Business Wire

HKSTP

13.1.2023 13:25:39 CET | Business Wire | Press release

Share
HKSTP Partners Global Accelerator Plug and Play in Calling Startups for EPiC 2023 Elevator Pitch Competition in Hong Kong

Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) has partnered with world-leading innovation platform, Plug and Play, to call on ambitious startups and entrepreneurs around the world to join the seventh Elevator Pitch Competition 2023 (EPiC 2023), one of the biggest pitch events in Hong Kong. The final entry deadline for the Competition has also been extended to 20 January 2023.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230113005179/en/

To view this piece of content from mms.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.

HKSTP CEO, Albert Wong, joins Plug and Play CEO, Saeed Amidi, to promote HKSTP’s EPiC 2023, calling all startups in the world to come to Hong Kong for a scale-up opportunity of a lifetime. (Photo: Business Wire)

This offers local and global startups the chance to join the combined HKSTP and Plug and Play eco-systems to launch their potential innovations onto the global stage. Interested parties on two technology tracks (FinTech and PropTech) only need to submit a 2-min video introduction to make a potentially life-changing decision. 50 shortlisted semi-finalists will have the golden opportunity to be considered by HKSTP Venture Fund for direct investment of up to US$5 million as well as market expansion support in Asia and beyond, plus the chance to win a cash prize of US$60,000 if crowned champion.

As the world’s leading accelerator, Plug and Play will leverage its global network to organise international competitions in Asia, Europe and Northern America throughout February to bring in overseas startups to the April final in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong provides the ideal platform to expand into the vast Asian market, being a gateway to both Mainland China and Asia. 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.

Albert Wong, CEO of HKSTP, said: “This year, our flagship event EPiC is set to be the biggest and best-ever as we partner with world-renowned Plug and Play, elevating the investment platform to a truly global level. This collaboration cements HKSTP and Hong Kong as a unique global launchpad to rapidly scale up innovators on their growth journey, while achieving our mission to propel success and advance Hong Kong's I&T development.”

Saeed Amidi, CEO of Plug and Play, said: “Partnering with HKSTP on EPiC is a major step forward in our mission to harness the huge Asia opportunity to build the world’s leading innovation platform. We are partnering with changemakers like HKSTP to build a unique innovation ecosystem by connecting the brightest minds with world-leading corporations, VC firms, universities, and government agencies across multiple industries.’’

EPiC 2023 will take place at the iconic sky100 venue atop Hong Kong’s tallest building, International Commerce Centre, to create a genuine elevator pitch experience for startups.

Who can apply:

  • Tech startups that are less than 10 years old
  • Ideas should focus on one of the TWO technology tracks: FinTech and PropTech

Applications will close on 20 January 2023 at 23:59 (Hong Kong time).

Please visit the website (https://epic.hkstp.org/) for more information on EPiC 2023.

About Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation

Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) has for 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 three unicorns and Hong Kong’s leading R&D hub with over 12,000 research professionals and over 1,200 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 re-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.

About Plug and Play

Plug and Play was established in Sunnyvale, California - a region within the renowned Silicon Valley. Although officially founded in 2006, the early stages of the business could be traced back to 1998. The company contains business functions, including tech investment, corporate innovation, and innovation space. Plug and Play now has 50 regional offices in over 30 countries and regions worldwide. With nearly 20 years of experience in early-stage tech investment, Plug and Play has successfully invested in and incubated numerous big tech companies, including PayPal, Google, Dropbox, LendingClub, Guardant Health, Rappi, N26, Honey, etc. It has invested in over 1,500 startups and accelerated over 17,000 programs globally. Each year, Plug and Play provides open innovation services for over 500 world-leading corporations through over 1,000 matchmaking activities with cutting-edge technology companies.

Formally established in 2016, Plug and Play China currently has 3 regional innovation hubs in Beijing (China HQ), Shanghai (Plug and Play Innovation Hub - Yangtze River Delta Area), and Shenzhen (Shenzhen Innovation Center). Plug and Play China also provides open innovation services in Nanjing, Wuhan, Wuxi etc.

There are 4 main business functions across Plug and Play China’s innovation platform including corporate innovation, city innovation, tech investment, and innovation space.

It has built China's leading international innovation ecosystem and created a multi-dimensional open innovation platform that includes corporations, startups, universities and research labs, government agencies, venture capitalist firms, and city innovation partners.

Since 2016, Plug and Play China has engaged with 100+ industry-leading corporations, accelerated over 1700 startups, and has invested in over 150 startups including ApplyBoard, AutoX, Flexiv, ZiFiSense, ROBOTICPLUS.AI, INGEEK, Hexaflake, Authing, Yours, etc.

Please visit www.pnpchina.com for more information.

