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
New Pipistrel Voyager Brings Next Generation Training Capabilities and Access to Flight Schools20.7.2026 16:00:00 EEST | Press release
Pipistrel, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company and an affiliate of Textron Aviation Inc., today introduced the Pipistrel Voyager, a next-generation training aircraft designed to expand capability for flight schools while maintaining the efficiency and simplicity owners and operators expect from Pipistrel. Purpose-built for evolving pilot training requirements, the Voyager is designed to align with anticipated Modernization of Special Airworthiness Certification (MOSAIC) regulations. This positions the aircraft to support broader training missions while improving access to pilot development. The aircraft is expected to enter into service in 2027. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260720673571/en/ New Pipistrel Voyager brings next generation training capabilities and access to flight schools (Photo Credit: Pipistrel, a Textron Inc. company and an affiliate of Textron Aviation Inc.) The Voyager is making its world d
Expensify Launches Corporate Card in Europe20.7.2026 16:00:00 EEST | Press release
Expensify, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXFY), the easiest way to manage expenses, corporate cards, and travel, today announced that the Expensify Card is available to businesses of all sizes in the UK and select European markets, including Spain, Ireland, Poland, and the Netherlands. “The Expensify Card works quietly in the background to keep your business spend controlled, compliant, and ready for accounting,” said David Barrett, founder and CEO of Expensify. “It’s a preaccounting assistant that eliminates hours of reconciling transactions, chasing receipts, and reimbursing employees. One of our US customers, Pivot Bio, cut down on their expense report audit times by 90%. We can’t wait to share that same time savings with millions of businesses in the UK and EU.” Key benefits of the Expensify Card include: Real-time spend visibility: Transactions appear instantly in Expensify, so finance teams aren't waiting until month-end to see what was spent. Auto-categorization and receipt matching: Concierge
86% Of Enterprises Have Deployed AI Agents. Just 34% Trust Them, Boomi Study Finds.20.7.2026 16:00:00 EEST | Press release
Boomi, the data activation company for AI, today announced new research conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Boomi showing that despite rapid enterprise adoption of AI agents, trust hasn't kept pace with ambition. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260720652115/en/ Boomi-commissioned independent study finds integration, not smarter models, separates enterprises that trust their AI agents from those stuck in “agentic chaos” The Forrester survey of 409 director-and-above IT and technology decision-makers across North America, Europe, and APAC found that 86% of organizations have moved beyond the AI agent pilot stage, yet just 34% say they trust the actions their AI agents are taking. Among organizations in a state of "agentic chaos" (the bottom quartile for operational readiness across governance, integration, API/MCP management, and other categories), 77% are moving into production anyway, exposing thems
HistoSonics Opens Expanded Histotripsy Training Center in Hong Kong20.7.2026 15:00:00 EEST | Press release
HistoSonics today announced the opening of its expanded Histotripsy Training Center in Hong Kong, reinforcing the city's position as a leading hub for physician education, clinical collaboration, and innovation in Asia. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260720812810/en/ Pictured at the expanded Histotripsy Training Center in Hong Kong. Front row (left to right): Dr. Angus Yuen, Chief Medical Officer, Gleneagles Hospital Hong Kong; Prof. Albert Chan, Director of Liver Cancer Surgery Centre, Gleneagles Hospital Hong Kong; Dr. Kenneth Tsang, Regional Chief Executive Officer, IHH Healthcare North Asia, and Chief Executive Officer, Gleneagles Hospital Hong Kong; Dr. Vince Lau, Director of Interventional Radiology Centre, Gleneagles Hospital Hong Kong; Dr. Joe Herman, Vice President, Medical Affairs, HistoSonics. Back row (left to right): Jay Lee, APAC Regional Manager, HistoSonics; Eric Kwong, Hong Kong Sales Manager
Shaping a Generation Through Dialogue: Inside the Doha Debates Ambassador Program20.7.2026 14:29:00 EEST | Press release
In a world shaped by change and competing narratives, the ability to listen, question and engage in constructive dialogue has never been more critical. Through the Doha Debates Ambassador Program, a production of Qatar Foundation, young people from around the world are not only learning these skills, but actively applying them in their communities, careers and areas of study. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260720452437/en/ Shaping a Generation Through Dialogue: Inside the Doha Debates Ambassador Program. Applications are open for young people from around the world to learn to engage and lead through truth-seeking conversations about complex global issues. (Photo: AETOSWire) This online educational program teaches young people from across the globe to debate differently. Rather than engaging in a Western-style battle of ideas, participants take an approach to dialogue that is grounded in the Majlis—a welcoming
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