewable. Renewable energies can help ensure a reliable, secure and cost-effective energy supply around the clock, seven days a week. A total of 2,650 exhibitors from 52 countries – many of whom had expanded their booth space compared with the previous year – demonstrated how this can work. More than 66 percent of exhibitors were from outside of Germany. They presented innovative and market-ready products ranging from virtual power plants, smart grid and load control, smart charging solutions, storage technologies and PV hybrid systems to digital platforms transparently and flexibly.The
HeyGen Doubles to $200M ARR in Eight Months on the Rise of Identity-First AI Video25.6.2026 19:02:00 EEST | Press release
HeyGen, the identity-first AI video platform, today announced it has surpassed $200 million in annual recurring revenue, doubling in eight months. The milestone reflects a rapid shift in how individuals, small businesses, and enterprises adopt AI video: as a scalable layer for human communication across languages, formats, and audiences. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260625305891/en/ HeyGen passes $200M in ARR HeyGen's community now spans more than 30 million users in 196 countries and 175+ languages & dialects, from solopreneurs creating professional social videos for the first time to 85% of the Fortune 100 — who together have created more than 118 million videos. That growth has come with rare capital efficiency: HeyGen generates roughly $2.70 in ARR for every dollar of equity capital raised, making it one of the most capital-efficient venture-backed AI companies in the world. "Crossing $200 million in AR
Amazfit Brings Interactive iOS Notifications to Select Smartwatches in Europe25.6.2026 17:50:00 EEST | Press release
Amazfit, a leading global smart wearable brand owned by Zepp Health, today announced its support of iOS Notification Forwarding, a new Beta feature that provides eligible iPhone users in the European Union with a more complete notification experience on select Amazfit smartwatches. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260625552705/en/ Amazfit brings interactive iOS notifications to select smartwatches in Europe, allowing users to interact with supported notifications directly from their watch. The feature goes beyond basic notification alerts, allowing users to interact with supported notifications directly from their watch. Depending on the notification type, users may be able to reply to messages, complete quick actions such as Mark as Read or Call Back, and view supported images from camera, doorbell and other alerts. iOS Notification Forwarding will initially be available on: Amazfit Cheetah 2 Ultra Amazfit Bal
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