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/20230113005179/en/

About Business Wire

Business Wire
Business Wire
101 California Street, 20th Floor
CA 94111 San Francisco

http://businesswire.com
DK

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

Ant Group Open-Sources SingGuard-NSFA to Establish New Security Paradigms for Autonomous AI Agents13.7.2026 11:01:00 CEST | Press release

Ant Group’s AI Security Lab today announced the open-source release of SingGuard-NSFA, a specialized security guardrail framework designed specifically for autonomous AI agents. The framework secures agentic AI systems against operational threats like prompt injection, addressing critical vulnerabilities as AI transitions from passive content generation to active, autonomous execution. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260712722454/en/ As AI agents rapidly move from research labs to business scenarios, the security landscape has fundamentally shifted. The explosive global adoption of open-source agent frameworks like OpenClaw, celebrated for their "one-click deployment" and "full-stack autonomy", has simultaneously exposed significant operational risks, including permission escalation and prompt injection. Industry frameworks, including the OWASP (Open Web Application Security Project) Top 10 for Agentic Applica

Incyte Presents Phase 1/2 Multidose Data for VGA039 (Latarcibart) at ISTH 2026, Showing Substantial Bleed Reductions in Patients with all Von Willebrand Disease Types13.7.2026 10:00:00 CEST | Press release

- Treatment with latarcibart led to an 81% median reduction in annualized bleeding rate (ABR) across all bleeding categories and patient types with von Willebrand disease (VWD) - Latarcibart, administered via a once monthly subcutaneous dosing regimen, was shown to be safe and well tolerated over multiple doses in this study - Pivotal Phase 3 VIVID-6 trial evaluating latarcibart’s potential to be the first targeted therapy for VWD is currently enrolling Incyte (Nasdaq: INCY) today announced complete safety and efficacy data from all patients (n=16) enrolled in the Phase 1/2 multidose study of VGA039 (latarcibart), a novel, Protein S-targeting, investigational monoclonal antibody for patients with von Willebrand disease (VWD). The data are being shared in an oral presentation today at the 34th Congress of the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH 2026 Congress) in Paris. Latarcibart modulates Protein S to improve hemostasis, potentially enhancing the body’s ability t

Europe’s Demand for Tech Services Accelerates in Q2, As Spending on AI and Managed Services Rises: ISG Index™13.7.2026 10:00:00 CEST | Press release

Combined market up 46%, led by 64% growth in cloud servicesManaged services up 21%, as companies seek cost savings to fund AI Demand for technology services in Europe continued to accelerate in the second quarter, as the region increasingly turns to managed services to reduce costs and cloud services to meet AI objectives, according to the latest state-of-the-industry report from Information Services Group (ISG) (Nasdaq: III), a global AI-centered technology research and advisory firm. The EMEA ISG Index™, which measures commercial outsourcing contracts with annual contract value (ACV) of US $5 million or more, shows second-quarter ACV for the combined market (both managed services and cloud-based as-a-service) soared 46 percent—its largest growth in eight years—to US $13.0 billion. The latest quarter adds to a string of three straight quarters in which growth has averaged 33 percent. “Europe has become the fastest-growing region for technology services, fueled not only by an increasin

Maureen Mahr von Staszewski Joins Heitman European Leadership Team13.7.2026 09:30:00 CEST | Press release

Heitman expands European platform with addition of experienced leader Heitman LLC (“Heitman”), a global real estate investment management firm, today announced the appointment of Maureen Mahr von Staszewski as Managing Director in the firm’s European Real Estate Investment team. As part of Heitman’s European leadership team, Maureen will help drive continued expansion across Europe, supporting the firm’s strategic growth initiatives, capital raising efforts, and investment activity across the region. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260713202147/en/ Maureen Mahr von Staszewski Joins Heitman European Leadership Team “We are excited Maureen has joined the Heitman team,” said Caleb Mercer, Managing Director and Head of European Investment at Heitman. “Her breadth and depth of experience in European real estate investment management will help strengthen our innovative and differentiated investment capabilities acro

LTM Partners with Anthropic to Accelerate Claude Adoption and Expand Enterprise Delivery13.7.2026 08:16:00 CEST | Press release

Claude and Claude Code embedded into LTM BlueVerse™ AI Delivery Fabric to power AI-led transformations LTM, the Business Creativity partner to the world's largest enterprises, today announced a partnership with Anthropic, the frontier AI company behind Claude, to accelerate enterprise-scale adoption of Claude, Claude Code and Claude Cowork across engineering, modernization, and business workflows. LTM will combine Claude, Claude Code and Claude Cowork with its enterprise implementation expertise to help clients move from pilots to production with market-leading productivity, throughput, quality underscored by assurance and transparency. LTM will specifically bring this expertise and capability to BFSI, Hi-Tech, Consumer and Production Industry domains. The three strategic focus areas of partnership include:LTM BlueVerse™: AI Delivery Fabric LTM BlueVerse AI Delivery Fabric will serve as the enterprise implementation layer for Claude adoption, integrating Claude and Claude Code into del

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
World GlobeA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.HiddenA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.Eye