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
Deciphera Announces Oral Presentation of Positive Topline Results from Phase 2a Study of Sapablursen in Polycythemia Vera at the 67 th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting6.12.2025 16:30:00 EET | Press release
Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, a member of Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Osaka, Japan; President and COO: Toichi Takino; “Ono”), today announced the oral presentation of positive results from the Phase 2a IMPRSSION study of sapablursen in patients with polycythemia vera (PV) at the 67th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, taking place December 6-9, 2025, in Orlando, FL. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251206361611/en/ The results were presented by Ionis Pharmaceuticals, who discovered and developed sapablursen and conducted the IMPRSSION study. In March 2025, Ionis and Ono entered into a license agreement in which Ono obtained exclusive global rights for the development and commercialization of sapablursen. “In the treatment of PV, phlebotomy and cytoreductive therapy are performed as treatments for preventing thrombosis. Phlebotomy is the most common treatment for PV, in which blood
Protagonist and Takeda Present Longer-Term Data at ASH 2025 Showing Rusfertide Delivers Durable Response and Hematocrit Control in Polycythemia Vera6.12.2025 16:30:00 EET | Press release
Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. (“Protagonist”) (NASDAQ:PTGX) and Takeda (TSE:4502/NYSE:TAK) announce that new 52-week results from the pivotal Phase 3 VERIFY study evaluating rusfertide in patients with polycythemia vera (PV) will be presented in an oral presentation at the 67th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition. These findings further reinforce rusfertide’s efficacy and safety and demonstrate durability of response, with 61.9% of patients continuously treated with rusfertide maintaining absence of phlebotomy eligibility from baseline to Week 52. “The 52-week data demonstrated the sustained efficacy of rusfertide, reducing the need for patients to receive phlebotomy while maintaining hematocrit control,” said Dr. Andrew T. Kuykendall, M.D., VERIFY Lead Investigator and Associate Member in the Department of Hematology at Moffitt Cancer Center. “The 32-week VERIFY primary results were already promising, and this deeper understanding of the durability of r
Vertex Presents New Data on CASGEVY ® , Including First-Ever Data in Children Ages 5-11 Years, at the American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Announces Plan for Global Regulatory Submissions6.12.2025 14:01:00 EET | Press release
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (Nasdaq: VRTX) today announced data from multiple studies demonstrating the clinical benefits of CASGEVY® (exagamglogene autotemcel) in people ages 5 years and older living with severe sickle cell disease (SCD) or transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia (TDT). The results, including the first presentation of clinical data from pivotal studies in children ages 5-11 years, and longer-term data from the pivotal studies of people with severe SCD and TDT ages 12 years and older, will be presented at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting. CASGEVY is currently approved for eligible people ages 12 years and older with SCD or TDT in the United States, Great Britain, the European Union, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Kingdom of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Canada, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates. “These results — the first clinical data ever presented on any genetic therapy for children ages 5-11 years with SCD — again demonstrate the tr
Leading Global Scientists Gather at Tengchong Scientists Forum to Explore Innovative Pathways in Frontier Technologies6.12.2025 13:31:00 EET | Press release
The 2025 Tengchong Scientists Forum opened on Saturday in southwest China’s Yunnan Province, convening leading scientists and academic figures to examine innovation across frontier fields including artificial intelligence, biodiversity and quantum technology. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251205499197/en/ Opening ceremony of Tengchong Scientists Forum on 6th December, 2025 Notable participants include Nobel Physics laureate Konstantin Novoselov, Fields Medalist Efim Zelmanov and Turing Award winner Andrew Chi-Chih Yao, who join 127 academicians, 77 university presidents from China and abroad, over 400 scholars and more than 600 entrepreneurs and financiers. The gathering aims to deepen collaboration between cutting-edge research and industrial development. Under the theme “Science · AI changing the World,” the forum features ten sub-forums, academic sessions and thematic events supporting major cooperation p
Lattice Wins 2025 Global Semiconductor Alliance Award6.12.2025 01:49:00 EET | Press release
Lattice Semiconductor (NASDAQ: LSCC), the low power programmable leader, today announced that it was selected as ‘Most Respected Public Semiconductor Company’ at the 2025 Global Semiconductor Alliance (GSA) Awards. The GSA awards recognize companies that have demonstrated excellence through their success, vision, strategy, and future opportunities in the industry as determined by votes from GSA members. “We are honored to be recognized by the Global Semiconductor Alliance and our peers as one of 2025’s most respected public semiconductor companies. This recognition reflects the dedication of the Lattice team and the trust of our customers, partners, suppliers, and investors. Looking ahead, we remain laser-focused on driving innovation and strengthening our role as the trusted low power programmable leader for semiconductor and system solutions,” said Ford Tamer, Chief Executive Officer, Lattice Semiconductor. The annual GSA Awards celebrate the accomplishments of the semiconductor indu
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