HKSTP’s First-Ever Virtual Elevator Pitch Competition 2020 Opens New Investment and Partnership Opportunities for Global Startups
6.11.2020 15:49:00 EET | Business Wire | Press release
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
Alfasigma to Acquire Nordic Group B.V. Expanding Its Specialty Care Portfolio and Presence in Europe11.8.2026 14:30:00 EEST | Press release
Alfasigma S.p.A. (“Alfasigma”), a global pharmaceutical company, today announced that it has entered into a share purchase agreement with SEVER Life Sciences B.V. ("SEVER") for the sale of 100% of the shares of Nordic Group B.V. (“Nordic Pharma”) and its subsidiaries, a privately owned specialty pharmaceutical company with direct operations in Europe, Canada and Japan. The acquisition will add Nordic Pharma’s established rheumatoid arthritis business, led by the Nordimet® methotrexate franchise, to Alfasigma’s rheumatology portfolio, which includes the Jyseleca® franchise. It will also deepen Alfasigma’s commercial reach through direct operations in 18 countries across Europe and add commercial platforms in Canada and Japan. In addition to rheumatology, the acquisition includes Nordic Pharma’s portfolio in women’s health, critical care and ophthalmology. It also brings 265 employees with specialist capabilities and expertise. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions,
Organigram Reports Record Third Quarter Fiscal 2026 Results11.8.2026 13:00:00 EEST | Press release
Organigram Global Inc. (NASDAQ: OGI) (TSX: OGI), (the “Company” or “Organigram”), Canada's #1 cannabis company by market share2 and a growing global cannabis platform following its acquisition of Sanity Group GmbH (“Sanity” or “Sanity Group”), today announced its results for the third quarter ended June 30, 2026 (“Q3 Fiscal 2026” or “Q3”). Q3 FISCAL 2026 HIGHLIGHTS Gross Revenue: $145.1 million (+32% year-over-year). Net Revenue: $105.8 million (+49% year-over-year). Adjusted EBITDA1: $13.4 million (+136% year-over-year). #1 Market Share in Canada: #1 in vapes, #1 in milled flower, #1 in concentrates, #2 in flower, #2 in pre-rolls, #3 in edibles, and #4 in beverages2. Sanity Group: Since the acquisition closed on April 15, 2026, Sanity has performed in line with management's expectations, contributing approximately €25 million (C$40 million) in net revenue to Organigram's consolidated results. During the quarter, Sanity continued to execute on its European growth strategy, advancing pr
L&T Technology Services Launches AgenticIQ™, an End-to-End Agentic AI Platform for Engineering, Manufacturing and Customer Experience11.8.2026 12:30:00 EEST | Press release
L&T Technology Services (BSE: 540115, NSE: LTTS), a global leader in Engineering Intelligence Solutions & ER&D Consulting Services, today announced the launch of AgenticIQ™, an end-to-end Agentic AI platform purpose-built for engineering and manufacturing organizations. Designed to help enterprises move beyond isolated AI pilots, AgenticIQ™ enables autonomous, multi-agent workflows across engineering, product development, manufacturing, industrial operations and customer experience, accelerating the adoption of Engineering Intelligence at scale. As enterprises increase investments in AI, many initiatives continue to struggle to move beyond proof-of-concepts into production. Disconnected engineering systems, manual processes and highly regulated environments often prevent organizations from scaling autonomous AI while maintaining governance, security and operational reliability. Built on LTTS' portfolio of Engineering Intelligence solutions, AgenticIQ™ transforms proven engineering capa
Naser Taher Named Among Forbes Middle East’s Top 100 CEOs 202611.8.2026 12:00:00 EEST | Press release
MultiBank Group, one of the world’s largest and most regulated financial derivatives institutions, has announced that its Founder and Chairman, Naser Taher, has been named among Forbes Middle East’s Top 100 CEOs 2026, recognising his longstanding leadership and achievements in the global financial services industry. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260811229836/en/ Naser Taher has been named among Forbes Middle East’s Top 100 CEOs 2026, recognising his longstanding leadership and achievements in the global financial services industry. The annual Forbes Middle East Top 100 CEOs list celebrates prominent business leaders who are shaping the region’s corporate landscape and leading organisations with significant scale, influence and impact. The ranking brings together senior executives from across key industries in the Middle East, highlighting their leadership and the performance and development of the organisati
teamLab Unveils New Series from Light Sculpture - Flow at teamLab Borderless. Special Exhibit, "On the Asymmetry of the Universe," on View Through October 811.8.2026 12:00:00 EEST | Press release
teamLab reopens the Light Sculpture - Flow series artwork space at teamLab Borderless: MORI Building DIGITAL ART MUSEUM in Azabudai Hills, Tokyo from July 8, 2026. To commemorate the reopening, teamLab unveils two new series, Asymmetric Existence and Chromatic Existence, featured in the special exhibit "On the Asymmetry of the Universe." The special exhibit, “On the Asymmetry of the Universe,” runs from Wednesday, July 8, 2026 through Thursday, October 8, 2026. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260807256066/en/ Light Sculpture - Flow The inside and outside of an ocean vortex are composed of the same water; there is no material difference between them. Yet, despite this, why do we perceive a vortex as a singular entity, or even sense a form of life within it? The difference between the inside and outside of a vortex lies in the order, not the material. When order is born within a flow, existence emerges even with
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