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
REPLY Unveils the New Editions of the Reply AI Music Contest and Reply AI Film Festival under the Theme “Imaginatio Nova”19.3.2026 10:00:00 EET | Press release
Reply [EXM, STAR: REY, ISIN: IT0005282865] confirms its commitment for 2026 to fostering dialogue between creativity, technology and artificial intelligence through the Reply AI Music Contest and the Reply AI Film Festival, the two international AI competitions open to creatives, filmmakers, musicians and innovation professionals from around the world. The theme of the 2026 edition, “Imaginatio Nova”, is an invitation to explore a new phase of imagination, where human creativity is renewed through technology. This approach views artificial intelligence not as a substitute for artistic talent, but as a catalyst for new visions, languages and expressive possibilities, capable of generating forms that did not previously exist. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260319315132/en/ These initiatives are part of the Reply Challenges, a programme of technological and creative competitions that reflects Reply’s commitment
Valeo Foods Group Accelerates Growth in Eastern Europe With Acquisition of Prestige-96, a Leading Bulgarian Sweet Baked Goods Player19.3.2026 09:00:00 EET | Press release
Valeo Foods Group, one of Europe’s leading producers of sweets, treats and snacks, today announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire 100% of Prestige-96 AD (“Prestige”), a market-leading Bulgarian manufacturer of sweet baked goods. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260319225232/en/ Prestige-96 sandwich biscuits. Founded in 1996, Prestige is one of Bulgaria’s most established and trusted producers of biscuits, wafers and sweet snack products. Its portfolio features some of the country’s most recognisable local brands including - Naya (Ная), Hyper (Хайпър), Mirage (Мираж) and Roden Kray (Роден Край). Prestige employs approximately 450 people across its operations. The acquisition marks a significant milestone in Valeo Foods Group’s long-term growth strategy, focused on acquiring market-leading, iconic local brands as part of its continued European expansion. As Valeo Foods Group’s eighth acquisition sinc
SymphonyAI AI Platforms Deployed for Compliance Environment at Munich Re19.3.2026 08:32:00 EET | Press release
As regulatory expectations grow more complex and financial crime risks continue to evolve, SymphonyAI, a global leader in Vertical AI platforms, offers a centralized, enterprise-grade technology foundation designed to operate at global scale while meeting local regulatory requirements. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260319144999/en/ SymphonyAI supports Munich Re, one of the leading reinsurers, and subsidiaries through its financial crime platform, which combines domain-specific expertise with artificial intelligence to help financial institutions detect, investigate, and manage financial crime risk with greater precision and efficiency. “Integrated, production-scale financial crime platforms that can evolve with the risk landscape,” said John Edison, President of Financial Services, SymphonyAI. “Our work together with Munich Re reflects a shared focus on flexibility, performance, and long-term modernization,
Royal Moroccan Football Federation Acknowledges Decision Rendered by the CAF Appeals Committee18.3.2026 19:49:00 EET | Press release
The Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) wishes to reiterate that its appeal was never aimed at contesting the sporting merit or performance of the teams involved in this tournament, but solely to ensure the proper enforcement of competition regulations. The federation reaffirms its commitment to respecting the regulations, ensuring the clarity of the competitive framework and maintaining the stability of African football competitions. The Federation also wishes to commend all the nations that participated in this year’s edition of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), which served as a significant moment for African football. The FRMF will issue a more comprehensive official statement in the coming days after a scheduled meeting of its governing bodies. Source: AETOSWire View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260318763307/en/
SIMCON Unveils World’s First Large Engineering Model for Plastic Injection Moulding18.3.2026 19:05:00 EET | Press release
SIMCON today announced the launch of the Cadmould AI Solver, the world’s first Large Engineering Model for injection moulding. Co-developed with Emmi AI, the new transformer-based architecture delivers simulation results up to 1000 times faster than traditional numerical solvers. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260318680159/en/ SIMCON’s new Cadmould AI Solver delivers injection molding simulation results in seconds. By removing lengthy computation times, the tool enables engineers to dynamically explore thousands of design and process variations in a single day. Historically, lengthy computation times have acted as a bottleneck, limiting the number of design variations engineers can practically explore during the development process. The Cadmould AI Solver shatters this barrier by providing engineers with instant feedback on filling pattern, pressure, and temperature in seconds. What once required hours per si
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