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
Chiesi Group Announces New Chair and Vice Chair20.5.2026 12:00:00 EEST | Press release
Chiesi today announced a planned leadership change in its Board of Directors: Maria Paola Chiesi has been appointed Chair of the Board, succeeding Alessandro Chiesi, who is completing his tenure after nearly three years in the role, and will now continue to serve as Vice Chair. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260520447292/en/ Maria Paola Chiesi is appointed Chair of Chiesi Board of Directors, the first woman in this role; aims to reinforce sustainability as an integral and enduring pillar of the Group’s strategy During his mandate, Alessandro Chiesi oversaw the Group through a phase of continued international development and governance strengthening, thereby further consolidating Chiesi’s long-term strategy as a research focused biopharmaceutical company and certified B Corp. “It has been my privilege to serve as Chair during a period of evolution for Chiesi,” said Alessandro Chiesi. “What has remained unchang
Insurance Investment Outsourcing Surpasses $5.5 Trillion as Private Markets and Global Expansion Reshape the Industry20.5.2026 10:00:00 EEST | Press release
Clearwater Analytics (NYSE: CWAN) today released the 2026 Insurance Investment Outsourcing Report (IIOR), produced in partnership with DCS Financial Consulting. The report captures $5.5 trillion in third-party general account insurance assets under management across 96 asset managers, a 23% increase year-over-year and a 65% increase since 2021, alongside $1.8 trillion in assets under advisement across 12 investment consultants. The findings point to an outsourcing market that has become larger, more global, and materially more complex. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260520780028/en/ The 2026 IIOR reveals defining trends reshaping insurance investment management: Private Markets Cross a Threshold. Third-party private insurance AUM has more than doubled since 2021, reaching $947 billion and approaching one-third of outsourced insurance allocations alongside public assets. Insurers have moved steadily beyond tra
Factbird Adds Quality & Compliance and Reports to its Manufacturing Intelligence Platform20.5.2026 09:00:00 EEST | Press release
Today, Factbird is announcing two major additions to its manufacturing intelligence platform: Quality & Compliance and Factbird Reports. Both address a problem that compounds as manufacturers grow. More sites mean more variation in how work gets done. More regulation means more documentation pressure on frontline teams. And more data, when fragmented across systems, often slows decisions rather than speeding them up. Solving this has traditionally meant large IT projects and months of deployment. “Enterprise manufacturers shouldn’t have to choose between capability and simplicity,” said Mogens Arne Hansen, Chief Technology and Product Officerat Factbird. “With Quality & Compliance and Reports, you can have standardized, audit-ready operations and automated performance reporting across every site, deployed in days, used by the people on the floor.” Quality & Compliance: standardized, compliant operations across every site Regulated manufacturers in food and beverage, pharma, and medical
The LYCRA Company to Successfully Complete Comprehensive Financial Restructuring20.5.2026 05:23:00 EEST | Press release
The LYCRA Company, LLC (“the Company”), a global leader in developing fiber and technology solutions for the apparel and personal care industries, will successfully complete its comprehensive financial restructuring process and emerge from Chapter 11 protection on May 20, 2026. The LYCRA Company has established a durable capital structure that will enable the Company’s pursuit of its growth strategy through investment in innovation, customer partnerships, and global operations. The Company will emerge from its comprehensive restructuring process with significantly enhanced financial flexibility and a strengthened balance sheet to support long-term growth. The Company will have reduced its total long-term debt by more than $1.2 billion and will obtain more than $75 million in new money investment. Throughout the process, the Company has maintained uninterrupted operations and continues to deliver on commitments to its employees, customers, and vendors. The LYCRA Company will be supporte
Johns Manville Announces John Vasuta as New CEO19.5.2026 23:30:00 EEST | Press release
Johns Manville (JM), a global building and specialty products manufacturer and a Berkshire Hathaway company, announced today that Bob Wamboldt will retire and John Vasuta will assume the role of President and Chief Executive Officer, effective August 1, 2026. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260519630814/en/ John Vasuta will become JM's CEO and President on August 1, 2026. Vasuta joined Johns Manville in 2019 as President of the company’s Engineered Products business. He also serves on the Board of Directors for EJ, a global leader and private manufacturer of infrastructure access products for water, sewer, utilities, drainage and telecommunications. “It’s an extraordinary privilege to step into the role of CEO,” Vasuta said. “I’m deeply honored to continue serving our customers and supporting the employees whose dedication makes our success possible.” Before joining JM, John held leadership roles at Bridgeston
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